Hope: Cool, CA

The rolling green hills of Cool, CA. I came here last year looking for spring photos, and when I was thinking about what to do for this season, I wanted to go back. I felt like I could do better than the photo I got here last year, so my intention was to do the same thing, but with better clouds.

Spring was here and I was looking forward to getting back to the rolling hills. The day appeared to have good clouds, so the timing seemed perfect. I made the short drive up to Cool, got all my gear and starting walking. The walk was shorter than I remembered it, but the hills were just as green as last year. I saw my usual frame, tried it out a couple times, but it didn't seem to be working. For some reason there wasn't the same magic. I thought to myself, "why isn't this working? It seemed so good last year." I backed up a little bit, and saw this path going up the hills that caught my attention. I tried out a couple things and right away I knew, I had to have it in the shot. The trail going up into the hills, the few sparse oak trees, the light hitting just right, it was the perfect shot for this place.

There is something about a path going through the wilderness that seems to tell a story. Something we all find ourselves in at one point or another is the feeling of being stuck in a Black Forest and looking for our way out. Hoping for a better tomorrow. For years I had been anticipating that one day I could get a photo that captured that. As soon as I laid eyes on this shot, I knew I finally had it.