Somedays, oh-so-rarely, you catch the perfect light. Often perfect light, or even good light, is the result of setting up and waiting patiently for the sunlight to filter just right through the clouds.
A process which sometimes takes hours. I’ve spent more than one very cold (or hot, pick the climate) evening camping out on my climbing crash pad / impromptu seating while waiting for light.
Every once and a while, though, you just happen to be in the right place at the right time.
Such was the case when I drove up to the Wolf Creek bridge one stormy evening after work. One of the beautiful things about Montana in the summer is that it’s light until 2300h in June, and even when I escape from the shop at 2100h, I still have a bit of usable light left.
When I walked out of the shop and saw the clouds beginning to turn orange, I knew it was time to look for a shot. Twenty minutes in the car later, I arrived at this road leading to Holter Lake, and saw the rainbow at the end of the way.
The light was good, but the shot begged for something a little special. And, in typical photographer style, I did what my eye told me to do.
In this case, lie in the middle of the road and take a picture.
By slowing my shutter speed down slightly and zooming through the exposure, I was able to capture a hint of a motion effect in the shot, and both the colors of the rainbow and the lines from the road draw the eye inward into the frame.
This is the image with no color correction… that’s how the colors appeared to the naked eye.
Don’t be afraid to get a little creative with your shooting. Get out of your comfort zone. Crouch. Move. Climb something.
(I can’t condone lying in the middle of the road, but hey….)
The images will be worth it.
