Click the image for a full size version. I was giving my little boy a motorcycle ride when we saw this sunset developing. We pulled over in the parking lot by the golf dome and grabbed a quick pano. Then it was more Daddy-son time on two wheels!
I caught this sunset on my way around east Bismarck Expressway several days ago. It’s just a quick cell phone snap with the State “Pen” in the foreground. That tower would have been a good vantage point for the sunset, although I’m sure we’d all prefer that they watch the area below and the denizens therein!
I know, I know…posting has been far too infrequent lately. 2014 was the year of severe health issues rampaging through our entire family, making 2015 a “rebuilding year”. Well, actually it’s been a “building year” too. As we get our lives back, we’ve also been building a new home. Lord willing, we’ll be homeowners again tomorrow morning.
I really needed to get out and roam. Working at the house until 1:00, 2:00, even 3:00 in the morning many nights while holding down a full time job runs a guy ragged. With nothing left but the formalities of paperwork, it’s time to relax a little. My wife urged me to get out and capture the sunset. I didn’t have much time, but I grabbed my friend Zach and we headed north.
The shot above is one I’ve wanted to get for possibly years but never quite pulled off; you see, the light on the grass and the post is mine. It’s not easy to light such a scene as this without it looking entirely artificial, but I think this time I actually did pretty well. I was able to light the post and surrounding grass without losing the sky. No Photoshop…just a well placed and configured remote flash. That right there gave me great joy, and made all the mosquito bites worth it.
Feeling a little adventurous, I decided to go closer to the aforementioned post and take a shot down the barrel, as one might say. This post is hanging on tenaciously by multiple strands of barbed wire, so I don’t think you’ll find it at the bottom of the cliff anytime soon. I’m afraid the bank itself will keep receding, though.
It felt great to be out and about again, with a close friend and some cameras. I got a couple of other shots too, but I can’t share them all at once. Gotta tease ’em out slowly, you know. Stay tuned.
I took my boys to an area near the Square Buttes for a sunset tonight. We managed to find a couple of ticks climbing on us and even a pretty decent sunset, before clouds on the horizon cut the show short by choking off those golden hour colors.
I’m still struggling to get back into the swing of things photographically. Last year and the year preceding it were consumed with health-related issues for our family. 2015 is being consumed by happier circumstances, as we’re building a house to replace the one we gave up last year.
I keep telling myself that we’ll have more photo time soon, but I’m starting to realize that I have to make that time. There have been times where I’ve been able to get out and pursue a certain shot but have simply been unmotivated, burned out, or just too darn tired to do so. I know that getting into a new house is a huge task and that there will be plenty to be done, but having a home again really is the closure we’re looking forward to after the last couple of years. Having reached that milestone alone will allow us to relax and take things as they come. I expect to have lots of photo opportunities sprinkled in with all that.
Maybe it’s a guy thing – we go with what we know. That would explain why so many dudes to back to their ex-girlfriends, or something. Anyway, as I continue to resume my photographic journey, I find myself shaking the cobwebs by visiting some of my favorite sites…and this is one. It’s a small no-maintenance road east of Crown Butte, from which I am able to get some pretty nice sunsets (if the sky will comply).
On this particular night, I was surprised to see that there was no water in the lowlands below the Butte. Only a few remnants of last year’s cattails remained. Given this week’s rains, maybe that has changed…but it was dry as a bone when I took this shot.
This was one of those nights where I hiked into position, photography buddy nearby, receiving my first tick (and bite!) of the year…and then something on the horizon flipped the OFF switch on our sunset. Thankfully I was able to catch these colorful clouds before things fizzled!
What distinguishes tonight from just about every other night in recent memory? I got out with my flippin camera, that’s what! I took the day off and spent it with my family, then met with some folks on fixtures for the home we’re building, and then had a chance to grab my cameras (and one little boy) for a dash to the river. I handed him a camera, albeit without a memory card until I realized my mistake, and had mine as well.
It was a short window of opportunity. Things got gold really quickly for us, but then the clouds you see on the horizon above rolled in and prevented the sun from splashing any other colors across the sky ahead. That’s okay…we took advantage of our opportunity. I’ve often said that any photo trip from which I bring even one photo I like is a successful trip. Today was an obvious success.
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Remember way back when, in days of yore, when Thursdays meant that I’d be posting sunset photos like clockwork? I’d sure like to get back to that for a while. Here’s what the sky showed me last night, and I had the opportunity to be in a fantastic spot to capture it while sharing some quiet time with my sweetie. I know the shot above isn’t a sunset, but it was so beautiful I just had to share. But the real dazzle was yet to come…
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Last night had some amazing, brilliant colors. The orange and pink hues reflected by the clouds were a sight I’d been craving for some time. I’d either been tied up with Daddy stuff, reading to my boys at bedtime, or otherwise incapacitated when other sunsets presented…not this time.
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Like all amazing sunsets, they come and go quickly. Already the sky began to darken in the east as the reflected colors blazed on. Then, within a few short minutes, it was over. Before departing, the sky gave my bride and me a few precious moments to admire God’s handiwork and each other’s company. Oh, how I needed one of these. And I also wanted to make sure to share!
I finally had not only the opportunity to catch the sunset tonight, I also had a decent set of foreground objects in mind. A sky photo is usually unremarkable without an interesting foreground. Today was my day to find both.
July Flame
I’m seeing fireworks
They’re so beautiful
Tell me why it hurts
July Flame
Ashes of a secret heart
Falling in my lemonade
Unslakeable thirsting in the back yard
The red sunsets we’ve been enjoying are because other areas really are aflame. Today was a scorcher as well, so that made the song seem oddly appropriate. It is still July, although it’s scary how little of the month we have left. The lyrics are from my favorite July song EVER, “July Flame” by Laura Veirs. You can check it out on iTunes by clicking here.
Oh, by the way…here’s the video in case you want to peruse the song:
I bolted to Sweet Briar with my best friend tonight to see if I could catch a red sunset. There’s a lot of particulate matter in the sky right now, making for some very red suns, and I wanted to get in on the action. There were a few things in the way of that plan, however:
First is this gaggle of geese. I had to double-check my terminology to make sure that I was right, and apparently a “gaggle” is at least five geese. This bunch easily meets the requirements and, although they were plopped down as if they owned the road, I was able to convince them quite quickly that it was time to move.
Just prior to that, I’d spotted an unusual sight: a fox laying on top of a hay bale. He had his front paws out in front of him and was just lounging around as we passed. I grabbed a telephoto lens and a camera and circled back, but this time he must have seen the lens or something…and scampered away. Shot missed.
The sky played a cruel one on me today: the clouds moved in, obscuring the sun and the horizon. That’s okay, I had a Plan B: catch some nice reflections in the calm water of the lake. That worked.
Because of the advancing clouds and haze of the sky, it got dark quickly and it was time to head for home. It wasn’t the result I was looking for, but it was a good night nonetheless.
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