This was one of those moments where your sub-conscious mind knows why you are about to do something and the reasons dawn on you later. 

Few weeks back I had packed up my gear at sunset and was driving along the coastline in Victoria, BC when I came across two para-gliders finishing up their act for the day. The wonderful twilight refraction, and the dimensional depth of the clouds made me instinctively pull over to take a few pictures. 

Given the fast fading light and not knowing how much longer the para-gliders would stay up in the sky, I had to decide and act within the next two minutes to choose the camera, lens and the settings to shoot with. Tripod was not an option given the speed and angles at which they were para-gliding. I had a total of five minutes chasing  the two para-gliders along the coast before their act ended.

As I was capturing the images during those few minutes, I realized what I was communicating: It was about letting your spirit fly and soar before the light fades away. 

I guess my sub-conscious mind knew this all along when it prompted me to pull over.

Here is the 2003 song 'Let Your Spirit Fly' by Pernilla Wahlgren & Jan Johansen.

How do you feel, looking at the picture?

Since I was a kid I have admired street artists for their Grit. I am constantly intrigued  by their ability to take it one day at a time against all odds while still focusing on their talent and skills.

Last week we were at Victoria in British Columbia, Canada walking along the Victoria Inner Harbour. While I was shooting some pictures, my family kept themselves busy watching a spray paint artist at work. An hour had gone  by before I strolled back to join them. 

By then it was past 10 pm at night and the crowd for this artist's show had dwindled to just my family. They had  already struck up a conversation with the artist Norman Jay Seagrave who was impressed with the curiosity and interest shown by our kids to hang around and watch him in action for over an hour. He had decided to create his last spray painting for the day as a gift to our kids. 

Jay's action also had a touch of personal sentiment to it. It was Jay's last day at the harbour. The city had served him an eviction notice.  

At that time, there was only one way I could think of thanking  Jay for his graciousness: Make a small photo essay of the 10 min work of art he was about to create. Jay's last performance at the Victoria Inner Harbour.

Jay, thanks for your work and for the gift. It was most precious and was safely brought home by the kids.  Wish you the very best for the future.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PS: It has been a while since I did a 'day in a life' type photography and I enjoyed this 10 min low available light photo shoot. All photos were shot with a 50 mm / f1.4 prime lens. No flash. No tripods.