I caught this picture on a day in Santa Cruz after fishing with the misses and my pops. We spent the day fishing off the Santa Cruz wharf. Caught nothing really but small perch. After 3 hours in the sun we decided to call it quits. On our way out the wharf, I remember there being a lighthouse a couple miles north and I asked my dad to take a quick detour to that lighthouse so I could at least come home with some decent shots. There was so little to shoot on the wharf.
But by the time we got to the lighthouse, my eye was drawn to the surfers down below. In fact, it was a specific surfer who drew my attention. The man just sat on his board awaiting the next perfect wave. With my zoom lens I noticed his facial expression of disappointment when he would notice a beautiful wave had just passed him up.
A missed beautiful wave is like a photographer missing THE SHOT. Like a wave, the shot passes us by. And we stare at it as time consumes it. We keep it in our memory for as long as we can keep it, but it passes. And as we dwell in regret we think, "why didn't we give it a go?"
Well, I came home with something and I'm proud to say the surfer did as well. I've always believed in the phrase "Luck is preparation meets opportunity" And as he stood up on the board, I fired my shutter. I never met the guy when he got back to the shore, but I'm damn sure we both went home proud.
