When I’m out hunting for photos, sometimes it can feel like a real drag. Going to places other people have been, to capture stuff other people have seen, to post online where a hundred versions of the same photo is a garbage experience. So, to combat this, I have to wait for a moment to crack into reality. the above photo is one such moment.

Sitting at the base of Zapata falls near Great Sand Dunes National park is a small pool of water. It’s probably only about 2 feet deep at the lowest point, but it’s meltwater coming down from the falls itself – and thus bitterly cold. Even in waterproof boots, you’ll end up soaked, because waterproof only goes so far when the waterline is that high. Most people I’ve seen go in this grotto will stand on the edges, to keep dry.

Last time I visited, I rolled my eyes at the cold and plunged right up to the waterfall. But of course, from that position, the falls are impressive and also way too close for a good photo. So, having already taken my obligatory Everybody shot, I looked up.

Above me was a fissure that ran all the way to the entrance of the grotto, and the sun was shining directly down through the spray and haze. Obviously, I took that shot too.

It’s stuff like that which I seek in my travels. A star fissure. A crack in the sky through which reality screams in.