Turtle Rock on Watson Lake, Prescott, Arizona

I was kayaking on a small lake in Arizona, at 5500 feet altitude. After kayaking on oceans which has the skyline of tall city buildings, and lakes surrounded by spruce trees, kayaking in lakes surrounded by granite boulders is a new experience.

The boulders are bare but trees have managed to find a soft spot to grow roots and defy convention. Birds were making their nest in every crevasse and every crack in these rocks. And the water was cold making me forget that I was surrounded with high desert.

I saw a dome shaped rock that seemed bleached at first sight in stark contrast to the surrounding brown of the granite dells. Then looking at the cormorant and ducks flying around it I realized that it was a popular landing place for all these birds who had left their marks over the rock.

When I paddled at a slightly different angle, the rock turned to a turtle. A calm, accepting and serene turtle. It had given respite to birds tired of the heat, and now let me discover its identity only because I was at water level.

… As I clicked on the shutter, it was clear to me that to discover one has to be at the same level to people and nature. That is why I like street photography, and being at the water level in a kayak was like walking the streets with an old camera hanging from my neck. Looking from above or from distance keeps little secrets unnoticed.

And I wondered if when the water gets low during the heat of August, does the turtle slowly shake its legs and move to another spot?

I have to come back and find out.

April 5, 2015
©Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2015