Project 365 d-212

     Headed out of town with my wife to spend the weekend at her parents today, and I was anticipating some  quality time to photograph. A lot of my early photographic exploration came from spending time here. There are many fantastic things to photograph especially when you are learning to be proficient with your camera. The weekend I got my first digital camera we headed there and that was sort of the unofficial start of my love for photography. Later that summer is when I really started my official journey into the art of photography near the Mississippi River and my life had been turned upside down since then. A good upside down that is.  I just couldn't get over how great it was to document your life with just a click of the shutter. No waiting to see what you had created, but instant gratification. I would be remiss if I didn't say that there is still a place for film and all of the disciplines it teaches in the world of photography. Upon returning to college for my degree it was one of the classed that I cherished. Watching your composition come to life before you as it sloshes around in the developer. Hopefully some day I will be able to spend some time pursuing film photography as well as digital.

     Once we got into town and unloaded, I got the green light from my CEO to hit the road and photograph. Within minutes I was roaring down the road with the windows open to let in the fresh country air. By the time on my watch I knew the sun would be setting soon, so I wasted no time in getting right to it. Immediately I drove to the water; I'm a Pieces remember? There is a really cool damn where the water glides so gracefully over the falls and down into swirling pools covered with mocha like foam. It is not uncommon to see fisherman standing out in the middle of the water like they were standing in a parking lot. Tonight was no exception and there were three of them wetting a line. Still, all my attention at the water was spent on the rushing water and the abstract reflections of the sky and riverbank on the other side of the damn.  There was too much to photograph and not enough daylight to do it in. I really wanted to try another location before all the light was gone, so I loaded my my gear and headed back out of town.

     When I got to the other location; I realized it was too dark to photograph, so I just turned around and headed back into town. As I drove in, the sun was now gone but it's footprints were still brushed across the darkening sky. As I drove, I saw this silhouetted windmill near a fueling station that looked amazing against the glowing horizon, so I pulled over to set up my tripod and camera. The road was completely deserted, and I drank in the isolated feeling I had. Over the next five minutes I took many exposures of this scene, and they just glowed on my LCD. One lone star could be seen up above me as night began to draw it's blanket about the sky. It felt good to be out of town and even greater to be out of town with my camera. No disrespect to my in law's you understand. Tonight I'm really glad that I'm a photographer in the middle of a time consuming project, or I might have missed the remains of this day painted out before my eyes.

Happy Shooting.