When I jumped out of the car an educated guess had already set the speed and exposure settings and I was already picking my path. A first assessment told me that I only had three or four minutes before the earth rotated out of position and the whole effect would disappear. 

‘I could do that!’  I told myself. After glorifying myself for a few more milliseconds, I was off and running straight for the spot in the barbed wire fence that I knew would be the best spot to squeeze through or go over.

I went through. It was easy. I’ve done it a thousand times. The absolute majority of that number were when I was a kid growing up in the country. It was a life skill that allowed you to reach the spot where you were going in way more than half the time. Being able to walk straight through a field instead of walking around the fenced field was way, way better. You only have do the other way once to tell you that you should stop doing that.

I threw the camera strap over my head and held its body tight against my chest and tucked in the part of my shirt that was hanging out back in, crotched down, held down the wire with my right hand and popped through the other side, rolled to preserve my momentum and I was up and standing in the next move.

From there I really didn’t have to do much. It was all perfectly perfect. There wasn’t a thing that could have improved it. I found the right frame, fell on my knees to give the glowing spot of light as much appreciation as the tree and the star. I leaned back, just a little to position the sun to the top of the edge of the opening so it would make that starburst. If the sun was in the center of the hole, it would have burned out a big hole with a way less pretty bright spot at the top of the picture.

I was right about the aperture seeing. I needed every bit of the f/22 to get both subjects in focus at the same time. I adjusted the ISO so I could increase the shutter speed to 1/125 of a second so I could hold it steady. I focused in between the two and took the shot. Of course, I shot several shots, looking at each one on the back of the camera to make minute changes.

I don’t know why I was in such a hurry. I had a good two minutes left. I used it to thank everyone involved in the creation of such a grand performance. That didn’t take long. We shut up and just enjoyed each other’s company and the sound of complete silence.       

Diamond Springs, California 2019