Dating : Sunset Over Narragansett

After a fun-filled day of taking photos and seeing the sights in Newport, Rhode Island, we had just finished packing up the cameras and were heading back to home-base when I looked out the car window and noticed a full “Ice-bow” halo around the setting sun. Wow! And to make it even better, the halo had an immaculate mirror image of itself reflecting off the calm waters of Narragansett Bay. Gorgeous!

For a brief moment I was not thinking about photography, but was only admiring the beauty and spectacle of this rare occurrence. It was perfect; dark storm clouds, setting sun, ice-bow, tranquil waters, reflections, sailboats. What more could you ask for?

Suddenly I remembered that I’m a photographer on a cross-country photo expedition, and we could not get the car stopped quick enough to catch this once in a lifetime shot.

As the halo was starting to become obscured by the oncoming storm, I jumped out of the still moving car, stumbling and almost falling on my face, while at the same time trying to attach the lens back onto my camera. Not an easy task, mind you, but I accomplished it as I gained my footing and ran to the end of a nearby pier.

I raised the camera to my eye to frame the shot. Lens cap!

I hastily yanked the cap off, accidentally dropping it onto the pier where it rolled, wobbled, and then slipped between the cracks of the boards and disappeared into the water below. There was no time to focus (pun intended) on the loss. I looked through the viewfinder, framed the shot, and pressed the shutter. Damn, forgot to turn the camera on!

I took a few deep and calming breaths, relaxed, centered myself, and then flicked the power switch.

The camera came to life as I checked and double checked all the settings. I raised it to my eye again, framed and focused the shot, then pressed the shutter a couple quick times — capturing the beautiful image just moments before it completely disappeared into a memory.

The shot that I almost missed turned out to be one of my favorite photos from the trip — well worth losing a lens cap over.