Let It Shine: Supportive Stranger

Recently, I was at the farmers’ market in Santa Barbara. It was a gorgeous, clear day with lovely mountain views. Since I have been spending more time at home or in Montecito, I haven’t been downtown as much, so it was nice to spend my morning on Cota Street. Because I’m blogging (as you know if you’re reading this) and now creating much more social media content, when I’m out and about I will think of photo ideas. Especially when I’m actually somewhere different than my house/neighborhood/couch.

So I did what probably half of the people at the market did — I decided to take some (shameless) selfies. I exited the market and found a somewhat shady sidewalk spot away from any other people. I’m trying to hold lavender and bags of produce and take photos in midday lighting — having photo content goes hand in hand with blogging and social media, so this non-photographer is trying. Why I’m describing this funny don’t-smush-the-strawberries and try-to-reposition-the-olive-bread moment is that I was trying to get a good photo, and I didn’t hear two men walk up behind me until they were very close.

Now, I’m still getting used to putting my face out there a lot more these days and taking more photos in public, so I instantly had a flash of embarrassment. I quickly moved to the side and apologized that I didn’t see them and that I was so sorry. I thought, “Oh boy, these…