The past few weeks, have been completely crazy. With the lead up to Christmas being generally chaotic in retail, my personal life has been equally filled with pressing engagements – Christmas shopping, projects to finish, and a surprise family visit.
My brother, in between mining jobs, went traveling. He works, then travels, then comes home and works again. Only this time, he got caught overseas, and couldn’t find his way home due to locked borders, and no flights and an invisible foe! This foe, (aka Covid~19) has turned the whole world upon its head, and made life crazy for a lot of people. For us in Australia, it has been testing, but nowhere near as hard as some others have had it. (My sincere condolences for those of you who have lost loved ones, my strength to all of you, to keep carrying on in spite of the virus). But, returning to my brother, he was stuck landlocked, in a small country between Vietnam and Thailand. Laos was to become his new home for 7 months.
Prior to his journey, I gave him a few of my creations to photograph in different places around Australia, not knowing he was going to jump on a jet, and head OS! But off he went – flung through the air in a tin can! The first I knew he was overseas, is when he sent me a pic of the two Faeries I sent on adventures!
After 7 months abroad, he came home, Faeries in tow, and I met up with him again this week, gladdened by his being home, and being safe.
We toured the local National Park and had a walk along the beaches and rocks, and it gave me another idea, as often creative people get inspirations from the environment around them.
With a rostered day off, I decided to get making a Christmas card photograph, and began by crafting a tiny driftwood Christmas tree. Inspiration from the waves, I added a few tiny seashells I had, as decorations on my little tree. All set, I grabbed my big camera, my Faerie Mermaid, and the tiny tree. Donning my Akubra Hat (Aussie brand of fine pelt iconic hats) I made my way to the beach!
I hopped out of the car to note it was rather windy, and I stood assessing the beach, and all its occupants, and the place I wanted to photograph – out of the wind – was occupied by several families. Opting for the windier unoccupied end of the beach, I watched the waves come up the sand and where they finished, and where the best place to set up my scene for my photograph happened to be. Decisions made, I made my way onto the beach, as a gust of wind flipped my hat off my head, which tumbled its way along the sand, flipping this way and that, as I giggled madly chasing it.
A thought occurred to me, that it might just be too windy, but being the persistent type, I grabbed the hat, stuffed it under my arm, and began setting up my scenery. Poking wires down into the sand to anchor my lightweight props, my scene set, I laid out a towel to prevent the sand from entering my camera. Here is where the fun began, the setting of a perfect scene, the photographs that would eventually become my cards for friends and family. I was in my element..
I lay down on my stomach, set up the shot and set the macro lens to automatic. As it focused on the Mermaid, I was just about to complete the shot, when the camera refocused.. this time, on the approaching wave! Yes, I had a split second to raise the camera and my body up, just in time to get drenched by the incoming wave! Floundering about like a sea lion in the ocean, I saved that camera from the Ebb of the Ocean! Mother Nature was trying to tell me with the prior flipping of my hat, that today was probably NOT a good day for playing with her!
Looking about, I noticed my Mermaid had returned unceremoniously to the waves, and my tree had completely disappeared! I couldn’t find it anywhere! The towel I was lying on was a balled up mess of sand and fabric, and I was becoming more a part of the beach with every movement, collecting sand like jewels both all over my clothes and within them. I was beginning to feel like a bad sandpaper commercial, with the abrasive grit between my skin and my clothes!
Bedecked in silicon glitter, I pulled myself up, checked the camera over to make sure it survived, and began looking in the returning waves for my Mermaid. Plucking her sand covered body from the water, I gave her a quick rinse. BUGGER! Her hair saturated, her soft skin drenched and dark, I flicked her about to rid her of the sand and almost called defeat. Picking up the drowned rag I found a tiny darkened Xmas tree, missing a few ‘decorations’ that the ocean claimed back, I thought.. no.. I shall not give up!
Resetting my scene a little further towards the plant matter and not the wet stuff, I started all over again. I was already drenched and covered in sand, I again lay face down and repositioned the camera and cracked off a few photographs. Watching carefully, making sure I was indeed, out of reach of the Oceans cold, watery fingertips.
As I sit here and giggle about it now, as I did on the day, wondering if anyone had witnessed the spectacle of the beached sea lion floundering about in the persistent waves, it brings me to think about the year that was 2020. The hardships, the unseen foes, the enduring spirit we all have inside us, and the golden glittery opportunities we all have, if only we choose to see them. The humility we feel at something more powerful than ourselves.. LIFE! The ever present force that keeps us moving forward, in the face of great adversity. The positivity, creativity, and above all, LOVE! The love we share with ourselves, others, and for the memories, the places we go, and the world around us. No matter where you all are, if you read to the end of this paragraph or not, I wish for you all, to find peace, happiness, and love at the close of a difficult and tumultuous year. ‘ Merry’ Christmas to you all! ~ Rails.
