Seagull - Crystal Cove, California (May 2006)

I don't particularly like this picture for any artistic merit that it has, but there is a story, or a tale, if you will. I was at the beach minding my own business. Actually, I was reading a book. The book was called Soul of a Citizen, and was about being active in society. I don't really recommend the book itself because it's obscenely long, but I recommend the message of the book, which can be restated in one sentence: "Get involved in society if you want things to change."

Anyway, the book has little other bearing on this tale, so I'll leave it at this juncture and continue to other things -- namely, this bird. There was a family close to where I was on the beach . They ate lunch, and then put all of their trash in the bag you can see in the picture. Well, you can also see a bit of their trash, along with the culprit who deliberately removed it from the bag while the family was off playing in the waves.

I could have chased this bird off, but instead, I chose to grab my camera and take pictures while it made a mess. Maybe I didn't learn enough from my book. Maybe I just didn't feel the need to change this seagull. Maybe I'm just a better photographer than an activist.