On Saturday evening I went out on a spur-of-the-moment photo jaunt just before sunset, with a particular target of opportunity in mind. I wasn’t the only one; as I bolted down a familiar stretch of gravel road I passed a couple camped out in a blind waiting for some critters to pass by. Just as I reached the windmill above I silently lamented the fact that I’d pretty much missed the sunset. Experience has taught me that sunlight does some pretty cool things just as the sun traverses the horizon, so I kept shooting anyway.

I’m sure glad I did. The photo above, which I’d dismissed at the time due to the waning sun and lack of available preparation time, is actually the first one I snapped and pretty much my favorite. The colors and detail I drew from this shot were a pleasant surprise once I got home and fired up the computer. There’s plenty more, too.

This shot is looking the other way just a few minutes later, while the sun is still giving a pink and purple cast to the sky in its wake. I used an off-camera flash to take advantage of the reflective blades of the windmill while using a slow exposure to soak up the remaining light. The way this shot turned out was another very pleasant surprise.

There have been times where I’ve rolled up to a location and given in to frustration because the conditions weren’t what I wanted or expected. This is a great example of why a person should always continue clicking away on that shutter, because there’s a good chance some unexpected photos like this may result. Kind of like the phrase, “you go to war with the army you’ve got,” you’ve got to shoot in the conditions you’re given. Do what you’ve trained to do, and come home to discover what you may not have seen through the viewfinder at the time.