Up at 3.

I woke up at 3 this morning. The 2nd oldest kid was throwing up. I got her a bowl and turned on the coffee maker while in the kitchen. I tried to fall back asleep and listened to NPR. Three people talking about Global warming. The upshot: We are screwed. I fell asleep at 4 and then up and out of the house at 5:15 with a cup of too strong coffee.

I arrived at Mare Island in Vallejo at 5:50. I had scouted the location earlier in the week but had done a lousy job of it. The dry dock I had planned on shooting was totally enclosed by fencing. Again I was screwed. I wandered around scrambling to find something before the sun came up. I found a giant house on blocks and settled on that. Shot too much film on it until sunrise at 6:25. I figured if I couldn't get a quality image then I would at least burn through a bunch of holders and make it seem like I was doing something.

I drove around the island and came across this giant eagle in a case. Shot it like crazy until I found this angle. I wanted it to look like a snap shot. Everything I had shot of it up to that point made it look like I a was trying too hard. I may have come to it too late in the morning. The light is perfect for 15 minutes before sunrise and then most of the time it all falls apart. Milton Berle used to smoke five packs of cigarettes a day. He was a chain smoker but only liked the first couple puffs and then he would throw the cigarette away and light another one. Sometimes I feel that way:only using the best light and throwing the rest of the day away.