Three in the Mist

Living up here in northern Los Angeles County, I've had the benefit of taking drives to a local park and lake. I used to do this every day in the early mornings. Many of the images you'll see in this group of photographs with stories come from those trips.

One particular image, "Three in the Mist," was taken near the animal shelter in Castaic, CA. There's a back road there, part of the sheriff's department property, lined with signs warning against trespassing. Despite this, bicycle riders love it there. During the pandemic, I went there almost daily.

When you take the time to be intentional, go slow, and wait, you can see many kinds of animals and cool nature. Sometimes you wait a bit, sometimes not at long at all. On this foggy morning, these three deer appeared in the fog as I drove to one of my favorite spots. I woke them up. Even from 100 feet away and creeping slowly in my car, they noticed me. I actually captured this image through the windshield. I didn't think I had much time. Since I always carry my camera on the passenger side of my front seat when driving, I managed to get this shot of the three deer looking right at me. Within 10 to 15 seconds, they were gone.

Sometimes, you need a bit of luck, but you also need to be willing to actually show up in order to get the shot that most people never see.