Serendipity

Dockweiler Beach, Los Angeles, California, June 4, 1993

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
                                      --John Lennon

I had gone to the beach in the pre-dawn darkness, with the idea that the totally eclipsed moon setting over the ocean would make an interesting photo. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas. I had a brief glimpse of the partially-eclipsed moon though a gap in the clouds, then it was gone.

So here I was on a deserted beach before sunrise, with no eclipse to photograph. What to do? I made the best of the situation and photographed the surroundings: an oil tanker, a lifeguard stand ... and some palm trees. When I saw the results, I was delighted with the cool blue tone in this unplanned photo. The long exposure in the dim light smoothed out the sea and sky, and the eye is tricked into thinking it is a daylight photo.

This is also a lesson in how photographs can deceive by not showing the whole picture. If you didn't know better, you'd think this photo was taken in some peaceful, deserted tropical paradise. Actually, this beach is right under the end of the runway at Los Angeles International Airport, and every couple of minutes a huge jumbo jet takes off overhead with a tremendous roar!

Date: June 4, 1993
Time: approximately 5:00am
Location: Dockweiler Beach, Los Angeles, California
Camera: Canon AE-1
Film: Kodachrome 64 slide
Focal length: 200mm
Aperture: f/8
Exposure time: 30 seconds
Scanned with Nikon Coolscan LS-10E