As we get older the little things seem to become more important. As I have quickly learned having to get up before sunrise every morning during the week, as so many other people have to do, really gets old. I think it is this mental barrier that makes it incredibly difficult to go out shooting for sunrise, with the exception for out of state trips. Unfortunately it is a very important barrier to break if you want to get better at landscape photography and is something I always find I have to tell myself. This past weekend we had absolutely gorgeous weather up here in Bozeman and I was compelled to enjoy every moment of it.
The great thing about living in Montana is all the old logging and mining towns that make for outstanding subjects in western landscapes. One of my truly favorite places to go is Nevada City. It’s outside of Virginia City only 15 miles from Ennis. It’s a pretty cool town, one which I have visited frequently over the years and from all that time, I can honestly say that winter is the best time to go down there.
The really cool part about this place, technically a tourist attraction, besides the shear size, is that there is a huge railroad station with lots of old cars. As you can see this is the main station where one set of cars is parked. The whole area is surrounded with Cottonwood Trees and between the faded sides of the buildings, the snow and the trees, the scene really does feel like something a century ago.
As you can probably tell with these three shots, I’m shooting towards the East. The sun is coming up and lighting the station as it does. By now you can probably guess how I shot these images and if not I’ll be happy to say that they are 7 image HDR’s. Although I don’t prefer the extra steps involved or the extra files, I do find that the technique is useful and therefore must be practiced. A place like this is perfect for just that because the town just screams opportunity.
In the Camera Bag:
Nikon D3, AF-S 24-70 f/2.8, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film
