it's a big deal when I get Out of bed before the sun comes up.

My camping spot at the Padre Balli campground.

I got out of bed at 0 dark 30 this morning, which I normally avoid like the plague, but if you want to take a sunrise picture there's simply no way to avoid it.

I walked the hundred feet to the beach in the dark and set up my tripod in the sand. Setting up a tripod is something else I try to avoid like the aforementioned plague because they're very clunky to deal with and you only need the thing if you're taking pictures in the dark, which I seldom do.

I bought a tripod many years ago because "real" photographers always carried a tripod, so I thought carrying a tripod would make me look like a "real" photographer. It seemed to work because real photographers would walk up and ask me photographer type questions like, what f-stop are you using? And is that a 2.8 lens?

Since I didn't know what the heck they were talking about I would always tell them that "National Geographic doesn't allow me to divulge that information". That seemed to work because they always walked away impressed.

But times have changed and I no longer have to carry around a tripod to look like a real photographer. Everyone takes pictures with cell phones now, so I look like a real photographer just because I carry around a real camera.

I can see a time in the near future when cell phones will be able to take pictures that equal a real camera, and real photographers will just use their cell phones. I guess when that happens I'll start carrying around a cell phone so I look like a real photographer. At least they're not as clunky as a tripod.

                             theboondork

The restaurant on the Bob Hall pier.

My view of the Bob Hall pier from my doorway.