After a period of attempting to self-quarantine, during which we manged to get our grocery shopping trips down to approximately every two weeks (which I'm pretty pleased with)... the rest of our contact with society while significantly reduced which has been both a blessing and a curse.
I have completed a number of house projects uninterrupted which has been absolutely wondeeeeerful.
I didn't realize how much social obligations such as dinner out and weekends at friend's were eating into my projecting time! Don't get me wrong, there are things (people?) I miss and I certainly don't want to be quarantined forever but it has been kind of nice to be able to step back, take a deep breath and tackle some of the things that don't usually make it onto the list.
This step back has allowed me to take a closer look at things and living in a house with two other women, well don't let anyone fool you, the future should not be all female. There needs to be a happy medium in which we temper and balance each other out... male/female/everyone in between - because despite being lucky enough to have a significant amount of room per person in this house... lets just say it was past time for an outing.
And so with the tentative lifting of some of the beach and trail bans we made our way down to San Clemente. We arrived just as the sun slipped quietly below the horizon and settled in to wait. The Ninja having never seen bioluminescence before was edgy and excited but without really knowing what to look for or what to expect.
In contrast the beach and ocean had a completely calming effect on me. Soothing my soul the way the outgoing waves in their chaotic motion smooth the sand and wipe it clean. This was my reset, and having grown up near the ocean I was content to settle in and wait. It will be time when it's time.
The thing with bioluminescence is that everything has to be just right. It needs to be relatively dark, with no moon light because even that light will drown out the magic.
As it grew darker I started to get excited though and went down to the water to check a couple times to no avail, finally to burn off some energy decided to go for a wander down the beach. A little further away I thought it was a trick of the light at first, that in my excitement I was seeing what I hoped to see rather than what was actually there... but no, there it was again! We were in the right place, at the right time and the conditions were perfect!!
I went and got the Ninja and her Mom and settled in to attempt to take some pictures. Of course, I forgot my tripod, and after cursing the photographer with his light that was so bright he could probably see what I was thinking I later realized he was using it to adjust his focus... *le sigh* perhaps I'll bring my own "see into the future" flashlight next time *note to self.
After fiddling with settings, and taking photos on long exposure without breathing I think I ended up with about 3 out of 50 that while nowhere near magazine quality are all mine. There is a certain satisfaction to that, and maybe next time I'll be able to get some better ones.
It was interesting, often I spend a lot of time behind the lens and end up with hundreds of similar pictures, but knowing that this would be difficult to capture on film, and in my case more likely luck than anything else... I spent more time just watching it. You see, it's the motion that makes it magical, the way the light chases itself along the wave like slow sheet lightning that is difficult to capture in a still photo... my respect to those photographers who have managed it - I've seen some shots infinitely more awesome than these.
Oh and note to self - if you're going to leave the camera bag above the high tide line... leave it even higher than you think you need to.
I had just convinced the Ninja to take her shoes off and venture out into the sand where the ocean meets the shore, so I could scoop up some of the incoming wash and swoosh it around in my hands to show her the bioluminescence up close, when I realized that the next wave was "Comin' in hot!" We both backpedaled and I sprinted up the beach stretched out as far as I could dug my hands in under my camera bag and flipped it as far as I could gently!
It was enough.
The ocean kissed my camera bag and I ended up with sand everywhere but the camera itself survived yet another close encounter with nature. Horseshoes... seriously horseshoes. Some are born with charm others with good looks, I'm pretty sure I was born with horseshoes ;)
Damp up to mid-thigh with sand in places that never touched the beach we called it a night before we got cold and made our way back up to our rock-star parking. The mood had significantly improved from the ride down with small smiles of wonder gracing the corners of our mouths, testament to having experienced a natural wonder in person.
Thank you mother nature for few more magical moments to add to my collection.
I have completed a number of house projects uninterrupted which has been absolutely wondeeeeerful.
I didn't realize how much social obligations such as dinner out and weekends at friend's were eating into my projecting time! Don't get me wrong, there are things (people?) I miss and I certainly don't want to be quarantined forever but it has been kind of nice to be able to step back, take a deep breath and tackle some of the things that don't usually make it onto the list.
This step back has allowed me to take a closer look at things and living in a house with two other women, well don't let anyone fool you, the future should not be all female. There needs to be a happy medium in which we temper and balance each other out... male/female/everyone in between - because despite being lucky enough to have a significant amount of room per person in this house... lets just say it was past time for an outing.
And so with the tentative lifting of some of the beach and trail bans we made our way down to San Clemente. We arrived just as the sun slipped quietly below the horizon and settled in to wait. The Ninja having never seen bioluminescence before was edgy and excited but without really knowing what to look for or what to expect.
In contrast the beach and ocean had a completely calming effect on me. Soothing my soul the way the outgoing waves in their chaotic motion smooth the sand and wipe it clean. This was my reset, and having grown up near the ocean I was content to settle in and wait. It will be time when it's time.
The thing with bioluminescence is that everything has to be just right. It needs to be relatively dark, with no moon light because even that light will drown out the magic.
As it grew darker I started to get excited though and went down to the water to check a couple times to no avail, finally to burn off some energy decided to go for a wander down the beach. A little further away I thought it was a trick of the light at first, that in my excitement I was seeing what I hoped to see rather than what was actually there... but no, there it was again! We were in the right place, at the right time and the conditions were perfect!!
I went and got the Ninja and her Mom and settled in to attempt to take some pictures. Of course, I forgot my tripod, and after cursing the photographer with his light that was so bright he could probably see what I was thinking I later realized he was using it to adjust his focus... *le sigh* perhaps I'll bring my own "see into the future" flashlight next time *note to self.
After fiddling with settings, and taking photos on long exposure without breathing I think I ended up with about 3 out of 50 that while nowhere near magazine quality are all mine. There is a certain satisfaction to that, and maybe next time I'll be able to get some better ones.
It was interesting, often I spend a lot of time behind the lens and end up with hundreds of similar pictures, but knowing that this would be difficult to capture on film, and in my case more likely luck than anything else... I spent more time just watching it. You see, it's the motion that makes it magical, the way the light chases itself along the wave like slow sheet lightning that is difficult to capture in a still photo... my respect to those photographers who have managed it - I've seen some shots infinitely more awesome than these.
Oh and note to self - if you're going to leave the camera bag above the high tide line... leave it even higher than you think you need to.
I had just convinced the Ninja to take her shoes off and venture out into the sand where the ocean meets the shore, so I could scoop up some of the incoming wash and swoosh it around in my hands to show her the bioluminescence up close, when I realized that the next wave was "Comin' in hot!" We both backpedaled and I sprinted up the beach stretched out as far as I could dug my hands in under my camera bag and flipped it as far as I could gently!
It was enough.
The ocean kissed my camera bag and I ended up with sand everywhere but the camera itself survived yet another close encounter with nature. Horseshoes... seriously horseshoes. Some are born with charm others with good looks, I'm pretty sure I was born with horseshoes ;)
Damp up to mid-thigh with sand in places that never touched the beach we called it a night before we got cold and made our way back up to our rock-star parking. The mood had significantly improved from the ride down with small smiles of wonder gracing the corners of our mouths, testament to having experienced a natural wonder in person.
Thank you mother nature for few more magical moments to add to my collection.
