This photograph is from August 12, 2016, and was captured in the wide-open parking lot of a friend’s parents’ condo in Lake Tahoe. It’s a photograph of a Perseid meteor streaking across the night sky.

There are a couple kinds of photographs. There's the kind you hunt in clear water, where you see your target and capture it with skill. Then there’s the kind that's like a creature from the deep. You can prepare your gear and cast your line into the dark, but what you pull up is ultimately a matter of luck.

This photo is one of those pulled fron the deep—a brilliant flash of light from the abyss: an artifact not of control, but of patience.