Vikki, back to the beach with you! And thank you for coming out of your fun-fest to toss yer props this way!

And kpadams, welcome! If I have any talent to mix into the good fortune, I’m certainly grateful. I spent all week marvelling at our daughter wandering amongst the trees in the late afternoon light, singing her own (unsettlingly accurate) rendition of an Into the Woods medley. The last day we were there, I finally went out with a camera, followed her around, and (I must admit it) suggested a direction or two. Just a little bit.

After a while she took the riding hood off and put it on her brother, and he walked this-a-way, and down I squatted and clickity-click-click I went. He hooked a U-turn a second later, and I really only had one image with this backdrop and this light. I did indulge a little editing in post-production (repositioning the center; deemphasizing this color and emphasizing those). But photography — particularly this kind, on the fly, of moving people — seems to be 70% good fortune. Made the most of by an amalgamation of the remaining 30%: preparation/ knowledge of tool/ attentive eye/ fiddling after the fact.

A long way of saying thank you very much.

If, as I now believe, happiness is the greatest form of wisdom, then those who start out happy and find a way to remain happy, are the wisest of us all. I often think that people with Down’s Syndrome might well be on to something.

Me? I’m glad to have the knowledge I’ve gained from life experience, but oh . . . wouldn’t I just give it all back to be ignorantly blissful.

Sondheim is the antithesis of madness.

Of course, that’s a wonderful photo.

Those woods, tho. So dark and deep….

Can you even believe it wasn’t staged? Okay, not very staged. Definitely didn’t tell anyone where to walk. Which is more than we can say for Cindy Sherman or William Wegman. Ahem.