Summer’s Last Hurrah

Posted on by Stacy P. Fischer

Orange umbrellas and chairs on a beach silhouetted against the bright blue of the sky and water.Santa Monica Beach, California

It’s September 10th and I’m so ready for fall, but where is it?? With Washington, DC hitting a high of 95 degrees today, I decided to post a tribute to the hopefully soon-to-depart, crazy-hot summer weather so many of us have experienced this season.

The story? My husband and I were walking back from Santa Monica Pier and heading to our car when I spied this still life in the distance. It was a good 2- to 3-minute walk from the path we were on to get within range for my 23mm fixed lens and we were both a bit hot and tired, but I just had to shoot this. I started a brisk walk toward the chairs (since my husband was patiently waiting).

And then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed someone approaching from the right pulling a large blue cooler and carrying a stack of towels, clearly headed straight to these chairs. I wanted to yell “stop”! Instead, I started to run (and we all know how difficult running in sand is, not to mention that my aerobic conditioning is on par with a turtle’s). I was determined to get off at least a shot or two before the young and apparently well-conditioned young man entered my frame. I’m sure it was a laughable scene! Who was going to win???

In the end, heart pounding, sweaty, and out of breath, I was forced to stop further away than I had hoped (yup, he was a bit faster). But all was not lost: cropping to the rescue. And when my hubby said to me “it’s still so small,” I just smiled, knowing I had ended up with the scene I had originally envisioned. Who won? Me!

57 thoughts on “Summer’s Last Hurrah”

  1. I’m with Nelson and Amy. I’m sure if you had yelled Stop at him, he would’ve obliged, and maybe even posed for you for the shot Amy could ‘see’, and me too! Next time…

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    • Well, Janina, I’m so delighted you commented on this post as it brought to my attention that, somehow, I had missed replying to every single comment 😮 So I had a bit of catch-up to do! Anyway, never thought about yelling stop – besides I was so out of breath, I’m not sure I could have 😉

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    • Overdue reply because, well, I missed seeing all of them on the post! Don’t quite know how that happened, but it did. So thanks for liking it 🙂 And as for whether it’s cooler? Well, since it’s now November, my answer is yup, it is!

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  7. Love this shot You can feel the sun. I too am tired of the heat in the DC area and am disappointed we didn’t get any real rain after 24 hours of clouds, at least not where I live in Alexandria.

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  9. Is that negative space, if so bring it on… I love, LOVE this photo for its simplicity but it also says so much and the vibrancy of those colours together – IMPACT 🙂

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  11. LOL a turtle! I hear ya!! What a brilliant photo, so effective, I love it and can just imagine some fun words about Summer written in that beautiful sky. Love hearing your story Stacy, it’s good to know that other people go through similar things 😉 Brilliantly captured.

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  15. I just stood on top of a table to get group shot for a FB post on the company web site later today. And I’m 66. And I chose the wrong day to wear a pencil skirt😚. Stacy, your photo reminds me of the last one taken at our Bethany Beach family reunion – serenity with a bit of ennui …

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    • Oh, I do remember that picture – I loved it. And you’re right, there are definitely parallels here (perhaps that’s what struck me so strongly about the need to get this shot!) Glad you survived your shoot too 🙂

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  22. I live in Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C.
    And yes, here it is almost the middle of September and-all of the children have gone back to school.
    Yesterday it was hot and humid, and in the mid-90s. Today it is rainy and in the 80s,
    That’s OK with me. I love summer.
    This heat won’t last for long though.
    I know that the seasonal “shift” toward cooler weather is coming soon…..

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    • Hi, Mary, and now, a month later, I daresay that shift is here 😉 So nice to hear from you. My apologies for taking so long to reply – I apparently missed all of the comments left on this particular post. Earth to Stacy, come in ….

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