When my daughter was in college at LSU, we would pass these huge crosses each time my wife and I would visit her. Every time we did, I would think; “I need to photograph those crosses.” Finally, on the last trip to pick up my daughter when she finished her degree program, I took the time to pull off the interstate and make an effort to get a photograph.

What you can’t see in this image is the heat. In Louisiana, we get some hot weather. If you’ve never been here, you’ve probably heard that, but hearing and feeling are two very different things. We arrived at the location well before sunset and I scouted out the angle that I wanted. I knew I wanted the setting sun in the background and I also wanted the reflection of the crosses in the lake (or pond) that is in front of them. Interestingly, you can’t even see the pond from the interstate, so I was a bit surprised that it was even there. It was a welcome surprise as a water feature always makes a photo more interesting – to me at least.

As I waited for the proper moment, sweat was rolling down my check… and back and… well – everywhere, to tell the truth. I was crouched down near the edge of the water, behind my tripod to get a low angle as I wanted that reddish bush in the foreground. I suppose I was kind of stirring up the grass because as the sun sank below the horizon, the mosquitos really started to come out and they were relentless!

It may come as a surprise to learn that there were 4 or 5 people right off to my left who were fishing in the little lake!  I couldn’t help but wonder how they were just standing there with the mosquitos as bad as they were. All the while, my daughter was waiting for me in the car, air conditioner running, and having a good laugh at her crazy father trying to take this photo. She took several photos of me and even made a facebook post about how she had “captured a photographer in his natural habitat!” It was really funny.

Anyway, at the end of the day I got the photograph that was 5 years in the planning and I’m pretty happy with the final result. Good thing too, because I haven’t passed that area in about three years now!