Day 275: Second by a second

Yesterday was actually the shortest day, and the solstice occurred last night for us here on the west coast. Today is the second-shortest day of the year, longer than yesterday by a whole second (according to timeanddate.com). I checked when the sun would be at its highest today and decided to head down to the beach for that time (about 10 minutes after midday). This time I chose Wreck Beach, as I haven't been there recently and by now all the naked people will have given up and gone home. (I wasn't quite right on that one: a topless woman - for a welcome change - dashed into the water for a quick swim.) As soon as I reached the beach I saw my picture for today: the array of vertical poles in the sand casting long shadows. I walked up to the tallest one and stopped when I could no longer see the sun. I sized up my shot, and backed up a little until a little bit of the sun was peeking over the tip of the pole. With the small aperture (I was on f/22) and only seeing a tiny fraction of the solar disc I was hoping to get a nice little "starburst" effect. See for yourself.

The midday sun on the second-shortest day of the year