A few years ago, I was looking to take some photos of the New York City skyline. I really didn't know anything about photography, except how to point and click a disposable camera.

I did a little research on the net, and stumbled across Lost America, a website run by Troy Paiva.

Troy has some really, really cool images up. He rides around the desert late at night, recording long exposure photos on tungsten-balanced film. Between the blue cast of the film and the freaky colored lights he uses, his photos of the western United States are amazing. He put a book out a while ago, and I scored myself an autographed copy.

Many of my photos are inspired by Troy's work. Here's an example. This wonderful ride was owned by a colorful fellow named "Cowboy." The shot was taken late at night under the full moon, and a twelve hundred gigawatt spotlight was fired through some colored geletin filters.

Now, in all of the conversations I've had with Cowboy, he never mentioned anything about alien abductions or seeing a flying saucer or anything of the sort. Like I said, however, he was a colorful fellow. I wouldn't be surprised to hear him begin a story, "Bubba, you ain't gonna believe this..."

Wanna learn some more about late-night long exposures? Troy has a How To page.