Finding the moment...

I am sure most readers have been told about the golden hour. That one hour period just after sunup, and just before sunset, where the world is bathed in a magical, golden glow, softer shadows are present, basically, perfect light for photography. So, looking for "The Shot", I went out driving recently, into the farmland about an hour west of where I live. The night before, I was a LITTLE slow getting out the door, and there was an amazing sunset that I missed. I got out earlier this next day, unfortunately, the amazing sunset of the night before, was not there this night. But, I drove around, looking for angles, and looking for interesting pictures.

Photography does an amazing thing to one's way of thinking. You quit looking at things, and start SEEING things. How the light plays across the sky, or a dropping sun bottom lights clouds high up above your head, even though it has dipped over the horizon. How the "feel" of a room is completely changed, by a coat of light green paint. It has been a truely eye-opening experience. So, I have driven out in this area all my life, yet never SAW the area. I am now looking all over to find fun and interesting things to shoot. Unforutnately, I found out where I went, at least initially was pretty dang boring.

After that false start, I found this little area. First, there was an old, small cemetary. Maybe two dozen grave markers were there. It was just a small plot, in the edge of a field.

After I found this, just down the road, was an old church. The cross laying against the side, with the shadow of an old basketball hooop I found to be a great contrast. Also the front of the church, showing its age. The weathered, serene church comes from a different time. A church that has seen generations.

As the sun went down, I couldnt find a great sunset shot. I was disappointed in that. I continued to drive around, looking for some fall color, to come back to. I had not been out to lake lowell, since I was a child. So, I decided to follow the signs to go out that direction. I ended up coming over a hill, and was presented with a great shot of colors along the side of the lake. Unfortuantely, the light was too low for a decent shot. It was VERY bland. I continued driving around, scouting for some more spots to come back to. The darkness was closing in, and my photography was over the night... at least, until I came around a corner, and saw this amazing color.

I was amazed by the color. I used my XSi's live view. By moving the reticle, I changed the look and feel of the color, by changing where I was looking at, for exposure. I took a bunch of pictures here, and they pretty much all turned out perfect. The ones I posted, were just a little MORE perfect.

On the way home, I came across an interesting intersection, and had to get a picture of it.

Finally, on the way home, I had been wanting to get a panorama shot of Boise, at night, which I did.