One thing about taking sunset, sunrise, or Northern Lights photos: you need a suitable foreground object. I knew I wanted to try to get the sunset again tonight, since I was out and about at 9:30…but what to do for a noteworthy foreground? I was at a loss, so I did what I am prone to do: get on a gravel road and follow it until I see something. It didn’t take long.

Out in the middle of nowhere, as usual, I noticed this well sticking out of the grass on a hill, not far from the road. Since I have a nice telephoto lens and do NOT have permission from the landowner, I shot from the road. As it turns out, I think that was the best angle anyway. I grabbed a lot of different shots as the sun progressed downward, including quite a few with the sun gone entirely. Even then, the warm glow of the sky was just right.

Mission accomplished; I went from central Bismarck to a previously unnoticed wellhead in a matter of a few minutes, got a ton of really nice photos, and was back home in time to snuggle my boy before tucking him in for the night. Now it’s off to shovel a bunch of Cap’n Crunch cereal into my head, challenge my wife to our favorite board game, and try to forget the fact that I’d just cleaned and wet-looked my tires before this little journey. Dust from a dirt road sticks to a freshly armor-alled tire like sprinkles to a donut. I guess we’ll redo that tomorrow. As I strive to learn this new photography hobby, I’m willing to pay the price sometimes.

edit: I can’t decide if I like the tall version of this photo, or the wide one. Which do you guys prefer? Click below to add a comment.