The Pelican Arrangement
· by Roy Edlund
Some mornings I'll stand on the shoreline patiently scanning the horizon for my pelican friends.
You see, we have an arrangement. I don’t leave the beach until they drop by for their photo shoot.
They seem to be running late on this morning. They don’t always follow my schedule, but they promise to be there and give me something good. So I wait.
These eyes of mine aren’t what they used to be, and as I look out across the waves, I can’t always be sure.
Is that dark smudge out past the breakers a line of pelicans gliding low, or just a wave catching shadow? For a second I’m sure, then I’m not.
I squint a little harder.
Okay, there they are, gliding in with the first light, wingtips almost brushing the water.
Now the waiting is over, and the nervous part begins because it all happens so fast. My eye is glued to the camera, watching the pelicans, watching the wave build, because timing is everything.
All I can think about is not missing what they give me.
I follow them over the waves, pressing the shutter, here and gone in an instant, all while hoping I’m doing them justice.
They rarely stop, and they never look back.
They just know they left me with a moment like this one, and that feeling in my heart.
Love from here. ❤️
Prints of the photos in this post are available in the Beach Bum Gallery on paper, canvas and metal.