The image above may not be the best photo ever, but it was one of those moments I will not forget. I was hiking in the Metroparks with the family, my wife and kids far down the trail as I fell behind taking photographs with the new camera. Basically I had finished and was really just waiting for my wife and children to come back, and I got a funny feeling that I was being watched. I turned and saw this coyote, the first I have seen in all my time in this area.
I reached into the camera bag, grabbed the camera,assembled the lens and started shooting pictures. While it seemed like a long time, I only was able to get five pictures. I had not checked any settings- just shot. And I put the camera down, and just stared back.
The family started returning, and the coyote must have felt outnumbered as my wife appeared out of the woods and scampered off.
I am not sure why this was as impactful as it was to me, but as unexpected as it was, I was in the right place at the right time. This has happened maybe a dozen times in my life, and sometimes it has changed the course of my life, sometimes not.
I probably am reading much more into a simple chance encounter with a wild animal than it really was, but it touched my soul, and encouraged me.
It is a reminder that, in life, the mundane and typical activities can be changed by a simple and seemingly random and unexpected encounter.
I hope for more...
