How We Got The Picture: Warm elements combine for last-minute photo

It was near the end of one of those long, warm, calm summer days when I got the call to find a weather feature for the next day's Page 3.

In the newspaper business, story publication plans can change at the last minute and photos need to switch out with the stories. In this case, we needed something to add visual appeal to the local news page. So I went to a location where I had been trying to make a picture for several weeks. The conditions had never been quite right. But on this day, the elements came together.

I launched my drone and hovered over the stream that flowed beside a bicycle trail in Algonquin and maneuvered to include the setting sun reflected on the surface of the water. I waited for a jogger or walker or bicyclist to come into my frame as I stood in the shadows away from the trail.

Battery life is limited on the drone, so I was anxious, thinking time may dwindle before anyone comes by. When a colorful pair of bikers zipped into the picture with long shadows following them, I was relieved.

The picture later won an award from the National Press Photographers Association.