Several head-on images of the Pops building and bottle exist--Pops uses one in advertising--but the concept here is subtly different.

Others are generally from much closer and slightly higher, so they fully capture the gas station element, especially the brightly-lit pavement. They also either show the bottle in transition, or with alternating bands of color. And generally they're done near sunset, so the sky is both a point of interest and a lighting factor.

This shot was captured from a ditch across Route 66. Increased distance and lower vantage point minimize the gas pumps and eliminate the pavement. We're facing south and the night sky has lost all detail.

I prefer a uniform color on the bottle, and green works well against a nearly-black sky. It doesn't last more than a second or so, and with the camera on a tripod, I kept making shots every time green came around.

I could hear kids playing on the concrete pods around the bottle, and kept wishing they would leave. Wrong! On this shot, just as the light turned green...he (or she) jumped.