(Originally posted on the website Continuum…)

I wanted to write the conclusion to “The Drummer’s Story” tonight. But after doing some Christmas shopping at the Rockaway Mall and then hanging around at Border’s bookstore until almost 11 PM, I just didn’t have the time to get the article written. I will do it in the next few days. Promise.

Instead, I offer you a gallery of sunset photos. I was going to post these on Christmas day. Since my writing plans were botched for tonight, I will give you the sunset tonight.

When I left work today, this gorgeous sunset was just beginning. I made a quick turn to travel some back roads instead of the highway in order to find a clear vantage point from which to take some photos. Frustratingly, I could not find a suitable place to stop my car along the road and take photos. I drove a few miles to the next town, Lebanon, and proceeded to drive up the hill to Round Valley Reservoir. I thought for sure that I would be able to take some good pictures from there. Nope. I continued on around the reservoir until I finally came to a rise in the road that gave a clear view of the western sky.

The thing about sunsets is that they change rapidly. Often, in the time it takes to move to a good place to take pictures, the peak of a sunset’s beauty could be passed. I was worried that such would be the case with this one today. Thankfully the clouds and aircraft trails were such as to prolong the beauty of this sunset. I was able to find a safe place to stop. I also had time to play around with different exposure settings for a few of the photos.

It pays to carry a digital camera at all times. I have had great photo opportunities so many times and have been able to take advantage of them often because I usually have my camera with me at all times. There have been times when I didn’t have the camera handy and missed some great photos. If you have an interest in photography, I encourage you to keep your camera handy at all times.

There are 21 photos in this gallery: Chasing Down a Sunset. Some of them appear to be repetitive at first glance. However, if you look at all of them you will notice the changes in the sky from photo to photo.