Prairie evening light near the solstice

[tbob]

One of the things i like most about living on the prairie are the clear horizon and long twilight period.

The clear horizon because I can use sunlight right until the last little fragment of the sun vanishes or appears over the horizon. I have to avoid my shadow, but I can often clone it out if the foreground is crop or grass as the fractal complexity allows me to hide the cloned bits.

The long twilight because I can use the light for up to 45 minutes after the sun has set.

This is my favourite light. The setting sun illuminating the prairie, trees and buildings against black storm clouds. For this one i had to drive like a maniac to get here before the sun went back behind clouds in the west and then set.




This was taken about five minutes later, there was only a sliver of sun peeking through a crack in the clouds and the sun was almost set





The sun had set by this time, probably ten minutes before, and I was shooting north This was a bit of a trial shot as I was not sure I could cover the dynamic range with one shot but I wanted the turbulent clouds and the road.





This is facing south on the same road and position and this would be about fifteen to twenty minutes after sunset. Still a lot of light from the already set sun as it skids along just below the horizon




A half hour post sunset facing east. Still a ton of light. Around the summer solstice here is enough light to comfortably read on my deck until an hour and a half (11 pm) after sunset.

[Wavelength]

WOW...really great...my favorite is the last one

[Dave A]

That last image is a beauty.

Dave

[Mike Buckley]

All gorgeous images! Like you, I also enjoy seeing bright light on a subject against dark clouds.

[John 2]

What a glorious set Trevor. 1, 3 and 5 are standouts for me.

[Wavelength]

I think #3, if brightened up a bit, that will come out as the best?

[terrib]

Nicely done, Trevor. I like them all but especially the golden light in the 1st and the composition of the last.

[bnnrcn]

+1 to Terri's comment. A beautiful set Trevor

[tbob]

All gorgeous images! Like you, I also enjoy seeing bright light on a subject against dark clouds.

I still vividly remember the first time I saw the bright foreground against the black sky as a child. It always has a huge visual and emotional impact on me. More than rainbows.

[tbob]

I think #3, if brightened up a bit, that will come out as the best?

Number three cannot stand much more processing before it enters into the weird zone. I tried it in HDR but I was not satisfied. Horrified would be more accurate This is more a reflection of my tastes than anything else because I hate the weird appearance of some HDR. I looked at several of the presets in the program i use and was wondering; who thinks these are a good idea? A lot of people must if they are offered as options to emulate.

[tbob]

Nicely done, Trevor. I like them all but especially the golden light in the 1st and the composition of the last.

It was the last one I shot. As is my wont I was frozen in place for most of this time and only wandered a few metres to avoid including the truck. As I was packing up it occurred to me that if I went about 100 metres down the road I could get the house in with two sides and the diffuse light would not make deep shadow on the south side . Why this failed to occur to me earlier is anyone's guess (guess laziness or stupidity and you would not be far off the mark).

As you can see, I initially set up to get the house in this orientation as I like this type of setup for these old buildings. Flat on to one side is too boring. However I never twigged to walk down the road until I was leaving. i could have kicked myself as there was great textured cloud to the northeast (what i was trying to get in the third image but could not include with the road as an element)

[purplehaze]

Well done, Trevor! You voiced my own sentiments about prairie living perfectly and you perfectly captured the light.

I had to drive x-country under skies like that Sunday evening and it was killing me not to be able to stop.

[Kaye Leggett]

I love your old houses/barns images - these are no exception.

[Shadowman]

Nicely composed and exposed.

[tbob]

Well done, Trevor! You voiced my own sentiments about prairie living perfectly and you perfectly captured the light.

I had to drive x-country under skies like that Sunday evening and it was killing me not to be able to stop.

The inability to stop drives me crazy, just to dangerous sometimes especially the road I take home as the verge is very narrow and the ditch very deep. And frequently I do not take the camera back and forth to work, especially since we have had a rash of vehicle content thefts recently.

[Dave Humphries]

Good series and narrative Trevor.

Thanks for sharing, Dave

[davidedric]

Great series, but for me the first is what resonates.

This might sound a bit gloomy, but for me it isn't. It's a quote from GK Chesterton's "The Rolling English Road". "And see undrugged in evening light the decent inn of death". I can imagine heading there to lay myself down and rest.

Dave