Though I don't hike miles and camp in the wilderness much any more, I related to Dykinga's stubborn efforts to find the kind of scene he imagined and photograph it. We don't know if he added the stick or found it. I probably would not have added it but would have photographed it if I found it, as I like finding anomalies and including them in compositions.

At the first sign of fog, I will head to the nearby swamp to make a try for shots of light beams among the cypress. I've probably found the light beams three times, and have made between 50 and 100 nearly fruitless trips. Fog usually doesn't settle in the swamp for reasons I don't understand. But finding it a time or two fuels my return trips. One day I'll find it again.

I have done the same on trips to beautiful locations. Maroon Bells has long been on my bucket list and I had a chance to go there this fall. Alas, an early snowstorm knocked all the aspen leaves off and froze the lake. The water levels were at record lows, preventing the reflection the Bells is so famous for. There was never a cloud to provide any sky interest. But I went out every morning in 10 degrees F which froze my Mississippi soul, and returned every afternoon looking for my own version of Maroon Bells. This was the closest I got.