Once in a lifetime

I’ve taken a number of shots that you might call “once in a lifetime” shots, where you just don’t expect to ever capture an image like that again.

And then there are true “once in a lifetime” shots where you know you will never see this again.

Endeavour's last flight
Endeavour flies over Monterey, 2012

Today I had the privilege to witness and shoot such an event.

I was weaned on the Gemini space shots and this is the closest I have ever been to a spacecraft. I wasn’t going to miss it.

Two birds, two waves, and a cat

That’s my submission to the Carmel Art Institute’s “The Magic of Point Lobos” competition and exhibition. All five were accepted and will be on display from September 28 to October 18.

Let’s start with the birds. They are similar shots, a Black-crowned Night Heron and a Snowy Egret, both are tense and searching for food.

Black-crowned Night Heron

The primary difference is that the night heron is on a rock and the egret is on floating kelp. That and the egret is a striking white.

Snowy Egret

The wave shots capture the magnitude of a big wave day at the Reserve. These are days when you feel and smell the waves as you drive in. The first stop is Sea Lion Point, where a few young sea lions missed the memo about getting off the rocks.

Sea Lion Point

Down at Bird Island the waves can get so big that they climb up to join the clouds and generate water falls where they don’t exist.

Big waves

And we finish with the cat. A bobcat in Mound Meadow to be exact, looking very regal like his cousins in Kenya.

Bobcat at Point Lobos