Chasing Light Through the Windshield
It’s almost comical—the light dances perfectly on the horizon, the clouds form dramatic shapes, and you’re… well, you’re stuck gripping the steering wheel, frantically glancing at the rearview mirror as if you could somehow capture that sunset view with sheer willpower. Or worse, you're in the passenger seat, face pressed against the glass, muttering, "If we could just pull over for two minutes…"
Every photographer knows the magic hours: those fleeting moments just after sunrise and right before sunset when the sky erupts in hues of gold, pink, and lavender. But if you're like me, it seems the most jaw-dropping, heart-stopping displays of light always seem to happen when you're stuck in traffic on the way home from the office or barreling down a Texas highway at 75 mph with a strict timeline.
As a photographer, one of my greatest struggles when going out to take photos is whether the lighting will be right and the cloud cover just enough but not too much. However, the most incredible lighting always seems to want to show up and taunt me while stuck in a car with no camera at hand or stopping point for miles.
The frustration and beauty of spectacular light while in the Car
A spacious scenic pull-off in the Davis Mountains
https://www.shanebuckner.com/print-shop/mountainside-turnoff
Why Does It Always Happen This Way?
The simple answer? Timing. Sunrise and sunset are, inconveniently, aligned with commuting hours. Early morning rushes and late afternoon drives are prime windows for both peak traffic and peak golden-hour glory. While you're navigating lane changes or scanning for an exit ramp, the universe seems to conspire against your artistic ambitions. The struggle between your day job and your love for photography collide in those moments.
There’s also something about the way the world looks from the road. Elevated overpasses, reflections in side-view mirrors, and winding highways offer perspectives we don’t often get when we’re stationary. The irony is thick—sometimes the view is better from the car, but the ability to capture it is entirely out of reach.
A shot I managed to capture out the window while my wife was driving over the Coronado Bridge just before sunset.
Our most recent trip so perfectly highlighted this sometimes frustrating conundrum. The first leg of our trip, from Houston to Lubbock, coincided with a beautiful sunset painting the perfectly cloudy Texas all kinds of colorful hues, but with a 2-year old and a 1-year old in the car on this 9 hour trek and ready for dinner, finding a place to pull over and take photos was not on the agenda. I had to content myself with snapping a few photos out the window. Similarly, on the first leg of our return trip, from Durango to Lubbock, we were treated with epic snow clouds over the New Mexico desert, but I could not find a safe place to pull over or find a worthy composition. Every mile we drove revealed a new masterpiece in the distance, and all I could do was watch as the sunset unfolded and continued to change colors in the sky. Those memories will always linger, not in my camera roll, but vividly in my mind.
The Photographer's Dilemma: To Stop or Not to Stop?
Any photographer who's ever traveled knows the internal battle: Do I pull over and risk running late, or do I keep driving and let this moment slip away? So many of those moments stick in my head still. Too many drives home from the office have been accentuated by witnessing the most magnificent lighting in an incredible sky while on a time crunch and nowhere to pull off and find a suitable composition.
Fortunately though, sometimes we aren’t in a time crunch. Sometimes we’re simply out exploring or headed home.
One such time I did have the fortune to have a completely empty schedule for the evening with ample time to pull off and spend a little time behind the camera. At the time, my commute took me down a road that happened to cross some train tracks, and on this day there was an exceptionally long backup from a train blocking the intersection. While I waited in a long line of cars the train to pass, I saw the sun beginning to set. The low lying clouds were turning soft pastel colors. Directly beside me was the entrance to a small park, and I decided to try to find a composition before all of the light was gone. The results were this simple, peaceful composition below.
Other times I have been flying down a highway and miraculously found a quick spot to jump off onto the shoulder and "snap" a shot. These can be the more difficult stops to decide on though, when you’re traveling at high speeds, other cars are flying around you, and you need to make a quick maneuver. So often, the answer is dictated by safety or practicality, but the pang of regret lingers for all the shots not taken. Over time you try to limit those regrets and take every opportunity to pause and slow down for that necessary moment.
Take a breath.
Take in the view.
Marvel at the beautiful world around us.
But here's the thing: Sometimes, it’s okay to just enjoy the view. Not every sunrise or sunset needs to be bottled up in pixels. If you can’t stop, let yourself soak in the beauty. Let the moment inspire you, even if it never makes it to your Instagram feed. It can be such a hard balance to walk as photographers - the desire to capture the beauty that we see with our cameras while also wanting to take it all in and let it inspire us for all future moments we actually can capture.
Quick Tips for Roadside Light Chasers
If you’re determined to capture those fleeting car-bound golden hours, here are a few tricks that can help you make the most of roadside photography opportunities:
Keep Your Camera Accessible: Whether it’s a DSLR, mirrorless, or your phone, have it within arm’s reach.
Use the Passenger Seat Advantage: If you're not driving, roll down the window and shoot however you can.
Scout Ahead: Know where there are safe pull-off points and scenic stops along your route.
Embrace Imperfection: A slightly skewed shot from a moving car is better than no shot at all.
Remember the Moment: Sometimes, the most beautiful scenes are meant to be experienced, not captured.
So next time you're stuck in traffic with the sky ablaze above you, take a breath. Whether you snap a photo or not, you’re witnessing something extraordinary—a fleeting masterpiece painted across the sky, seen only from the unique perspective of the road. And sometimes, simply being there to witness it is enough.
Photo Gallery
Below you will find a myriad of the photos from both recent drives and much older that I have had the pleasure of capturing from in or very near the car. Many of these can be found in my print galleries as well!
