“Excuse-me-the-light-is-really-amazing-right-now-I’ll-be-right-back.”

I wanted to start mixing in non-Moab photos this week, both to add some variety to the blog and to make the Moab trip photos last longer, but I had trouble deciding  what to feature. Then Justin Balog, who was on that trip with me, posted an image yesterday of a restaurant he recently visited in Belize, and he discussed how he ran outside after ordering to get the shot. His story made ms smile, because it immediately reminded me of when I got this image.

This is from my recent trip to Walt Disney World with my family. We ate dinner one night at Cat Cora’s restaurant Kouzzina, located in the Boardwalk Villas resort just outside Epcot. For those of you familiar with Epcot, Boardwalk Villas is one of the resorts accessible through the back entrance to the Park set between the England and France pavilions  The other resorts are the Beach Club and the Yacht Club resorts. By the way, Kouzzina is amazing. Consider it the next time you visit WDW, but get reservations ahead of time, when you plan your trip. It is generally hard to get reservations for dinner to the best restaurants in Disney World for the same day or even same week. Some restaurants even fully book months in advance.

Anyway, we’re sitting at the restaurant, and had just ordered dessert when I noticed the amazing evening light hitting this sign for Boardwalk Joe’s margarita stand.  I mentally calculated whether I had enough time to finish dessert and handle the check before I lost this light. I figured that until the sun went below the horizon, the light would just keep getting better so I would wait. But then my dessert was delayed, and I started getting itchy, so I mumbled my excuses to my patient wife and ran outside with my Fuji to grab some shots.  When I got outside I thought I was too late, but it was some trick of the light. I’m very pleased with the image, and when I returned to my seat the light again looked amazing. Fortunately, the restaurant windows somehow accented the light enough to draw my eye to this photo opportunity.

While I researched this post, I discovered that Boardwalk Joe’s has recently undergone a makeover. Until this year, it had been a coffee stand, not a margarita stand. Read the comments on that article, and you’ll see that some people are unhappy with the change. Personally, I had never been there before so I cannot miss the old version, and looking at the signage I must admit that I prefer the new look for photo purposes at least. I doubt the old one would have caught the light so well.

So like Justin, let me encourage you to grab those photo opportunities when you can. If you explain yourself, and don’t abuse the privilege, your family, friends, and even the wait staff will probably understand, and you’ll grab an image and secure a memory.