I have been to my local beach several times since the Huntington Beach oil spill and reflecting on Even though I live quite a distance up the coast from the Huntington Beach oil spill, I can’t help but reflect on what has occurred and the impact on “Mother Nature”. Last night, I think Mother Nature was speaking back to us.
For some reason, I decided to go outside one last time right as the sun was descending toward the west. Looking up, I noticed some beautiful cloud formations unlike any I’ve seen in a while. They almost looked like some pre-storm clouds I used to see while living in Kansas. At this moment, I was more interested in how those clouds would in more open area by the beach. So I packed my camera in the car and headed down to my neighborhood beach.
Most beach goers were gone for the day and the parking area was empty. I parked and made my way down a path toward the beach. Coming to the clearing in the path which opened to the beach, there appeared a glimmer of lightning over the channel islands. Moving quickly, my mind was racing… Lightning?
As I was setting up, the clouds were developing into interesting formations, surrounding the rather calm sky above my head. Should I take time lapse? Do I know a good setting? Fast exposure or slow? Which way should I point my camera? Ultimately, I tried it all. Camera up, time lapse… check… no good. Try again, refocus…whoops more action to the right side. As I quickly, randomly move about constantly switching, I was also taking a bit of time just to watch in wonder of the beauty in the sky. Finally, I decided to slow down and take a bit of time on my settings, lens filter, and composition. Click…… the I saw a huge strike straight ahead and I knew that was Mother Nature showing me her smile. Then, with a bit of common sense, I decided to quickly pack my gear and walk toward safer grounds.
By the time that I returned to my car, the parking lot was full, and neighbors were walking down the roads heading toward the beach to enjoy the wonders of nature. She feeds our souls and we need her. The rare lightning was her message to “Wake up, humans!”
Thank you mother earth 🙂