The Solitude of Self Nocturnality

The Solitude of Self Nocturnality, originally uploaded by Fort Photo.

A self-portrait of me "piering out" over East Lake at Newberry Crater National Volcanic Monument in central Oregon (I'm the shadow figure at the end of the pier, easier to see on the large view).

I often spend hours after dark perfecting settings for my night photography, that time gives me plenty of opportunity to experience a pure feeling of solitude. I virtually never see another person (save for my patiently sleeping wife off to the side on our cot) and am left to soak in the sensory elements of sensations from the night.