"The Golden Hour"

If you're reading this, I am quite sure you know I have no training in cinematography. That said, I am a fan of the work of Terrence Malick. Malick, a fellow Illinois native, in my opinion, is one of the greatest directors of his generation; moreover, he is quite particular about the look and feel of his films. Malick, as I understand his work, only shoots during "the Golden Hour." "The Golden Hour" is the last minutes before dusk or dawn: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_hour_(photography).

Like my usual writing, I am initiating this with a long preface. The reason I took so many words to write about photography and Terrence Malick was to express that the design behind it just smacked me boldly in the face. Thirty minutes ago, I was walking down to the drop slot, to pay my August rent. I was in a pair of shorts, with keys and rent in one hand, and my phone up to my ear with the other. As I strolled the fifty yards to the mail slot, I looked up the grassy hill leading up to the ridge where a neighborhood of affluent houses resides. Looking up the hill, in the midst of this Golden Hour, there she stood, a beautiful doe simply nibbling on the grass and foliage there on the hillside.

Talking to my aunt on the phone, about a trip to see her and my family, I stood there dumbfounded. Much like seeing the fox again this morning, walking into my office building; paying my rent this evening, I was again reminded that I live somewhere new and quite special. The point behind the verbose and tangential preamble was that there are few words to express how serene and beautiful life is for me, here in Boise. Growing up in the country, we saw deer, but never in such close proximity or with such graceful presence. Shhhh... don't tell anyone.