We found a location near the Wyoming border recently that I have wanted to shoot at before the snow flies here in Colorado, and since it is snowing today we were lucky to get it done. Often times what drives me is location rather than subject. I keep a list of locations written down that I see in my travels, and make a note to photograph there at some point. The trick is finding the right subject and concept that matches the location. I may return to an area the next day or a year from when I find it. This area is a group of sandstone spires nestled in the rolling grassy plains of northern Colorado, really unusual to find this type of formation in this area. I recruited Chris, a friend, model and hard core skateboarder and biker for the shot. I knew we would have clouds moving in ahead of our first winter storm, which would add mood to the image. To light this shot of Chris we used two Elinchrom Quadra lights. The main light was to Chris’s left, a strip bank held high on a boom arm. Just off the right side of the frame is another Quadra with the standard reflector to add a highlight to his right side and give some separation to the background. We underexposed the daylight by about 2 stops. Tech: Nikon D3, 24-70mm lens, 1/250 at F8, ISO 100. Contrast was punched up in CS4.