I’ll see you at 25 when the big waves are breaking.

~Shared by Rich Seiling~

Chip took me under his wing when I was a young Midwestern twenty something photographer who knew a lot about digital imaging, and not so much about a whole lot else. We worked together as he was beginning to exhibit his photographs to produce digital portfolios for his galleries. His influence on my understanding of photography was profound. In everything he did, he was a giant among giants. 

One of the times I’ll always remember was photographing on Big Sur, sometime around 1998 or 1999. It was just after sunset, in the fading twilight. After climbing up some steep rock face to get back to the car, we realized the gas gauge on his Suburban was way below empty. That part of Big Sur is pretty desolate. No cell service, few cars passing, and the nearest gas was a long way away. We gave each other that look of, “Oh Crap, what do we do now?”  We had no choice but to try and make it back. As we drove up each hill, we saw the gas gauge go lower, and on the downhills we watched to see if it would move higher. It barely did. We sweated that whole 30-45 minute drive. By sheer luck we made it back to Carmel Valley Crossroads and into the gas station. Gas was still cheap then, so when the pump cut off at $75, Chip said “What the heck happened?” I told him that the pumps had a limit of $75 per transaction, and he looked at me with that mirthful expression of surprise and joy he could have and said,  “I’ve never done that before!” It was clear we were on the last drops of gas, and should have been stranded long ago. We both felt like we got away with robbery that night since we didn’t get stuck for hours in the dark on that lonely stretch of highway. 

I’m going to miss you brother. I’ll see you at 25 when the big waves are breaking.