Landscapes are fun. I like landscapes. It's mostly the finding a cool spot that will get exactly the shot you don't have in mind.
To get this shot I walked for about 6 and a half miles at Shakertown, just outside of Harrodsburg Kentucky. After packing about 80lbs of tripod and camera on my back for about three hours, I gave up, finding very little in terms of composition in the harsh midday sunlight.
I headed to Danville where I had an extremely nutritious lunch of four doughnuts from Burke's Bakery. I decided I needed to get out of the city and head somewhere with a little bit of the green rolling hills and Kentucky flavor for a cool shot as the sun went down.
Isaac Shelby's estate - just south of Danville should be cool. Closed. Cool. So lets head further south. I ended up in Lincoln County - named for Abraham Lincoln? Nope. Benjamin Lincoln - whoever that is.
At this point I was annoyed. I'd wasted all afternoon trying to find a great spot to get a cool composition at exactly the angle where the sun would go down and nothing. I headed back towards Lawrenceburg. Got back to Danville and saw a sign for Perryville Battlefield - a Civil War historic site. I've been there before, it's got plenty of hills and a little gravel road takes you all out in the thick of things.
So as I pull in the sun is hitting the tops of the hills. There's no way that pressed for time I'm going to find something cool enough to be photo worthy. I crest the next hill and it's covered in these yellow flowers. I ran the little Camry up the gravel road, grabbed the tripod and jumped out and got this shot. It's one of my favorites so far.
I am 100% a plan the shot kind of guy. I try to plan every little detail out - not just in photo and video work, but in life. I'm one of those that doesn't tend to look too close day to day, but I know where I want to be in six months, or in a year's time. I like to set goals. I like to look forward and plan out what I need to do to get where I need to be.
When I was carrying that bag around Shakertown there was no thought in my mind that my shot would take me to Danville, almost to Somerset, and then happen to be where I was to get the shot I didn't plan for. Sometimes good things happen when you least expect them. Sometimes you just need to be willing to take a chance.
