Have you ever gone out to shoot and had one awesome night of impeccable photos? If you have that is awesome, I on the other hand have only had one of those instances in my photography career and it just so happened to be a few weeks ago. I have spent countless hours post processing ALL of the pictures. Usually I just look for the best and move on, however, this night of photography could not have been more amazing!
I had just finished a 12 hour day of tiling a portion of my living room, re-calking the bathroom, and mowing the lawn. I wanted to crash on the couch, however, the thought of taking advantage of an empty house prompted me to get my ass out and take some pictures. My wife and son went to her parents to get away while I demolished the living room to lay the tile. Normally I would prefer to hang out with my family than go take pictures. Since they were gone it made my decision a lot easier.
Many people reading this are probably thinking, “Dude, you mean you could have sat on the couch in your boxer briefs with a bowl of Cheetohs while you watched re-runs of the Walking Dead with a six pack of beer, guilt free, but instead you went out and took pictures?” Yes I did, and I am glad I made that decision too!
I started out heading to Kansas City via HWY 169, to 35 to Broadway. There is a beautiful Catholic Church there. I have always wanted to shoot the interior, but there is always a wedding or some buzz going on. Like any ordinary occasion, there was a wedding going on! I could only shoot the exterior and I was okay with that.
I made my way out to the Liberty Memorial which presents any visitor with the most breathtaking view of our lovely city. I had gotten very lucky on this particular night. While I was mowing the lawn I noticed a huge rain cloud heading my way accompanied by a bitter chill that brought the temperature from 89 to 75 in a matter of minutes. I was for sure this storm would wreak havoc on us, but it decided to turn West at the last minute. This made for some amazing cloud formations that lingered around Kansas City.
On my way out to Kansas City I saw three rainbows in various spots. I pulled up to the Liberty Memorial greeted by one to the North of the city. I missed it by several seconds as my gear was not quite set, but shortly after another appeared to the East. It was incredible, the cloud formations, rainbows and colors, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
I spent a couple of hours at the memorial snapping away. I ignored my bladders urge to want to leave and stayed for the sunset. I met a fellow photographer, David, there who made it a lot easier to hang around. It is always nice meeting someone with a common interest in photography and sharing your knowledge with one another.
In the end, after post processing all of the pictures, I don’t know what was more on point that night, Camran (my lovely Canon 6D) or the epic landscape event that continually unfolded surprises all around me? Either way, I will not look a gift horse in the mouth. I am very glad I decided to get off my ass and avoid the urge to watch the Walking Dead in my underwear, although that may have been just as epic!
I was so inspired by all of these images I decided to order a 20 page 5×7 book from Artisan State. They have an awesome lay flat book for only $10!
4 pictures combined into one to show the 2 hours of awesome clouds that were present that night.
For Blake, it's all about the art and process synergy. He dives deep into complex topics and makes them easy to understand through his outside-the-box thinking so that you can use these tricks in your workflow today!
