day 5

i awoke to fog this morning. while it makes for beautiful early morning shots on the coast, it is awful if you're looking for sparkle in your tide pools. but i was on assignment. documenting the button story was this week's work. i did not give myself the freedom to wander off course. i set up my tripod just as i had five days before and took the final shot.

(this concept of finding a photograph to support a story is very different than finding a story to support a photograph. this has been a good exercise for me. i don't yet understand why it is so different, but i'm thinking about it.)

my job was done. i sat down on the rock and looked at the photo, looked at the buttons, looked at the tide pool. i drew a long breath. i smiled. yes, i'm glad i did this.

i packed up my gear and headed back to the car. about ten paces from the pool, i stopped. here was a button. one i hadn't seen before. sure, other buttons had strayed from the pile, moved around in the pool, but none had travelled like this brave one. i unpacked my camera and took a few shots as an afterthought before heading home.

tonight i have my day 5 comparison shot cued up for my blip. it tells the story. after five days in a tide pool, a pile of buttons spreads to about twice it's original size, about 50% of the buttons get buried and a few stragglers distance themselves by a yard or two. the photo shows all this. but what does it miss?

i blip this photo instead. it shows the fog. it shows the tide pool. it shows the rock where i sat. and most importantly, it shows the one button that didn't follow the pattern. this is the button i will cherish.

(note - follow the path up from the tide pool and you should be able to find it.)