Bixby in the Blue
I have to admit, this super genius idea belonged to David. I believe his exact words were, “Twilight at Bixby…you almost never see that.”
Now, 100% of the time, I advocate preparation. Have your batteries charged and some spare cards ready. Keep a flashlight and a lens cleaning kit in your bag. With today’s technology being what it is, having a few compass and tide table apps on your phone won’t hurt either. Most importantly, know your camera and strive to be fluent in basic photography concepts so when you’re presented with an opportunity, it doesn’t pass you by.
In the case of this photo, preparation saved my butt. I was asleep in the back seat when David pulled the car over. I literally woke up, threw my coat on, made a few camera adjustments in the warmth of the car (ISO, etc), grabbed my flashlight (because it wasn’t just cold, it was dark and the footing was questionable) and walked briskly to the edge of a cliff. Lol
Now, focusing when its that dark is…um…difficult. Our cameras (and our eyes) use contrast between light and dark points within a scene to determine the proper focus point and a completely low light scene doesn’t have much of that. Thankfully a car, with nice bright headlights drove through the scene helping my old eyes out a little bit.
I took a total of two long exposures (then wimped out and went back to the comfort of the warm car), one of which had a cool shooting star…but for some reason, this version spoke to me more.
So…the moral of the story? You never know what ideas life (or in this case, David) will throw your way. Having a solid knowledge base gives you more tools to handle the unexpected. If you also throw a dash of luck into the mix, you may just walk away with something beautiful! 🙂
SeeingSpotsPhoto.com 
Great shot; definitely worth the hassle of getting into the cold 😉
Greetings, Ron.
haha Yeah,I’m glad I was able to stick it out for a few minutes at least! 🙂
Very cool. I especially like the brighter spot of headlights further away in the photo. Has kind of a fiber optic effect.
Thanks Jerry! I agree, the headlights add something neat to the photo. 🙂
Brave to face the cold for a capture… but then I do think it is a good capture…
Thanks! As I said, the idea belongs to David, but I’m pleased with how it turned out. 🙂
well seen…and well said 🙂
That is one heck of a great shot. Well captured. Would love to see the shooting star. I’ve never seen one before.
Really? It just looks like a line of light in the photo, due to the long exposure. lol I will keep that in mind though…maybe go back and edit it! 🙂
Where did you place the flashlight while taking the pic? Also, did you have a tripod with you? Thanks so much, and this photo crazy-awesome.
The flashlight was just for me walking, so I didn’t fall off the cliff edge. 😉 I did use a tripod. It was the only way to keep the camera steady so that the image (except for the car lights) would be crisp.
Oh!! Got it. So you didn’t use any extra light while taking the photo?
Nope just a long exposure…