Best Seller Blue Sky And Yellow Field, Idaho Perfect For Gifting [wbpfYPtx]

This is one of these pictures that really needs no explanation. So I’ll give you one.

I’ll put it in context.

I had an assignment to photograph Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve. This place is so aptly named that some of the first astronauts were sent there to experience it to prepare them for the moon itself. There is no color there. Everything is gray and if you look very closely you might see colored lichen, but the overall feeling is gray, gray, gray.

I got there early, and watched the light change all day. I was overcome by the bleakness of it and stayed till it closed up. I always thought it was weird that a national monument would close at 6:00. But nothing surprises me with rules and regulations anymore.

I left grumbling to Gabe, my assistant. Gabe was a Honduran Indian, quiet, totally dependable, and mischievous. As we left Craters of the Moon, we turned onto the main road and this image is what I immediately saw.

“Oh my god, color!”

I grabbed my camera, ran across the street, and started shooting. Gabe, usually right beside me, ready with the lenses and cameras, was sitting in the car. (By the way, Gabe could not pronounce Jay so he called me Hay.)

Gabe was always was at my side, so I wondered why he was sitting in the car with a slight smile on his face. This was therapy, beautiful color after 10 hours of gray, I was now really happy. He looked at me as I was shooting, “Hey! Hay! Don’t get too excited. You’re on your last roll of film.”

Note:  I had a large 40x60" dye transfer of this in my gallery. Some guy came over, looked at me, and said, “I know exactly where that is.” I said, “Bulls#[†, you don’t even know what state it’s in.” He looks at me and says, “Idaho, right outside Craters of the Moon.” He made me feel like the presumptuous a$$hole I sometimes am. He made me feel better when he said, “I’m buying that print.” And even better when he actually did.