Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Church, New Leipzig

Out on a gravel crossroads a couple of miles from New Leipzig, the Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Church is a classic white prairie church. German-Russian settlers built the church between 1902 and 1905 and added the steeple and bells in 1909. When the church closed in the 1960s, former members bought it to maintain it as a memorial. So it sits somewhere between active parish and abandoned rural chapel. Since it sits out there in the countryside all on its own, the whole church against a huge open sky is just begging to be photographed. Because of all the open space you can move around and experiment with various compositions. Shooting it three-quarters from the front allows you to catch the steeple, the arched entrance, and the old sign on its posts together in a single fram. Low sun creates the best light here so aim to come for sunrise or sunset. That's when the walls warm up and the steeple throws a long shadow. Plus it's an amazing dark-sky gem too, so plan to come for sunset and stay to experiment with astrophotography. A fence and gate ring the churchyard and its little cemetery, and remember to treat it as the memorial site the former parishioners have worked hard to protect. (New Leipzig, North Dakota, United States)