Nokomis Beach

Waves, barely six inches high, rolled in upon the sugary white sand as I sat waiting for the light. A family with three dogs played in the surf a hundred yards down the beach, the dogs happily running back and forth though the water. A couple walk by, and as usual, the tripod catches their attention. Even though I’m obviously not taking their picture, their manner takes on an air of self-consciousness. A young woman strolls by, smiles and shoots me the peace sign. I wave back.

Later, as I’m putting away my equipment another woman approaches me and asks me about my camera. She’s confused on which camera to buy, and is rattling off a bunch of specs. She says she doesn’t want to do a lot of digital processing, wants to get it right straight out of the camera. She says that to her, the purity of the process is the whole point. I shake my head and say that for me, the whole point of taking a picture is to take a great picture. I forget to give her my card.

I climb on my bike and ride back through the darkness.