Sardine Lake

Letting go of Outcomes

Lower Sardine Lake had been on my radar for months. I had been watching the forecast diligently hoping to capture a fiery sunset over the lake with the majestic Sierra Buttes in the backdrop. 

The first major snowfall had just fallen, which I figured would make the Buttes even more awe inspiring. So I made the long winding drive in the afternoon filled with hope. I parked my car, put my snowboots on and made the 2 mile hike over the icy road that was now closed to get there, and then over piles of snow to get to the bank of the lake. The lake was partly icy, and the Buttes were just as majestic as I thought they would be covered in snow. The clouds seemed promising for a good sunset, so I waited for the sun to go down and scoped out where I wanted to shoot it from. As the sun dipped behind the mountain, the streaks of clouds were illuminated with a perfect mirror of the mountain on the lake. I took a few photos and kept waiting for the sunset. 

But the sunset never came.

For whatever reason, the clouds didn't light up. I have been back a few more times since then, and the same result, clouds seemed promising, but didn’t light up. Then making the 2 mile hike in the dark, snow and ice feeling like I will have to try again.

I kept this photo in my library for months, because my perfectionist brain wanted something different. It wasn't what I envisioned, so I wrote it off. Rick Rubin says in his book - The Creative Act, "If we can tune in to the idea of making things and sharing them without being attached to the outcome, the work is more likely to arrive in its truest form." I was too attached to a certain outcome. Things I'm learning to work through as an artist. Whether or not I ever see a sunset here, this is still a beautiful photo worth sharing. Maybe it’s even better than a sunset photo.