One of the (few) benefits of being stranded in an extremely rural spot like Baker, Nevada, is that the night sky is easily visible. With very little light pollution, I was able to clearly make out the Milky Way.
I went out to enjoy the stars and snapped a couple of photos that hardly show half of what I could see. I'll put night sky photography on my list of things to work on.
I Met an Owl
More importantly, what I really want to tell you though, is that I had a close encounter with an owl! It was so, so dark, close to midnight, and I was maybe ten feet from my camper taking mediocre pictures of the Milky Way.
I heard a scuffle behind me, and when I turned around I saw these massive wings about twenty feet away from me. Let's not think too hard about what animal was in this RV parking lot that the owl was after... but it was very dark, and I was a little scared I was next. I turned on my phone's flashlight, and these giant orange eyes stared at me from the darkness before the owl flew off. It was awesome.
Backing up a couple of hours, though...
A Barn at Sunset
Another benefit is that I am a big fan of the barn aesthetic. (Am I a pastoral photographer now? Haha!) This was the view out of my window, and as great as it looked in the daytime, it looked even nicer during sunset.
Whenever you are taking photos of a beautiful sunset, make sure you turn around! Whichever direction you're looking might be mesmerizing, but you could be missing something even cooler happening behind your back. This view is of Wheeler Peak (of Great Basin National Park), and the sunset makes it look like a massive forest fire. (I promise no trees were burned in the making of this sunset.)
There were a lot of rainstorms in the distance, and I think weather is another of my favorite settings to photograph.
