I’ve been noticing light a lot lately…especially when it’s not there.  We’ve had an unusual July–thunder and lightening and rain and cloud cover so heavy it feels like a wet towel around your shoulders.  (And record rainfall–although we are still deep in a persistent long-term drought!)

As a result, I feel like I’ve taken lots of gray photos, where the sky looks like the ocean that looks like the sand.

So as the sun began to break through this week, I wanted to head out to catch the glow.  The beauty of the summer is that the days are longer, making evening walks a treat…and giving me a chance to play around with the golden light that comes as the sun begins to set.

Giant kelp is always amber in color, golden and brownish.  But giant kelp has floats about the size of grapes, shaped sort of like teardrops.  Now and then I see huge floats–the size of our small playground balls–that I know as bull kelp, a variety of giant kelp.  I see these more often in the winter, maybe because it takes rougher seas to pull them up to shore.  But yesterday, maybe as a result of the storm earlier this week, there was definitely bull kelp on the beach. The sun brought out the golden qualities of this amber algae.

I watched this boy for a while as he flipped his skim board out in front of him and then ran to step aboard and ride on the slim layer of water.  I was pleasantly surprised to catch this action shot…and the warm golden glow of the sun on his skin.

Surfers come in all shapes and sizes and I often see them looking out to sea, watching.  I wish I could get inside their heads and know what they are thinking as they stand on the shore. I know that surfing is a physical sport, but I also suspect it is meditative as well.  I watched this surfer…and couldn’t resist a shot with her bathed in the warm, golden light of the early evening.

And I the clouds were calling to me…and when I looked up through my lens, they opened up to reveal the golden light treasure inside!

So, what is golden in your life right now?  You can be literal of figurative, examine the natural world or the artifacts of civilization.

You can post your photo alone or along with some words: commentary, a story, a poem…maybe even a song! I love to study the photographs that others’ take and think about how I can use a technique, an angle, or their inspiration to try something new in my own photography. (I love a great mentor text…or mentor photo, in this case!)

I share my photography and writing on social media. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter using @kd0602. If you share your photos and writing on social media too, please let me know so I can follow and see what you are doing. To help our Weekly Photo community find each other, use the hashtag #golden for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

Be on the lookout for a golden opportunity to snap a photo!  I can’t wait to see golden through your lens.