In August of 2017, I was fishing for walleye at Bark Lake. According to the weather forecast, there would be cloudy skies at sunset (20:01). An hour before sunset, I took my boat out to an isolated island not far from the lodge, a 15-minute ride.

I knew that at this location, the scene would have few elements: the cloudy sky, the forested shorelines leading to the narrow passage, and the vast open water space mirroring the other elements.

After landing on the island, I installed my tripod, the camera and the cable release on the shoreline.

I composed the image using a 16 mm focal length. To add texture to the clouds, I installed an ND filter. As always, using my live time feature on my camera, I knew I would have a perfect histogram (ETTR). At 20:33, the camera was exposed for 20 seconds to capture the scene. There was so much blue in the composition it seemed unbelievable. A few minutes later, the outfitter called me on my CB and asked me if I was OK and able to return safely in the dark.

On my boat, I had GPS and lighting to navigate safely at night. Security and planning are essential for that type of photography.

These isolated locations in nature offer great opportunities to seize magic moments.