Hardcore living...

It's 8:11 pm right now and the temperature feels like -1 degrees. The wind is moving anywhere from 14 mph to 19 mph. It's definitely not warm. And about 4 1/2 hours ago it wasn't much better. None the less, I ventured out into the Champaign tundra to shoot the winter sunset. I absolutely favor winter sunsets over snow to summer sunsets. I think there's something about the cold, bright white scenery that magnifies the colors in the sky to be bigger and better than the summer heat can offer.

My expedition began by driving South on 57 to get near the wide open spaces the corn fields offer in the winter time. I spotted groups of small leave-less trees set in front of the horizon. I couldn't pass it up so I pulled over, put my hazards on, trekked down the steep ditch. I was wearing my thick, warm mid-calf Merrel boots; however, with each step I sunk well past the top of the boots. I was in my element shooting cat tails, tall grasses and skinny trees in front of the sunset. After about 10 minutes I looked back at my car only to see a white sedan with red and blue flashing lights. Immediately I'm worried because I couldn't remember if it's been a year since my first speeding ticket (I got a second one sometime in September so if I got a third within a year, I'd loose my license). Anyways, I ran up to the cop car and asked what the problem was. He said he thought the car was abandoned and asked me what I was doing. When I explained to him that I was shooting the sunset because I drove by and couldn't pass up it's beauty, he said that was fine and he understands that it's important. He let me go but told me it's illegal to park on the side of the interstate.

After that I left feeling a little uneasy because I don't usually meet empathetic cops; hence the two speeding tickets in one year. I exited at Curtis Road and traveled deeper into the country. The images I'm going to post were taken at this stop. I found patterns and wrinkles in the snow caused by the wind which were absolutely beautiful. I hope that are just as magnificent in a picture.

Moral of the story...my life motto: You ain't hardcore unless you LIVE hardcore.