Day two of showing Kristi Parsons around the Outer Banks began with lots of potential. The calm conditions from the night before held on over night; the forecast called for reflective sunrise conditions. Skies were crowded with clouds. Everything was lining up pretty well. As an informal guide for the trip, I felt good.
We loaded up into my car to ride together towards Manteo, North Carolina, where I hoped to show the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse reflecting into Shallowbag Bay at sunrise. Kristi grabbed gear out of her car and began loading things into mine for the ride. We pulled out of our rental home neighborhood and onto NC-12. Thunk. I wasn’t sure if I had picked up something in the tire or what. I began scanning my mirrors. When I looked over at Kristi she seemed rather concerned. I didn’t know why. But I soon found out. Her camera was not inside the car. She had placed it on the roof while she was loading up her gear in the dark underneath our rental that morning. The ‘thunk’ we heard was her brand new camera and brand new lens hitting the asphalt at forty miles per hour.
My heart sank for her. We found what was left and hoped for the best. It didn’t look good though. There wasn’t a good way to spin what had just happened. It simply had, happened. If I recall correctly, Kristi didn’t have her gear insured. I was ready to turn back towards the house and regroup. If it were my camera I would’ve been mentally fucked for the day. To her credit, however, Kristi was ever the optimist. She wanted to push on with our plans. She managed to compartmentalize the loss during the trip (I think) and move on with the experience. I certainly would’ve been a grumpy mess. My hat’s off to her for the way she handled herself.
We did make it to Manteo as the sun was rising behind the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse. And it was a good one.
Lens: Nikkor 24-70mm @ 50mm
Tripod: Really Right Stuff TVC-33
Date taken: February 16, 2020
Settings: f14.0, 1.6 seconds, iso-50
0 Comments