With My Eyes Closed

I reached into the top pocket of my camera bag. The pocket where I always keep my head lamp. Guys like me are always waiting for the last drop of light and it generally leaves you in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a few stars to guide you on your way back home. Alas, I also have a 12 year old son who for some reason or another is always, “borrowing” a head lamp. Therefore, you can conclude that I was on a cliff, in pitch black, with the sun rising in 35 minutes (give or take), with absolutely no light. Ah ha! My trusty iphone. It has a light. Yeah, now if I could only duct tape it to my forehead, I’d have made it in the shade (pardon the pun). It had been over 15 years since I’d been to Acadia National Park and I would have to instinctually find my picture whilst on a wet 30ft cliff using nothing but a sketchy iphone light. I would pop out precariously onto the cliff edges here and there to see if I could gain some semblance of a framed picture. The horizon was starting to show itself, and “feeling” that there was one more promontory point just a few yards further down the coast I headed twisting and turning through rocks and trees to gain access. I could barely make out the frame, but I had to say it, “felt” right. I set up everything and whamo, the light punched through the horizon and lit up my frame with minutes to spare. I never thought the old adage, “…I can do it with my eyes closed…” would ever apply to photography.