This buggy heads home as the last light of the day silhouettes their shape against the colorful sky.
Tag Archives: sunset
The Waiting Game
This farm and fence shot proves that a mediocre scene can become a winner with the right light. I have driven past this spot dozens of times and never gave it a thought before,but late evening sidelight and a dark sky behind the barn made me pull over on this occasion. I liked the leading line of the fence but hated the empty road,so I decided to sit till dark if necessary to get a buggy or something interesting passing by. Well I sat and sat,and thought you got to be kidding me that no buggies are out tonight,and an hour in this lone buggy came trotting by just as the youngster was coming to feed the horses. He looked so serious,I thought he was going to say get lost,but he merely fed the mother and colt.
One thing I remember about this evening was the group of Amish kids at the farm behind me who were watching me from behind the raspberry bushes and when I would turn they would duck,as if I had no clue they were there.Finally one got brave enough to move closer and smile and wave.They are always intrigued by the camera on the tripod and must have wondered what this idiot saw that was worth waiting so long for.It was the only shot I got that night but was well worth the drive in my opinion.
Lincoln Slept Here
This is the only remaining structure left from the mountain springs resort built in 1848 and the rest was torn down several years ago ,with this part being restored. It sits on a steep hill and the large expanse of coneflowers made an impressive foreground so I made an attempt to capture the scene.The hill falls away fast,which necessitated me placing my tripod at maximum height and using my laptop to gets things lined up correctly. I started shooting about an hour before sunset and held in there till the sky started to light up with an amazing sunset. I almost wished I had gone with a wider shot because the sky was even more dazzling to the left of my composition but I was too locked in at this point. The shadows on the back wall of the porch are from my big flash,which I used to add detail under the roof line and I experimented with different angles till I got the shadow to fall on the wall between the windows,which shows the woodwork detail. Several presidents including Abraham Lincoln stayed in this building,so its kind of neat to capture it today.
A Great Evening
I never post this many shots at once,but I wanted to show the different images I captured at one location on a stormy afternoon. I had been hanging out with friends one sunday afternoon and right near supper time these amazing clouds started moving in so I grabbed my gear and headed out. The top image is what I was after and I barely got the shot because the sky was changing so fast and the time between the first and second image is around ten minutes. After the storm blew over and poured down buckets of rain, I decided to try and get ahead of the storm and drove about twenty miles to get to the leading edge of the storm and gave up because I was getting into an area that was not very scenic. Next I turned around to head home and as sunset got closer,I decided to retrace my route and as I got back to the farm again,rain was stopping which left the road glistening and reflecting the colorful sky. The last shot was taken very close to the spot I shot the first image from, and all in all turned out to be a great afternoon of shooting.
Days End
This image was the only one I got this evening after heading out in search of storms. Wicked weather had just left a trail of destruction about a half hour before I came into this area,so I just drove around watching thunderheads forming. I saw the setting sun lighting these clouds and this farm came to mind as being in the right position in the foreground,so I made a bee line to get here and just made it before the light faded.
The Light Still Shines
This image was taken this past weekend in the town of Strasburg,Pa, and was shot at St Michael’s Lutheran church, which dates back to the early 1700s. I had been driving around looking for scenery and the evening was a little lackluster so I decided to stop and light paint this scene.The Angelic statue was lit using a small flashlight to bring out the details and the rest of the scene was illuminated by flash.
A Warm Welcome
This is an exterior view of the old farm-house were yesterdays music room was photographed. After I wrapped up picture-taking inside,I rushed outside to try and get this luminary shot before it was too dark to balance everything. I lit the fence,Christmas wreath, and ivy with flash as daylight quickly faded. The property was all aglow with dozens of luminaries lighting the way for arriving guests.
Working Late
This old Dodge has been part of a local fall roadside stand for several years and this year I finally set aside a night to photograph it. The truck bed is full of mums and a wide variety of colorful mums fill the foreground for customers to pick from. Let me explain how the shoot went.I arrived an hour before sunset so I could set up the tripod,fill in any empty holes with flowers if needed and start my laptop to fire the camera. First the laptop took 5 minutes to let me log on,then my camera control software would not recognize that my camera was attached. After no less than 6 restarts,the sun was now below the horizon and I was now ready to drive over my laptop.
Next the sky lit up in an area Not included in my frame,so I recomposed and shot the image. Now I was ready to give up on light painting the scene because of the laptop snafu,but I gave it one last try and unbelievably the thing works. So for the next hour I used my spotlight and a flash to light the truck, flowers,and scene and this was my result. Lighting a black truck is a real challenge but thanks to the generosity of the owners in allowing me to work the shot,I had enough time to pull it off.
The Rio Grand Caboose lodge
These old cars were part of a car club that was out touring the farm country,and I happened to spot them parked at a motel that is totally comprised of train cabooses. Each guest spends the night in his very own caboose, which come in every color under the sun. The evening was basically pouring rain,but after shooting under an umbrella for 30 minutes,the rain stopped and I began lighting the scene with flash. I thought the two modes of transportation complemented each other and harkened back to a simpler time.The yellow caboose is the Rio Grand.
