This morning’s sunrise was beautiful, supremely lovely, beyond words to describe. The water was still and clear, not a person or a building in sight, and it was cold, so there was mist rising from the water. Enough of a breeze that the mist was drifting by quickly, a fast-paced cloud, and behind it, through it, over it, the sun was slowly changing the color of the sky. It was a pastel rainbow reflected in the water, so beautiful it was literally breathtaking. Surreal. Like being inside one of those scenic photographs that I skeptically think have probably been Photoshopped to death.
And there was a noise from behind me, not quite at the same time, but so loud and so weird that I thought some strange steampunk vehicle must be coming my way. It turned out to be a flock of tiny birds, shadows of black against the sky, spiraling up and away, and squeak, squeak, squeaking like tires desperately in need of some oil.
A huge spider — seriously, huge — had built a perfect web at precisely the distance from the walkway where I could admire how beautiful and precise it was without being completely freaked out by having a huge spider near me. One step forward and it disappeared, one step backward and it did the same, but at exactly the right angle, right position, I could see the fine lines of silk against the backdrop of blue sky.
The water had lily pads, lots of them, but also water grass, and the water grass looked like it ought to be out of some movie about the Jurassic. I’m calling it grass because it was shaped just like grass, flat stalks tapering to a point, but it was huge, probably at least four feet high, and thick as my arm, colored red and green, and when the sun finally rose high enough, golden as the sun hit it.
I should probably just grab my phone and go take some pictures. But it’s too late for the sunrise, and photographs, mine at least, never capture the real beauty of a scene. It would be missing the cool breeze, with air brisk enough that my nose got chilled. And the morning stillness that can encompass noisy birds, rustles in the brush, the occasional splash in the water, and yet still feel silent. And nothing about a photograph would ever convey the sense of awe I felt, the wonder.
Or, for that matter, the growl of my stomach and need to pee that finally motivated me to turn my back on the water and head home to the camper. Although I guess that’s probably just as well, although the idea of virtual reality photographs that convey the biological needs of the photographer really amuses me for some reason.
Anyway, beautiful, beautiful sunrise and Lake Louisa is a spectacular state park. I was only here for the night, but I’d love to come back here and stay longer while the weather is still cool. I was planning to get out of Florida as soon as I finished up some responsibilities and spent Thanksgiving with family, but it’s finally starting to get nice here. Maybe I’ll spend some more time wandering around the state parks instead.
I, too, often think of the things photos do and don’t convey. There is so much they miss: the smells, the temperature, and the breeze. Even the still image doesn’t capture the gentle movement of the leaves of the trees or the waves in the water or slower changes like the way the sky gets lighter as the sun rises.
Or I’ll take pictures at some gorgeous place that is really crowded with people, but as long as I can snap the picture without any of the people in the frame, nobody will know that being there wasn’t half as peaceful as the picture looks.
Other times, pictures just entirely fail to convey how beautiful the moment was. Still, I take them, almost obsessively.
I never remember to bring my phone and I don’t even own a camera. I bought a bunch of graphic software so I could do more things with my photos, but I skip the necessary first step of remembering to take the darn photo! But yes, the movement and the change are beautiful, too. The moon was still out when I started walking this morning, getting lighter and lighter as the sky turned from deep blue to light, and that could never have been captured in a photo.