And it’s Not Even Hump Day…

David’s work inspires me.  Take this picture he posted yesterday of something as completely ordinary as marbles.   Somehow he throws together some green and blue glass, with a speck of orange, and it comes out looking like a masterpiece.

I had this in mind as I took a short walk this afternoon.  Another transparent snail shell (and empty one this time) grabbed my attention, but I didn’t really want to photograph it because I’d already done something similar last week.  But then thinking of the cumulative effect of David’s multiple marbles, I thought I’d gather a few shells and see what that looked like.

Like my friend Karen had told me, those little shells really are everywhere.   It took me a minute to grab a handful and position them on a bench behind work.  As I’m working to capture the effect of the light through the shell, I kept seeing this little Latino face pop over the wall.  Before I could fully turn my head to acknowledge his presence, he would pop back down.  So, out of the corner of my eye I watched him watch my little photo project.

The big surprise came when one of the supposedly empty shells started to move, and a slimy little life emerged and began cleaving to the neighboring shell.  I got more than I bargained for!

After I returned indoors, I watched through the window as the Latino boy scampered around the wall and over to the pile of yellow shells.  I was really hoping he’d take them, but I think he was afraid I’d come back.

Light through the snail shellsA little slimy life emerges and spots a new shellHe mounts his victim

Camera:  Nikon Coolpix 100

Shells and Slime Trails

Ignore the slime trail and focus on the beauty of the shell for a moment.  I had only seen the hollow remains of these little snails scattered across the parking lot at work until today.  Apparently Kim sees them all the time and moves them back to the grass if she catches a stray trying to cross the hot tar.  But, this was my first sighting and I was grateful to have my Nikon on me after a failed attempt to capture the delicate yellow shell with my Droid.

I was busted by a fellow co-worker who happened to be leaving work at the time.  He just laughed at me and shook his head.  I don’t care.  This is a cool picture!  And, as you can see, this little guy was somewhat damaged.  Maybe Kim found him later and moved him to a safer place…

Camera:  Nikon Coolpix 100