December on the South Coast has a rhythm of its own. The roads fill up, the beaches come alive, and families arrive from all over the world, many of them hoping to take home more than a tan. It’s my busiest month of the year, and one I love.
It’s also the month I watch the weather most closely. Summer days here are often overcast, and the sun might break through, or it might not. I check the forecast the night before, and again in the morning.
One December day, the forecast said 20% chance of rain.
It was this family’s last morning on the coast, and there was no room to move the session to another day. So we met at Marina Beach as planned. I’d packed a few umbrellas in the car, just in case.
We’d barely started when the sky opened. Not a drizzle, but a proper South Coast downpour.
I handed out the umbrellas, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Dad crouched in the sand with his little boy, the two of them tucked under one umbrella, rain streaming down all around them. They both peeked out at me from underneath it.
I lifted the camera and took the photograph. It’s one of the best storytelling images of the season.
That photograph wasn’t on any plan. Nobody posed for it. If the forecast had been right, it would never have happened. Years from now, I suspect it won’t be the perfect portrait this family talks about. It will be the morning it poured on their last day, and Dad and his boy hid under an umbrella on the beach.
Photographs tell stories. Often the most meaningful one isn’t the perfect portrait at all. It’s a moment that simply happens, and being ready to catch it when it does.
If you’re heading down to the South Coast this December, I’d love to hear your family’s story. Tell me a little about your family and your dates, and I’ll come back to you soon.
