There is a lake not far from where I live that frequently has good reflections at sunrise or sunset. I have dreamed of capturing a sunset there with colorful linear cloud features that could just pull the viewer into the scene. Last winter, it finally happened—a dream come true! As the day came to a close, I could see lines of clouds in the sky, and some color from the setting sun was beginning to reflect off the clouds. I had been disappointed in the past with such conditions, but I thought it was worthwhile to at least check it out.
This time, I was not disappointed. But there was a potential problem when I arrived. The lake is inside a gated county park that closes at sunset. The security guard was just getting ready to lock the gate and asked me to leave. I told him that I just needed 5 minutes to set up the shot and take a few photos. He reluctantly agreed to wait the 5 extra minutes, so there was no time to waste, plus I didn’t want to lose the color in the clouds.
I immediately ran over to the spot near the lakeshore that would best fulfill the vision I had in my mind. It was obvious that a wide-angle lens would be needed to capture the image, so I knew that my wide-angle zoom lens would be necessary. Fortunately for me, that lens was already on the camera. I put my camera on my tripod and began shooting. Since I had, even years ago in my imagination, seen the image that I wanted, I was able to quickly set up. I thanked the man for letting me stay the extra few minutes, jumped in my car, and headed home with some unforgettable photos.
