Aspen Fall Moon

I had nothing. I spent my whole day trying to capture Fall Aspen trees in the Eastern Sierra’s, and I didn’t feel like I had anything worthwhile. This was my third outing amongst the Aspens, and I was getting real discouraged. “Why can’t I get any good Aspen shots?” I kept asking myself. It’s the end of the day, I’m tired from hiking all day, I get back in my car and start to make the long drive back home. I call my wife to check in and let her know I’m heading home. But then... I see it. Big, bright, full moon, at the end of the road lined with Aspen trees. I tell my wife, “sorry dear, I have to pull over real quick and take a couple more photos, I’ll call you back.”  I pull over, forgetting all about how tired I am, and try to get my camera bag out as fast as I can. The cool mountain air, the smell of pine, the pavement under my boots, and my heart racing, I run into the road to find the best vantage point to shoot from. I find my spot, and I start taking photos from the side of the road, which was safe, but something was missing... I had to shoot it from the middle, with the yellow line perfectly centered, it was the only way. So I would run into the middle of the road, adrenaline pumping, snap a couple photos as I listened for cars, hear one coming and run back to safety, wait for the car, or sometimes multiple cars to pass, then go back and shoot a couple more. I did this a handful of times until I felt satisfied that I had the perfect shot.  Once it was over I couldn’t wait to look at them on my computer and see if they came out as good as I thought they would. With Aspen season coming to an end, it’s funny that the shot I didn’t plan for at all, the one I just decided to pull over and shoot on a whim was the one that yielded the best result. Life is funny that way. Once we get ourselves in motion, we just never know what is going to happen. Sometimes it’s the completely unplanned things that turn out the best. We just have to get moving and be ready to seize the moment.