I didn’t really take any vacation photos over the past week. I had booked a 10-day silent retreat in Idaho, but the waiting list never moved, and my long-overdue holiday clock kept ticking. Rather than scramble for a fallback plan, I decided to lean into the pause and completely cut the work cord—laptop closed, inbox ignored, no late-night Lightroom sessions.

I brought the camera out on our final day in Ventura, California. By that point, I felt so relaxed that I forgot my usual battery check, and I left the spare batteries at the Airbnb. A rookie mistake. Still, these images of California Ground Squirrels enjoying the beach feel like the perfect souvenir.

Jeff Turner

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