Ball of light
The sun sets on a rural farm scene
Layered Farms
A hilltop vantage point provides a chance to see layer upon layer of Amish farms as the day draws to a close.
Class dismissed
A lovely evening draws to a close as a gorgeous sunset paints the sky behind a one room school.
Thunderheads forming
Another evening of amazing clouds rolling across the farm land. I used a polarizer to bring out the contrast between blue sky and the clouds. I had to wait about twenty minutes till the clouds were across the whole farm.
All or nothing
This is an old roller mill that I came across while wandering the back roads this past weekend. I started the afternoon off heading to play volleyball but I took my camera gear along in case no one showed. Well no one showed, so I cruised around and came across this locale. I was all excited as Amish buggies, open carts etc were all around the area. I pull in here and realize my tripod is 15 miles away at home.So I head home disgusted with myself and decide to return in the evening. Four hours later I come back and set my gear up on my truck roof to get a better view and I wait almost an hour till these three buggies come by. After they passed, I sat there till dark and not one more buggy came by. If I could somehow get up another 8 ft or so, you could see the entire covered bridge,which is just in sight on the edge of the right side. This evening was a real feast or famine night for shooting, and since I am not the most patient individual, it was driving me crazy missing other opportunities. The late evening light was skimming in nicely, so maybe the delay was worth it. the thumbnail shows my roof setup and laptop inside and it all depends how much height I need, and in this case just a little.
Run for the hills
I went out in search of lightning photos the other night, and even though the skies looked pretty threatening, no lightning ever materialized. As I headed home I passed this piece of farm equipment sitting at a local business and decided to light paint it with a flash. I named the photo ”run for the hills” because between the sky ,and the front end of this contraption, I thought it looked pretty menacing. Its called a forage harvester,and I think it does corn but it may have other uses for all I know.
Double trouble
This Amish farm was the location for some sort of get together last weekend, and this image was actually taken near dusk. Usually the Amish community is heading home at this point on a sunday evening, but this farm was still going strong and new arrivals were still coming. The really confusing thing was that every so often, a souped up car like a mustang would fly up the lane and park in the back, so perhaps we had a little spring party action going on. There is a term in the Amish world called Rumspringa,and that basically is a period of time when the adolescent kind of sows his wild oats and adults kind of ignore the behavior.
Shaft of light
This image was taken this past weekend as I drove around in search of scenic shots. The day started with clear blue skies and ended in grand fashion under dramatic clouds, which caught my attention and had me heading out to peruse the back roads. The sun stayed hidden most of the time, but as I stopped to debate shooting this farm scene, it suddenly burst forth illuminating this farm with a shaft of light, which had me scrambling for the tripod. It lasted maybe two minutes, lighting up the farm against the brooding sky.
Working late
This is the same mill I posted a few days ago,but this time I lit the scene with my spotlight at dusk. I was out shooting in the area and decided at the last-minute to give the location a test try with the light. My light was low on battery power, so I did not get as much use out of it as I had hoped, but it was a good chance to practice a bit.
Thunderhead Building
This image was taken the night before last as unsettled air moved across our region. All day long I watched the skies transform from one cloud formation to another and decided I better head out in the evening to look for possibilities. This farm provided the perfect location as it sits on a small hill,and the setting sun provided the touch of warmth on the massive cloud formation. Later that evening, lightning started to make an appearance, so I set up my tripod with an umbrella protecting it, and I use a laptop to fire it from within my truck. After a few sharp bolts, I decided that even though I was somewhat safe in my vehicle, perhaps being at the highest point on the hill was not the best idea so I packed up.
Momentary Sunlight
This image was taken minutes after yesterday’s post, and shows the mill from the train tracks side. The sky was totally cloud covered and yet I was fortunate enough to be in the right spot when a few rays broke through to skim across the shot. lasted about a minute, which was all I needed. As a side note, I knew this was an active line, but did not realize the train comes through doing about 60 mph plus. I no sooner had picked up my tripod and walked across the tracks when I heard a whistle up toward the trees to the left and when that train came through it was hauling. I thought to myself how unnerving it must be to drive that thing and see something or someone on the tracks ahead and know you are helpless to stop it in time.
Super moon Disappointment.
This is a shot of the so-called super moon from this past saturday. Went out with two friends to shoot this thing, and due to haze, we never saw it in the sky till it was too high and slightly smaller looking. It’s an okay shot,but nothing like it might have been at the horizon, and zoomed tighter. This moon was supposedly 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter as it made its closest approach to earth. The key to getting the biggest moon is to find a subject far away,so you can use your strongest telephoto to include the moon and something interesting together. Had the conditions been crystal clear, and the moon had risen between the silos,I could have zoomed much tighter and had a much larger moon.
Working the Fields
Spring is rapidly advancing and local farmers are beginning to work the fields for the growing season. This farmer was kicking up a good bit of dust as the sun silhouetted him while he diligently went about the evening chores. Thankfully we got a decent amount of rain this weekend,so the dust situation should be better in the coming week.
