Worth Its Wait In Gold

Not Quite The Sunset Shot You'd Expect, Is It?

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

You just never know when a great photo opportunity is going to come your way. And sometimes when a great chance appears, it remains for only a few fleeting moments, never to re-appear.

I was in the dining area of the Westmark Hotel in Beaver Creek in the Yukon - and as always, I had my cameras within arm's reach. There was a lady a couple of table away from me and I knew she was waiting for her husband to join her at dinner, because I had seen them a few minutes earlier, in the hotel corridor.

She had a long-necked bottle of beer on her table. She faced west, looking towards the setting sun as it sank across the snow-capped mountains. I faced east, looking towards the wall. That alignment was a great piece of luck.

For a couple of minutes, I saw a shadow on the wooden wall, just below the wallpaper at waist level. It was the shadow of her glass and the beer bottle and as I watched, the shadow grew more defined as the sun pierced the late-evening cloud.

I knew if I didn't take the shot, the angle of the sun would quickly change. I picked up my Pentax K100D and hit the shutter once. A few moments later, the lady's husband joined her. He sat opposite her and blocked the shadow. Had I not followed my instinct and captured the scene, I would have lost the opportunity.

Visit MamaGeek and Cecily, creators of Photo Story Friday.