Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Drive-by Sunsets

Outside, daylight was bleeding slowly toward dusk. ~ Stephen King

driveby 

sunset2

It was a lovely time of day. That hour just before the sun lowers itself behind fields and fences, silos and barns. The  only way to snap multiple silhouette images of the changing landscape was to sit in the passenger seat of the car, on our way home toward the south. This allowed me the perfect view to the west and the setting sun.

drive by 

penninsula
Before the dusk began to greet the day, there were a few drive-by scenes which caught my eye, Among them, this lovely but cluttered peninsula with its colourful trees showing off what's left of their best autumn attire.




driveby 

colourful
The sun was shining proudly on this little bay, saturating its colours with rich, warm hues.




driveby 

sunset horse
Before too long, it ws difficult to make out disticnt details of the countryside, but my camera still picked out this grazing horse. You might need to squint.




driveby 

sunset cattle
Well, if you could see that horse, how about this cattle? They're way over on the udder side of the field.




driveby sunset trees
Bare trees look quite dramatic with the sun setting behind them.




driveby 

sunset barn trees2
Many of the barns look the same whe the night steals away with its hues and shades.




driveby sunset barn and trees
Quite a few of them are worn down enough to allow at least some sunlight to shine through them.




driveby sunset through old barn2
And some - quite a bit.




driveby barn 

sunset
Before long (several dozens of photos), it became too dark to focus on the countryside. This was my last shot from a most amusing drive home. At least for the passenger.

More coming up soonish.

72 comments:

Meri said...

The one with the bare trees is spectacular -- they're all wonderful, but that one especially grabs me.

chariskalee said...

Stunning! You never fail to amaze and inspire. THanks for sharing Hilary!

Out on the prairie said...

I am enthralled with the bare trees, but like the light coming through the building the best.

Kerry said...

The landscape has an end-of-autumn feel to it, almost winter? And then those fiery skies, oh my! Beautiful.

Nadezda said...

Hilary, you've got a perfect camera. I love the photo of the sun rays going through the house window. Great!

ADRIAN said...

You have taken full advantage of the best time of the year and the day.

Glo said...

Sunset and your eye go together so well. Perfect snaps as the sun slid away ~ got a chuckle out of the udder side of the field. ;) Just brilliant photos.

Dave said...

Interesting photos Hilary. I specially liked the one of the sun shining through the house. I also copied the one of the house by the lake for wallpaper on my desktop - Dave

Aritha V. said...

Its amazing. I love the dark red light in your pictures. So warm. For me, watching your photos is a trip ... to another world.

Sueann said...

Fabulous sunsets!! Great captures!
Love the "through the barn" shots.
Hugs
SueAnn

Brian Miller said...

oh my...i absolutely love the one with the horse...just gorgeous pics...love old barns as well...

Leave It To Davis said...

OOOO, this was WONDERFUL!!! The horse's mane helps you to see him. I didn't see the cattle until you said way over there on the udder side (lol...you're funny!)...oh, on the horizon! I love the way the sky is still breaking through the clouds up at the tip top of the picture in this last one. It's kind of like the sky is looking under the covers to see if the world is going to sleep yet. Night Night!

Friko said...

Cows against the fading light.

Some wonderful silhouettes here, Hilary.

sage said...

Great photos--this time of the year the sunsets often seem more dynamic

Leah J. Utas said...

Such rich views. Gorgeous pics.

Bob Bushell said...

Oh, they are the best, the sunsets, honest, I really do. Wowee.

CorvusCorax12 said...

wonderful photos, i think the first one is my favourit

solarity said...

Cows going home at dusk is always a powerful image, and you captured it perfectly. All the shots are lovely, but that one speaks to my heart.

Mary Anne in Kentucky

Gary's third pottery blog said...

OH THAT HORSE! Lovely. I have also heard that some of the clouds you have pictured are called mare's tails :)

DJan said...

As usual, they are all wonderful and a feast for the eyes, but I love the first one and the silhouette of the horse at sunset... glad you brought me along in your drive-by shooting. :-)

Anvilcloud said...

Nice shots of the light coming thru the barn.

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

The sky in that first one gives the illusion of speed, but the tree in sharp focus is in direct contrast to that. Of course I saw the horse...without squinting...the sunset was secondary for me. :) It looks as if the moon is peeking out above those bare trees. Wonderful captures of the sunset shining through the buildings. These are amazing drive-bys. Are you sure Frank didn't stop the car for each of these shots?

Daryl said...

lovely ... all of them

TexWisGirl said...

you take better photos on the fly than most folks do standing still. :)

Kerri Farley said...

Awesome HIlary..... that shot "thru" the house is absolutely amazing!

Mental P Mama said...

I am always a sucker for a barn. These are gorgeous!

Jayne said...

Wow- this installment reminds me of the French impressionists who, with their multi-hued palettes, captured the same scene throughout the day. These are stunning photos, Hilary. I especially like the sun's orange, evening glow streaming through the barn boards. Beautiful. :)

Jayne said...

"...throughout the day in different light I mean to say! ;)

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

Thank you for sharing your observation of the drive and the end of the day. I just love the barn shots. I can feel the night coming on in these. Beautiful.
Thank you for your comments on our Odin post. I appreciate your kindness. Oma Linda

Laura said...

so beautiful dear hilary...I love drive by photos... and to watch the rapid change of light and mood as the sun sets or rises. Thank you for sharing this journey.

messymimi said...

