Letting Go

I was at a photography workshop, wandering through the dunes and looking for different compositions, when the instructor suddenly called out to a few of us.

The wind had picked up, and the light was catching the sand as it blew across the dunes. He told us to grab a longer lens and see if we could capture it.

I switched lenses and ran through the sand trying to get into position.

There wasn’t much time. The light was changing, the gust wouldn’t last, and by the time I found a spot I knew I had only a few moments.

So I stopped thinking about the photograph.

I just started shooting.

There wasn’t time to carefully work through compositions or second-guess what I was doing. I was reacting to the light and the movement in front of me and trusting whatever instinct I’d developed behind the camera.

Not long afterward, the wind settled and the light changed. I barely made it.

Looking back, I think that’s part of why this photograph belongs in Serenity. Sometimes there’s a certain peace in giving up the need to control exactly how something will unfold.

Sometimes you have no choice but to respond to what’s in front of you.