I'm thinking of a scene in the movie Titanic. (Which guys, especially red meat eating guys like me should never quote from but I'll make an exception here. Jim Cameron and Bill Paxton may have an exemption.) Ol' Jack declares "To making it (life) count!"

I've always had mixed feelings about that scene. Although presented as an example of profound, street-wise insight, it always seemed a bit glib to me. And yet it's something that's all too often overlooked as we go about our day to day life, getting distracted by the demands of the mundane and forgetting to get out and experience what the world has to offer. It probably doesn't help that I've been tied to a keyboard for most of this weekend. And granted, I did take a bit of time out here and there to catch up on my PBase galleries, but it remains another weekend of lost living opportunities, which is something I want to avoid too often in the future.

Most likely one cause of reflection is that I had only just finished putting up the gallery of our hot air balloon flight over Melbourne when news came through of the crash of a balloon in New Zealand with the loss of all 11 on board. Not that it made me think that we shouldn't have done that. On the contrary, it's a reminder that although anything worthwhile carries risks, if they're balanced ones they're worth taking if you're to have a life at all. It doesn't diminish the tragedy of the loss of those people... but a life wasted wholly in front of a TV set or at work (at least, the kind that most of us do) would also be a tragedy.

But that's a digression of Olympic proportions even for me, engendered as it was by the title that I'd chosen for today's shot. The weather bureau lied. It was originally forecast to be sunny with a high of 30 degrees. Instead when I went out this morning it was warm and overcast and spitting showers. Goodbye to the morning light shot that I had planned. The cloud persisted into the afternoon until the Sun at last broke through. For about 20 minutes. Goodbye to the afternoon light shot that was my backup plan. I then noticed the clouds gathering more densely. Some had interesting light on them in the occasional gaps so I rushed in to get the gear... and the light was gone by the time that I got out. But then I heard the rumble of thunder. And waited. Sure enough, eventually the rain started to spit down. Occasional heavy, wet drops thudded onto the concrete, followed by the increasingly frequent growl of thunder. (A noise which was answered by the vehement protests of the Labrador who lives in the place at the back.) Finally finding its rhythm, the rainfall worked its way up to the intensity of a tropical downpour, with my camera zoomed in on these pink frangipani flowers waiting for the kind of raindrop explosion that I knew I'd get if I waited long enough.

This is not the shot that I planned or wanted, nor was it the weekend that I planned or wanted. But at times, life's about making it do, and having to leave making it count for another day.

Last Year