"The udder side"! You have my sense of humor (groan). ;)

Gail Dixon said...

Truly beautiful images. Brightened my day considerably. Thank you. :)

L. D. said...

It looks like you had some creative fun as the sun keep creeping down from the sky. A lot of great shots that you have taken. I really enjoys seeing them in sequence.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Drive-by shooting can be very enjoyable. I used to do it as well.You ended up getting some great shots.

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh these are INCREDIBLE I love your passenger shots. Love the barn ones with the trees so mysterious and beautiful. I am in awe of all this beauty thank you for sharing the. I am in Ontario also. B

LindyLouMac said...

What a beautiful series of photos, thanks for calling by my own photography blog recently and commenting.

Suldog said...

I love that shot of the peninsula. I never realized, until right now, how much I'd like to have one of those in my backyard. Seriously. It would be so cool to sit there, surrounded by water on three sides, and greet the dawn (or the dusk, as the case might be.)

stephen Hayes said...

Sunset is that time of day when God breaks out his most expensive colors to paint his landscapes.

Rita said...

Gorgeous shots, as usual--but I love-love-love the one with the bare trees!! :)

Barb said...

Oh I really love the cow one! I like how in a certain light everything looks like a fairy tale.

Kat said...

Beautiful. I can't look at a beautiful sunset without seeing God.

Frank Baron said...

So THAT'S what I missed while keeping my eyes on the road....

Very nice. :)

cheshire wife said...

The colours are wonderful and the sunsets spectacular at this time of year.

photowannabe said...

Love the late afternoon sun and how mellow it makes everything.
Beautiful silhouettes too.
Of course the cows are udderly spectacular. Spell check sure didn't like my spelling of udderly.

Liz Mays said...

I'm just not sure I'd ever want that drive to end. Beautiful!

Jo said...

The silhouettes are beautiful in the last few images...it could be Anywhere, the barns and rolling landscape are so familiar. The ombre sky in the final image is just amazing.

And you shot these from a car!

Red said...

That was a great ride! Nice shots of sunset and the things in the sunset.
Udder side! I caught ya!

SandyCarlson said...

I love what you've done here. There's nothing like the intense shades of orange in a sunset. You are a master at these drive-bys!

Indrani said...

You have an amazing collection.

Steve Gravano said...

Beautiful collection, the sky in the first photo is awesome. My favorite is the grazing horse sunset!

Pearl said...

While I agree that the colors/the light is beautiful, I've always been afraid of this time of day.

I have no idea why. Something, perhaps, about the loss of sight. Do I subliminally worry that I'll go blind some day?

Pearl

Reb said...

I love drive by shootings...well, this kind anyway ;) Love the barn with the sun shining through it. Well done.

Unknown said...

Hi Hilary: What a coincidence! Last night, I watched "The Graduate" (Directors Cut) with Dustin Hoffman and Katherine Ross commenting on how director Mike Nichols was using revolutionary lighting techniques. This post has many of those techniques with the lighting, and reminded me of how cool your talent is!

Betty Manousos said...

oh my word!
absolutely exquisite shots!!

i really like that one with the cattle.
a-ma-zing!! but they are all great!

i love the golden hour it is the best time to take pictures.

big hugs!

Rosemary Aubut said...

Wow gorgeous shots! Hard pressed to pick a favorite! Great ride home!

Vagabonde said...

Thanks for coming to my blog and sorry that I did not come to yours sooner. We had an illness in the family then we went on a long trip –now I am trying to catch up. I looked at your posts – you published some stunning pictures with fall foliage. Autumn is my favorite season and I love watching all the glorious colors, which we still have here. It seems that this year fall lasted longer than usual.

Wendy said...

Spectacular sunset shots! I love taking pics of the golden-orange sky as the sun sets in the evening (and earlier and earlier these days).

Those tiny cows were hard to see - the horse too. I wonder how farm animals manage at night out in the udder darkness of night. ha.

Murr Brewster said...

I think I have a setting on my own camera that, when I try to take these kinds of pictures, produces a saturated landscape with "WTF" barely visible in the background. Good job.

Anonymous said...

Oh, what beautiful light!

Dianne said...

bare trees in silhouette are amazingly beautiful
and your capture of them does them justice

the top shot is incredible

Scott Law said...

A beautiful sunset and you did such a great job of including so many interesting elements including the grazing horse with the faint lighting on the edge. I was udderly disappointed that I didn't see the cows though ;^) .

Lynne with an e said...

These are extraordinary drive-by shots. What a glorious sunset! I love the silhouettes: animal vegetable and wooden. The first picture of the two barns really lights up my life!

Reena said...

Oh Hilary, these are so gorgeous!

Unspoken said...

The beauty you photograph is my favorite kind of outdoor beauty--lush and colorful.

Gorilla Bananas said...

It's not quite gorilla country, but it's pretty fine to look at.

Don said...

Riding off into the sunset... so cinematic.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that second to last shot of the sun streaming through the barn is amazingly dramatic!

Barbara said...

These are glorious! And to know they were drive-by's...well, I'm very impressed!

Barbara said...

oh, and 'udder' side... love it! hehehe.

lime said...

breathtaking. i love the bare trees silhouette best. aaahhhhh

Pauline said...

This post was pure poetry!

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

The "udder side of the field" Hahaha

You never fail to bring a smile to my face, whether from your beautiful photos, prose, or glimpses of faces from your neighborhood.