Story behind the image: Pictures of a solo traveler

Traveling alone is my favorite way to travel. There is a lot of time for reflection. I am in charge of my own schedule and activities. One of the downsides though is it can be hard to get pictures of me as I travel. As a photographer I am used to being behind the camera and do not often want to be in from of it, but every once in a while it is nice to insert myself art I create.

The options for having a picture of yourself when traveling solo are to take a selfie, have someone else take a picture, or set a timer. I have used them all. Some work better than others in certain places. Like a well occupied market or trail is probably better for a selfie or asking someone for help, but when it is wide open, with no one around, a timed shot can be much more dynamic than just another selfie.

In this image I was hiking along the rocky coast of the Olympic Peninsula. The fog was finally moving out to reveal little islands just off shore. I had stopped to rest on this elevated rock to watch the waves roll in. As I was sitting on the rock I started to look around to see how far out on the rock I could go and therefore how far out into the ocean (no more than 20 feet) I could go. I also noticed that next to the spot I was sitting was fairly flat and completely dry. I could set my camera there (I don't carry a tripod when hiking).

So I set about framing the shot. Finding the best direction to point the direction given the position of the sun and what other interesting features I could capture up and down the beach. When I was ready I set my camera on the ground, propped up the lens a bit with a small rock or other object I had available, and pressed the button. I hopped up carefully making my way to my mark before posing and holding still for a count of twenty. The timer on my camera is ten seconds, but at times when I have only counted to ten then I move too soon.

I finally exhaled after a count of twenty. Returning to my camera I checked the image and it is exactly what I wanted. I repeated the process a few more times with different poses before calling it a day at this location and continuing on my hike.

Camera: Nikon D3200

F stop: 6.3

Aperture: 1/160

Focal length: 18mm

ISO 100

Location: Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA (First Beach/ La Push in the distance)