During my quest to photograph the state capitols, I will usually arrive in town in time to catch the late light just before sunset. Then, I have a second shot at the early light just after sunrise the next morning. I don't always know which direction the front of the building faces (I really need to do more research on this!), so often times just one of the two photo shoots offers any useful images.

I arrived in Iowa City about an hour before sunset and drove directly to the Capitol. The golden lighting couldn't have been much better on the golden dome of the Iowa Capitol:

Golden domeGolden dome of the Iowa State Capitol building at 1007 E Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on August 18, 2013.

It's good to be on location when the building is illuminated against a colorful sky. When the sky is completely black, the scene gains too much contrast and most of the color gets lost. This photograph was captured the next morning just before sunrise:

Iowa State CapitolIowa State Capitol building at 1007 E Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa on August 19, 2013. This photograph consists of three exposures blended together using HDR Efex Pro2 software to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image.

I arrived in Carson City early in the evening last August--in time to photograph the Nevada Capitol before dark.

Nevada State CapitolNevada State Capitol building at 101 N. Carson Street in Carson City, Nevada on August 13, 2013. This photograph consists of five exposures blended together using HDR Efex Pro2 software to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. I was glad I made it there that evening as this image would not have been possible the next morning. Capturing a photograph of this building is very challenging because of all of the trees positioned directly in front of it. In the morning, the entire scene is backlit.

I also had two tries at the South Dakota Capitol in Pierre. During the evening, the front of the building was nicely lit:

South Dakota State CapitolSouth Dakota State Capitol building at 500 East Capitol Avenue in Pierre, South Dakota on July 24, 2013. This image consists of five exposures blended together using HDR Efex Pro2 software to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. But, the photograph of the South Dakota Capitol was more dramatic the next morning as a thunderstorm rolled in during sunrise:

South Dakota State CapitolA storm rolls in at dawn at the South Dakota State Capitol building at 500 East Capitol Avenue in Pierre, South Dakota on July 25, 2013. This image consists of five exposures blended together using HDR Efex Pro2 software to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image. I wanted a picture of the dome of this capitol, but the flag pole was in the way. To lower the perspective of the flag, I needed to get further away from the building. To get this next photograph, I drove three blocks away and put a more powerful lens on my camera. The flag pole dropped out of view:

South Dakota State Capitol domeDome of the South Dakota State Capitol building at 500 East Capitol Avenue in Pierre, South Dakota on July 25, 2013. Of course, the more tries that you get to shoot a scene, the better the chances are to capture the photograph. That's what makes shooting around where you live so advantageous.