Have you ever had one of those days when the universe seemed to align itself and everything just fell into place so beautifully it almost made you want to cry? Well, I had one of those days last Wednesday. I'm on spring break from my teaching job, so I decided to get up early and head out to Point Loma Lighthouse. I know that if I get there when the gate opens there are usually not so many people around and the light is great for photography.
As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw only a few cars. Good! All the more for me. I grabbed my camera and headed up the hill to the lighthouse. From the parking lot it looked fantastic! When I reached the lighthouse, it was perfectly quiet. I looked but saw no one, except a worker repairing the roof of the oil shed next to the lighthouse. "Good morning," I said. He smiled and said, "You picked the best day of the year so far to be here. There's no wind today which is very unusual." He was absolutely right. The wind has always been a problem when I've shot at the lighthouse in the past. There's only a short time that the flowers are in bloom and with the wind it makes it difficult to shoot. But today it seemed that all the little blooms were smiling at me saying, "Oh, please take my picture!" I happily obliged.
I walked all around the lighthouse finding all my favorite angles to shoot. Inside I climbed the narrow circular stairs and up the metal rungs to get a shot of the lens. I've never been able to do that in the past, because there are always so many people crowded up there trying to get a look at it. Then I set my focus downward on the stairs. I had to adjust my ISO with the dim light, but I was able to get a couple of nice shots. What bliss to be able to take my time instead of being crushed by so many tourists and waiting, waiting, waiting until I might have a clear view.
At the bottom of the stairs, I backed myself right into the center of the stair well in order to get a shot out the front door looking at the ocean. I could hear click, click, click, click, click above me and I thought to myself that some other lucky photographer had also picked the right day to come to the lighthouse. We talked for a few minutes and exchanged websites. Photographers are so willing to share and be helpful. I enjoy meeting them when I'm out. There is never an attitude of competition or not enough to go around. There is an ethic among photographers like I have never seen in any other field in which I've worked. A couple of days later the photographer sent me a photo of me that I had no idea he had taken. It's pretty cool. Thanks Marcos for sharing. I love the photo.
Ah, yes, the universe aligned for me last Wednesday and I had a fabulous time. I have some great shots on my website. You can check them out at elizabethheathphotography.com. Now go forth and do something fabulous that you love whether the universe is aligned for you or not!
