A couple weeks ago, I posted a photo of a sunset from the Niobrara Valley Preserve. In the post, I talked about having to scramble to get into position for the photo before the color left the sky. Barely a week later, I found myself in the same situation again…
This time, I was at home in the evening, playing an indoor game with my 13-year-old son. A rainstorm passed through while we played, and as the storm was moving away, the sky started to light up in one of those Great Plains post-storm sunset spectacles. Mammatus clouds abounded, along with lots of color and texture. As my son and I enjoyed the view through the window, he told me I should really be out taking pictures. I replied that I was perfectly happy enjoying the view with him, and that we were in the middle of a game. A few minutes later, however, the sky was even more spectacular and, since he was insisting, I grabbed my camera and ran for it.
A sky like that deserved a decent foreground, and ideally, I wanted something that could reflect the light. I jumped in the car and drove west toward the nearest wetland (9 miles away). As I drove, I was watching the already-fading color and receding clouds through my rear-view mirror… After what seemed like an hour-and-a-half, I finally reached the wetland and jumped out of the car.
Post-storm clouds over a wetland at Springer Waterfowl Production Area, west of Aurora, Nebraska.
I had time for about one photograph facing east (above) before the color in that part of the sky faded completely. However, there was still a little color to the west, so I hopped over to a different wetland pool and tried to set something up in that direction. I’d pulled on some knee-high rubber boots, which did me no good at all as I waded into thigh-high water…
Last light at Springer.
I managed to shoot a few frames before the light disappeared, and then slogged my way back to the bank and dumped my boots out on the gravel road. Then I squished my way back to the car and drove back home to have a shower.
The Prairie Ecologist 