To celebrate our one-year anniversary, my wife and I rented a charming cottage in La Jolla, right by the beach. I couldn’t resist the call of the iconic Scripps Pier, a spot I’d always wanted to capture in a photograph. I had envisioned a radiant sunset with billowing white clouds, but instead, the sky turned dark and moody, casting storm-like conditions over the water. Still, I knew I had to take the shot. That’s how “Pathway to the Light” came to be.

When I was editing this picture, I was drawn to the way the pier seemed to beckon toward the light at the horizon, as if inviting us to walk upon the water. The contrast between the solid pier structure and the ominous clouds created a mesmerizing composition, reminding me that even in life’s storms, there is always hope on the horizon.