You are slicing through the air with the help of a moped, a popular vehicle in these parts. It was a fortuitous last minute trip, originating from your friend—who had moved there some time before—extending the offer.
Bermuda is a volcanic island, or a really a group of volcanic islands, in the Atlantic. It has a strong business climate, comprised primarily of insurers and off-shore companies, somewhat due to the nonexistent corporate income tax and business friendly rules. But you are not here for business as many of the suit-topped, shorts-bottomed denizens around you are. The main island has a coastline of approximately 60 miles (100km) and you are trying to see as much of it as possible.
You hop on and off the moped throughout the day and wander nearly aimlessly, exploring cave structures, small saltwater pools, pink sand beaches, historic buildings and whatever else catches your eye.
It is now early evening and one of your last stops is a beach. There isn’t any particular draw or reason to stop, you just do.
So many footprints, yet the beach is deserted. Large storm clouds are brewing on the horizon; the wind is steadily increasing, blowing against your face. It is probably smart to get back across the island sooner rather than later.
As beautiful as it is, the scene doesn’t strike you as an interesting photographic subject and you instead leave your camera in your bag while taking in the experience. As you are leaving the beach, something forces you to turn. You pull out your camera, slide in a filter and shoot a quick photograph. Then you walk trudge as quickly as you can through the deep sand to the mopeds and push off, your friend leading the way.
Years later, you are digging through your computer looking at photographs that you ranked one-star, or those which you should just delete if you need the hard drive space. As you are doing this, you come across this moment in time from the Bermuda beach.
You pull it out and just stare at it: strong clouds rolling in, holes in the volcanic rock, a rock’s reflection in receding waters, and of course, the interplay of a desolate beach with the plethora of footprints. In fact, it is one of your favourite of the trip, just wasting away in a “to be deleted” computer folder.
Sometimes you should look back and take a moment. Your first impressions might be misleading.
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