The glow from my LED powered headlamp generated a circle of calming blueish light as I walked on in high anticipation.
Squelch!
My boot sank out of sight and my leg disappeared up to the knee…
Luckily, I was carrying my tripod and I slammed in down to avoid falling in completely. After an intense struggle, I managed to extricate my leg, foot and boot from the quicksand and retreat a few paces. My heart pounded in my chest…
I had woken up at 2am, and was walking down the beach in the pitch black attempting to capture the milky way. There was no moon and the sky was perfectly clear. My goal was to photograph the lone dead tree silhouetted against the starry night sky. My vision was glorious!
I sat on the edge of the quicksand river, my mind whirling. It was completely black and I was out there all alone with the wind and stars. I vowed to be more careful.
Once I’d caught my breath, I surveyed the surroundings, panning around with my head lamp. It appeared as though some construction machines, that were rebuilding a washed out road, had created a river of pluff mud that was seeping out to the ocean. It was far too wide to jump across, and I really wasn’t interested in trying.
The ground should be more firm by the time the river reached the ocean. Right? I set off down the beach a little more gingerly and sure enough the ground was firm enough to proceed.
Five minutes later I hit another river. This one was so wide that I couldn’t see the end of it. I walked up and down the beach looking to see if there was a place to cross. I even waded in a little way at the ocean side before deciding it wasn’t worth it.
I was so dejected! All the planning and preparation wasted.
It reminded me of the quote by Robert Burns. “Best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry.”
At that point I was ready to go home, and curl back up into my warm bed. The problem was, I had waited for 5 months for the perfect conditions and tonight was perfect. There was no moon, it was perfectly clear, the tide was exactly right, and the Milky Way was lining up nicely.
There are so many excuses keeping you from achieving goals. Sleep, TV, family time, even social media are all good reasons to give up or put it off till another day. Whether your goals are photography, fitness, career or anything else. It pays to stick with it and make the most of any situation.
Instead of heading for the comfort of home, I decided to see what else I could frame the Milky Way against. I liked the lines that the surf was creating up and set up to capture a more simple scene with the focus clearly on the Milky Way (First Image). As soon as I got the tripod set up, the construction machines started up and the high powered construction lights lit up, helping to illuminate the surf. Even though it wasn’t what I originally was after I was very happy with the result.
After being pleased with my original composition I decided to head down the beach to the pier. But the bright lights on the pier were killing the visibility of the stars. I decided to head to another pier and see if conditions were any better. The dim lights on this second pier were just the right level for lighting up the water and the pier.
Even though I hadn’t captured what I set out for, I was very happy with what I came away with. Determination and dedication are essential to reaching any goal. Even though I meticulously planned I still ran into a serious pitfall, but instead of going home I made the most of it and have some different results that I am very happy with.
“If you are out there shooting, things will happen for you. If you’re not out there, you’ll only hear about it.” – Jay Maisell
