A Bright New Path

A Bright New Path
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

On a morning walk on the beach, Heather and I noticed a path that we had never seen before, leading uphill and away from the water. We decided to follow it, and it turned out to be a second entrance to the beach, and not such a well-kept secret, either. We have been to this beach many times, and have never noticed this path. As we came to the top of the hill and the end of the path, I looked back and took a picture with my phonecam. I could just make out the ocean through the trees. Tonight when I loaded the image into the computer, I realized that the brightness of the sunlight made it impossible to see the ocean in the photo. But I really liked the image anyway, so I opened it in Painter IX and cleaned up some litter in the foreground with digital pastel. While I was at it, I added a little transparent blue to counteract the brightness of the sky and to suggest the position of the water. (Trust me; this path leads down to the ocean.) This little adventure was the bright spot in the day, and a good reminder that even when you think you know all there is to know about a situation, pay attention anyway, because you might just find a new path that you had overlooked before.