Sometimes the Universe sends a message loud and clear. You just have to be open to receiving it.

I was making the 1,000-mile solo drive back to San Francisco to pack up my life, break up with a boyfriend who didn’t understand me, and pursue a totally new career path. Part of me was excited about the bold decision I had made. The other part was terrified to abandon my comfort zone. These conflicting emotions left me feeling as scattered as the snowflakes falling all around me.

Out of nowhere, a mountain bluebird, bright as it could be, flew into view and landed on a snowy branch right next to the road. I had just enough time to click a photo before it flew away.

What are the odds this little guy would show up to shake me out of my emotional spiral at the moment I needed it most? He had no business being this far north in the middle of a Yellowstone snowstorm. It may sound crazy, but I think he came to reassure me that everything was going to be ok.

I shot this image on 35mm Kodak 64 slide film and came very close to never showing it to anyone. Why? Because my art-director-ex-boyfriend scoffed at it and proclaimed it worthless since I didn’t follow the rule of thirds. The profound symbol of affirmation it had brought me was lost on him.

And so I kept it to myself for years.

Much later, I was invited to join an artists’ co-op gallery. “Print your best work,” they said.

“Print that bluebird,” my heart said. But, I’d never seen this shot larger than through my slide viewing loupe. What would it even look like printed huge?

It sold immediately. So, I printed more. People bought them as gifts. And they came back for more. No matter how many I printed, they all sold out. Somehow this mountain bluebird touched the hearts of everyone who saw it.

Worthless? Far from it.

This is a Million Dollar Bluebird.

Edition of 30

Capture Date: April 28, 2000

Camera: Canon EOS Elan

Lens: Canon 75-300mm f4-5.6

Film: 35mm Kodak 64 Slide Film

Digital Scanner: Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 ED

File Dimensions: 5370 x 3582