Wishful thinking...
Yesterday morning we caught a water taxi from Captiva to the mainland right at sunrise to ensure we made it to the airport in time for our flight. We were hating life as we drove our golf cart along the deserted path to the dock, but our attitudes turned around when we realized we’d actually get a chance to see the sunrise as we left. (Since our house is on the NW side of the island, we saw gorgeous sunsets every night, but never got to actually see the sun appear in the morning.)
As soon as the boat left the harbor, the view was stunning. Everyone fumbled to pull out cameras and grab a quick shot.
Everyone, that is, except for a guy Alan soon nicknamed Ansel Adams. We should’ve realized when he stepped on the boat with a tripod under his arm instead of a suitcase that this guy was NO JOKE.
He lurked behind us and as other people snapped a quick shot or two of the sun, he pressed his shutter button and held it for all he was worth. We heard the frames clicking by at a pace previously known only to machine guns and playing cards. And just when he’d pause and we’d get our giggles under control, he would reposition himself and begin firing off another hundred shots.
We expected to hear him whispering, “Work it! Work it! Feel the breeze! Be the sun!” as if he were shooting a swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated.
I kept finding myself pulling out my camera to snap an obligatory photo of this or that simply because he had his lens pointed in a certain direction. As soon as I did it, almost every time, I found myself wondering what the hell he was photographing, because I didn’t see anything special in my viewfinder.
As we slowed our pace and pulled up to the dock on Pine Island, I contemplated approaching the man. I wanted to tell him that yes, sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, but that sometimes, a thousand pictures are just a thousand pictures. I pity his co-workers, because I can already guess how many sunrises and sunsets they’re going to have to sit through: thousands.
pithypants 
I’m positive that his Nikon was 1) brand new, and 2) fully automatic. Thanks for elbowing me sharply enough to keep me from actually laughing in his face.