Didn't Intend

I didn't intend to stop at the beach yesterday. Now those of you who follow me on Instagram are probably saying "Yah right Sarah, you go to the beach everyday". But I really don't, I go on Mondays every week, and maybe one or two other times during the week in the winter. Now summer is a different story, but we are a long way from summer.

My intention yesterday afternoon was to do some antiquing. To escape the blinding white of winter shooting, I have been doing some still life photography. I am enjoying the challenge of lighting, prop placement and post-processing. I also found the perfect table to set all this up on, it is the perfect size to nestle next to the north window in our bedroom.

My husband called before I left the house to "check-in" and see what I was up to for the afternoon. I said I was going out. I told him I would probably do some shooting while I was out. Having spent the morning writing, I needed some visual stimulation. Shooting usually means to me, dressed in my winter wardrobe and paisley rain boots, carrying my iPhone. But at the last minute I decided to throw my camera backpack with my Canon in it into the car, just in case I needed more than my phone.

I set off for two antique stores with my mental list of photo props I was looking for. After a couple of hours of wandering the aisles of other people's cast off treasures, I decided to call it a day, not having found one thing that was on my mental list. Although I did find a couple of small, vintage bottles; look for those in future posts.

Leaving the second store I had the intention of stopping at a marshy nature preserve near by. But I was chilled to the bone from wandering this second store, I swear they don't have heat in there, maybe that is to keep the antiques preserved. So even though my car temperature gauge said 37 degrees, I felt damp and chilly, and decided to skip the preserve and return home, start making the soup for supper.

As I was driving along the lakeshore towards home, I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a cop two cars behind me. Why does this always seem intimidating? On that road I will never be guilty of speeding, going too slow is a possibility though. The road to the beach by parent's home was approaching so I signaled and turned off the main road, watching the cop car cruise on past.

This beach of my childhood is filled with memories, and other than the months of July and August it is almost always deserted. Known only to the local and summer people. I turned into the empty parking lot, and parked. I debated about getting out and walking down to the water. Having been warmed by my car's heater for the last twenty minutes, I felt ready to do a little outside wandering. I grabbed my iPhone off the seat next to me, hoping to capture that color combination I love; golden dune grass, gray sky, pale blue water and stark white snow.

I was not the first person to walk the trail over the dune to the water, I followed the trail of footprints. Reaching the shore, I was pleased to see less ice and more water due to the warmer temperatures, but what I wasn't seeing was that perfect color combination I was looking for. Disappointed I began the climb up the dune, returning to my car. As I was slowly driving towards the exit gate, I saw it, the clump of golden dune grass lit up by the weak February sun, set against the sparkling blue-gray lake water. I stopped my car in the middle of the parking lot. Knowing my iPhone wasn't going to get the shot I wanted, I reached into the back seat for my Canon. I fitted my 85mm lens on and stepped around the car to capture the image that gave my heart that fluttering feeling.

*I have been reading my friend Lissa's blog, who I met through Instagram, were she journals about her daily life. She inspires me to record small snippets of my life on a more regular basis. I am working on the small part of it. Her blog is Electric Journal.