On February 21, 2026, my very best friend in this world, died. And so too, my heart. This photograph happened in the midst of a brief argument between us coming back from a weekend in Missouri. Not really an argument per se, maybe a moment. We’d been driving all day; we were exhausted. I was driving Gary’s truck. I noticed this big, beautiful orange ball in the sky to our left. But what to do with it? An old dirt road beside the highway running along the backside of a massive cornfield provided the answer. My friend was not happy. I’m driving 35-40 mph on a narrow dirt road full of deep crevices and potholes. Time is running out. “Take the damn shot! C’mon Steve take the shot!” the refrain. Finally, I stopped. When I got back into the truck well, I can’t possibly describe the look that was glaring back at me. “I needed context,” I said. As I drove back up onto the Interstate, and the rest of the way home, that became an echo in my head. “I need context.” That was over a decade ago. That moment provided a new direction, purpose, to photograph Central Illinois. Gary requested a framed print of that photograph. It’s the only one that exists and sadly, it's back in my possession.