Dillon Beach: Marin County

I came to Dillon Beach to shoot the cliffs to the north. It was my first commission as a landscape photographer, and I was beyond excited to capture something the client would love. I did some research on the area, and what kind of lighting and time of day I would want to shoot it in, and I decided I would aim for a colorful sunset as the backdrop to the cliffs. I got here early, for I had never been here before, so I thought I would see if there was anything else I might want to shoot while I was here. While I was walking and looking around, I came across this creek flowing into the rock. Depending on what kind of lighting I could get with the sun, it could come out really good. I waited for the sun to go down, for I had visions of when the sun dipped behind the clouds and maybe produced some rays in the background. The only problem was, if I waited too long, I would miss the shot I was being paid to come here for. So with my nerves tingling, I waited, hoping not to wait too long. But then, a bird came and landed on the rock, completing the shot, I thought, "well now this is just perfect." The lighting produced something like I had envisioned, and everything worked together in a beautiful way, and I also ended up with plenty of time to get the shot I came for.  It's good to be focused on a specific goal, but if we open our world a little bit, there may be something beautiful and amazing that we didn't expect.