My August 2021 Photo of the Month is SDR58, taken of the San Diego River during a beautiful sunset.
Summer is my least favorite season, and some kind of ennui inevitably sets in from the demands of career and parenthood. It is hot, of course, and oppressively so in the evening when I long for the cool, crisp air of other times of year.
There wasn’t much going on in August, just a few trips here and there to places visited dozens of times before. It would be easy to say, I’ve been to this same exact spot so many times, why go yet again? Something got me to get up and grab my gear though, so here we are. This location has been a Photo of the Month before, and perhaps for good reason. It probably is the most picturesque photography location in Santee. With good evening clouds, it can really be quite pleasant.
I enjoyed listening to the birds, which my app indicated: Mallards, American Crows, Phainopepia, Common Gallinule, Bushtit, House Finch, and a Western Screech Owl. Not bad for holding up the Merlin Bird Sound ID app up a few times. Still, listening for birds, you also pick up the things you wish you didn’t: Horns honking, car alarm, Harley Davidson with no muffler at all, somebody hitting the brakes, two people yelling back and forth in the parking lot, and so forth.
Even in this pandemic, and the need for a break from people and social distancing, it is still incredibly difficult to just get away from: humanity. It feels like such an oppressive force sometimes, and for those out there who are introverts, I suspect you know what that feels like.
I will have some time to travel in the next couple months, to perhaps see a few places I have not seen before. I am looking forward to it, and despite featuring one of my oft-photographed locations for this month, I did enjoy the moments to myself on this evening.
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the image.
Further Viewing
Photos of the Month Portfolio Gallery
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T.M. Schultze is a San Diego-based photographer, traveller, and writer. He writes, photographs, and draws things of the outdoors that have inspired humans for thousands of years. He co-authored the Photographer’s Guide to Joshua Tree Park which can be purchased here.
I did not know Merlin Bird ID had the sound component, so I’ve downloaded that and am looking forward to trying it out.
There is nothing like recording audio to make one realize how much noise there is around us!
You can thank Alex for that
I will thank him for bringing that to our attention. Unless you mean he is partly responsible for ambient noise! 🙂
He does like his Ambient.
🙂
But never with noise. 😛
I treasure silence almost as much as Tracy. 😉
I think it’s not just the most photogenic spot in Santee that you found, but perhaps the most photogenic spot of the San Diego River – and everything came together nicely for your photo. The best one yet that you’ve made at that spot. 🙂
And I feel the same about humanity. I do wonder whether the pandemic has made us introverts even more sensitive to it all…
I first went to the other lake spot I have been checking out, but there was a single guy fishing there and thought it might be a little sketch to be there with my photo gear, so I headed back to this one.