Moments of Impact H.S. A.U.

19.

The sound of waves hitting shore fill my ears while the sun prickles my skin. The temperature has fallen slowly, yet it's still weather for shorts and skirts. Hopefully, it'll stay this way for long. I like summer, but often it gets too hot for my liking. I like autumn better, and right now the weather is just perfect. It's not too warm nor too hot. I don't like when we get to January, and the weather reaches more than 35 degrees. The sweat is literally dripping off of you and I truly hate it. Not that I think anyone would like that, but I'd rather be cold than be sweating like that. At least when it's cold, you can always put on more clothes. In summer I just want to stay in the water all day to cool down.

I hold my camera tight and press the button halfway down before I snap a picture. I've been too busy working to really take my time with photography and I truly miss it. The good thing about photography is that you always have an excuse to spend time outside. Sometimes, it feels like I never get to spend time outside anymore. Being a student and working at the café surely was different. Now, I work Monday through Friday from 9-5 most days. The downside to that means that there's no time for anything in the morning, and when I'm off work I normally end up spending the rest of the day watching a tv-series, too tired to be bothered with anything else. But at work there's Harry, so I'm honestly not complaining. But this feels good. I've missed my camera in between my hands, and I've missed the beauty of nature. I've also missed the quietness and peacefulness. In the city, you'll constantly hear the cars on the streets. Right at this moment, there's no sound of cars. Just the waves and the noise of people in the distance. Right here everything is good. This is why I love Sydney. I love that you have so much nature so close to the city, and I love the many beaches that Sydney has to offer. And I'm not talking about Bondi Beach. It's often too crowded. Too many tourists go there. Manly too. I like Maroubra better, it's big too, but not as many tourists go there. But it's not my favourite beach. Coogee is nice, and Clovelly also because it's so small. I feel like people often forget it exists. I'm happy they do, that means I can often go there for some quiet time. Especially now that summer is over. Sometimes I also go to Watson's Bay. But I can't walk there so I don't go there too often. Right now, I'm at Tamarama beach. In all honesty, I like all the beaches in the Eastern Suburbs, apart from Bondi. Although, Maroubra is no longer that high on my list. I guess it's because I live pretty close, and for a long period of time I saw it every day.

I take a picture of a surfer running out into the water, and then another of someone catching a wave. They don't know that I'm doing it. But that's what I like about it. I'm catching them doing what they love and those pictures are priceless because they aren't faking anything or posing for a different picture, something that's not real. It's not that I hate social media, and I'm guilty of using it myself. However, I hate the fact that most of what you see isn't real. People will put on make-up and write a caption: Going out tonight. Only they are not going out. Instead, they are spending the entire day in bed. Mostly we only see all the good stuff. I don't like that. And that's why I like taking these pictures because here nobody is hiding and this isn't fake. I'm capturing what they are doing at this exact moment. I wish we took more time to capture the real things instead of capturing everything that's not. 

"You disappeared from the face of the earth," someone next to me says, and I trap out of my trance.

"Hi Bonnie," I say, and she sits down next to me with a coffee in each hand. "Thanks," I say getting the coffee from her left hand.

"Why didn't you pick up your phone? I was wondering if you were still here. Called you like five times."

"Sorry, it was on mute," I say placing my camera in my lap and grab my phone out of my purse. "You called twice," I chuckle.

"I might as well have called five times, and still you wouldn't have answered."

"I told you I'd be here," I say. "I wasn't going to leave without telling you. How was work?"