Nalu

Years ago I had a '67 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible. When I bought the car is was a a bunch of mismatched body panels: some were faded red, some were faded blue, and some were simply primer. Bit by bit I restored that car with the help of a good friend. When it was ready for fresh paint, I took it to the local shop and said I wanted it painted "sea foam." The guys looked at me like I was crazy. I said, "you know...the color of a wave (nalu) when it stands up and the sun comes through...that turquoise blue?"

Nothing.

I went home and grabbed an old t-shirt I had purchased from a surf shop in Santa Cruz. It was the color of the wave above, so I took it back to the shop and said, "paint it to match this t-shirt." A few days later I went to pick up the car. They had matched the t-shirt so well that when I spread it out on the hood and stepped back, it looked like the pink surf shop logo (it was the '80's) was painted directly on the hood...the actual t-shirt blended that well. Somewhere I still have my receipt for the paint job, and handwritten in the text area it says, "match car to surf shirt in front seat."

Haven't thought about that car for years...but when I took the picture of the wave above, it all came back. I believe in looking ahead and following dreams, but I also believe in hitting "replay" every once in a while. After all, capturing moments in time is the essence of photography.