Behind the picture: The lighthouse and the last bus

I wanted to photograph the light trails of a bus following the road as it curved towards the lighthouse. But getting the photograph also meant leaving myself very little time to catch the last bus back.

On this visit, seasonal restrictions meant I couldn’t drive to the lighthouse. The narrow road and limited parking meant the bus was my way in, and my way back out.

The walk to my viewpoint took about half an hour, with plenty of ups and downs. Once I found the composition, I waited. I needed the bus to pass when it was dark enough for its lights to trace the road.

It came at 21:00. The last bus back left the lighthouse at 21:40. That gave me one chance to get the shot, about ten minutes to pack up, and half an hour to walk back.

For a while, all I wanted was for the bus to arrive. As soon as I had the photograph, all I wanted was to catch the next one.

We packed up and started rushing. It was getting dark, and we had the trail to ourselves. The light from my phone moved across the hills as we walked as quickly as we could.

Somehow, we made it to the stop just in time.

As we caught our breath, the other passengers started asking, “Were you really up there? And you hiked all the way back that fast?”