Friday, September 26, 2008

Then the Policeman Said...


Continued from previous post...
The officer was a long time friend. He shook his head and grinned when he saw who I was. Hubby continued to pretend not to know me. I explained my desire to photograph the sunrise. The policeman opened the microphone fastened to his shoulder and called in a false alarm. Then he said someone had notified them that a radical terrorist in dark clothes was preparing to drop things off the highway overpass on unsuspecting motorists. We both looked at the clouds over the mountains. “Maybe you can come back tomorrow,” he suggested. He spoke to the officer in the other car and then both patrol cars departed. Hubby and I walked home.
Conditions were not good for the great photo for several days. Finally I returned alone. This time I spent very little time at the center of the overpass. The police had better things to do than look for imagined radical terrorists. (Although taking donuts was a great idea, Ann.) Plus the traffic was heavier and it was really hard to keep the camera steady with the thunder and wind of passing trucks. At last I got something close to the photo you see above. I had to help the final result along with Photoshop. Okay, the mountain is not that close, but I was going for a dramatic effect.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

THERE'S A FINE LINE BETWEEN HOBBY & INSANITY


Photography can lead you to strange places. I have been so excited about capturing the moment that I have been chased by dogs, yelled at by farmers and nearly froze my feet off in the snow. After going digital last year the habit has become even worse. Now I have unlimited shots and instant gratification!
For some reason I decided I wanted a photo of the sun rising over the mountain at the end of Main Street on the morning of the equinox. In my mind I could see the silhouette of the peaks with rays of sun reaching skyward and the first light flashing through the notches.
I decided the best view would be from the center of the highway overpass. It was a short walk from our house and sunrise is my favorite time of the day. I even talked Hubby into coming along. We made it to the location with time to spare only to discover the mountains covered with clouds. Hoping they would burn off (yeah, right) in the next fifteen minutes I took my camera and positioned myself over the center of the street to wait. Hubby stopped way down on the shoulder of the overpass and pretended not to know me. The sky grew lighter, but I could tell there would be no sunrise over the mountain this day. I turned around to walk back and saw not one, but two patrol cars with their lights on stopped in front of me. I continued to walk toward them and held my camera up to show them I was harmless. An officer carefully got out the first car and waited for me.
Continued next posting.