Fairy Tale Cottage
I have been wanting to photograph this lovely Tudor style home for a few years, and when I saw this flowering tree beside it, I figured the time was right. I spoke to the owners and asked if they would turn on the lamps by the door and the dining room lights to add a little touch of life to the home, and they gladly agreed. The home reminds me of something from a Thomas Kinkaid painting,and although I only have a small part of the home showing in the top image ,I still like the feel. the bottom image includes a dogwood,which was next to impossible to include in the top shot without getting road,sidewalk or poles in. As a side note, I googled Thomas Kinkade to make sure I spelled his name right, and noticed he died last week. I always liked his work,but not everybody did,as is usually the case. Seems he was tormented by criticism of his work, and died an unfortunate death from alcohol abuse.
Mansion Revisited
Figured I would try a sunset shot at the same location as last night. Nothing earth shattering,but it was fun trying. I added the bottom two images to show what putting your hand across the shot can do to help with contrast in some situations. If you look at the porch and tree, you will see the benefit of blocking the light source in tricky situations. Of course this was tripod mounted and you could adjust contrast in Photoshop, but it can help many times to utilize this simple technique.
Grain Silo Sunset
Today both myself and my good friend Larry did some more shooting in the machine shop, but for some reason my decision-making was a bit out of whack, because it took me nearly an hour to pick something to shoot. Because of that indecision, I stayed at the machine shop till right near sunset, and then as I began heading home, the sky started to look promising. I decided to head to these grain silos in the hopes of a good sky, and it turned out to be an alright shot I guess. I like the varied hues of the old and newer silos and the warm vs cool tones. Once again I climbed on top of my truck roof to shoot this, and todays winds of 40 mph plus made for some tricky shooting up there.
Working Late Tonight
Todays image is one of several from my shoot at the machine shop yesterday. This place has so much history and character in every nook and cranny, that I become overwhelmed at times trying to decide which subject to shoot. I chose what I believe to be a drill press for a shot at dusk because it was positioned right at the windows where the sunset colored the evening sky outside. The patina of oil,dirt,metal shavings and everything else provided the perfect canvas to light paint. Lee who owns the shop graciously allowed myself and a friend several hours of uninterrupted shooting, which was really appreciated. I picked the title because we started shooting around 4pm and finished at 9pm, and a worker from the day shift was still running a mill in the back room to catch up on several jobs for clients as we were heading home to bed. You couldn’t ask for a more accommodating crew than the guys who help us shoot there.
Reflections of simpler times
As a photographer, I am always on the lookout for beautiful locations, and this spot is one I had bookmarked in my brain for the right moment. Many times, I will just drive around looking for opportunities, and this particular evening I saw the potential building in the way the clouds were positioned in the sky, and the angle the sun would probably hit them. I headed to this locale to look things over and after coming across a no trespassing sign at the edge of the public parking area located across the river from the farm, I decided I would put on my hip waders and venture into the water directly from the lot. I had to traverse slick rocks for about a hundred yards to get to this point in the river. All the while I was thinking about all my past experiences with water, and maybe this was not a great idea after all. As I got to the final spot where the reflection looked good, The water was about 6 inches from the top of my hip waders, and I was getting slightly nervous as a slip would mean big trouble for my gear. I mounted a wide-angle on the camera and had it locked to the tripod before I set out, and had my loaded camera backpack on my back, which has to weigh 40 plus pounds, so any misstep can get dicey real quick. The sunset materialized nicely and the water was really pushing against my tripod legs, so I shot a series as things kept building, till everything faded and I made my slow and deliberate way back to shore. Sometimes going the extra mile yields images that others can’t get or are too lazy to try, and I take pride in giving it my all.
From Dawn to Dusk
Winter has once again relinquished its icy grip, and today temperatures climbed to the high forties. I personally enjoy a good hard winter, with lots of snow and intense cold, but this winter season has been a real let down thus far. Thank goodness a good batch of fog rolled in overnight to envelop the landscape in an atmospheric wonderland, full of opportunities for photography. Once again, I had every intention of sleeping in, but looking out at 5am, I saw the fog building and figured I better get moving. As I dressed, my mind rapidly ran through all the locations I could think of and I finally decided to head to this church which sits on a hill overlooking a valley. Floodlights at the church backlit the fog, and as I worked the possibilities, I kept thinking, boy it would be great to have the sanctuary lit, and to my delight, a car pulled in and a member of the congregation agreed to turn them on. While I am pleased with my result, I must say the shot was taken at the very edge of where the ambient light starts to overwhelm the interior light and I literally got a few shots off till the balance tipped too far.If the interior had been lit a half hour earlier, the result would have been even better. Thanks to Glenn Buffenmyer for helping to make this church shot possible. The second image is an afterthought that I added tonight after shooting it on the way home this evening. I luckily had my camera with me to capture this colorful sunset. The best part is the images took only a few minutes on the computer instead of the hours I invest in the light painting photos here. If anyone cares to click on my gallery pages at the top of my page, you can see a couple other church location images under the fog gallery.
Donald Reese Photography 