Tag Archives: beach

Love

Even though we are already halfway through November, this morning was perfect for a walk on the beach. It was sunny and mild, perfect sweatshirt weather. Most of the people in the water were in full wetsuits, but there was the occasional beach-goer braving the cool water in trunks or bathing suit.

Toward the end of our walk I noticed this heart drawn in the sand and stopped to snap a photo.

A heart is a pretty obvious symbol representing love, but there is so much more that I think of when I look at this heart. I’m reminded that love is in the little things. I didn’t see who stopped to draw this heart in the sand, but whoever did took the time to kneel down and represent love in some way. This morning I know that my husband would have rather gone to the gym for his workout, but instead, he willingly headed off to the beach with me to walk on the beach…at high tide, no less!

In the long run, it’s not the big romantic gestures that matter most. The marriage proposals on the jumbo-tron, the diamonds, and the roses make a big splash but is the bowl of chicken soup carried to your bedside when you are sick, reaching for your hand when you look nervous, and taking time off work to take the cat to the vet that really make a difference.

In my view, love is being there for the long haul. Struggling together through the hard times and savoring the magic moments. It’s being up when your partner is feeling down, watching that romantic comedy when you’d rather see the latest science fiction adventure, and listening to that story…again.

Love is in the little things…like a heart drawn in the sand. And it’s not quite perfect. I like that it is open…there is still room to grow.

A Question of Luxury

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Just what is a luxury? The word tends to bring to mind those things you buy: fancy cars, expensive homes, designer clothes…

As I mulled the idea of a luxury I wouldn’t want to live without, I found myself thinking instead of just how fortunate I am. My basic needs are met…and more. I live in a beautiful city…a place that others choose for vacations.

The natives have been restless this week, our weather has been hot (for us) and we’ve had unusually high humidity too. Weather has been the topic of conversation for everyone. Most coastal dwellers don’t have air conditioning–we’re all much more used to carrying a sweatshirt at all times since it’s more likely to be chilly (for us) rather than too hot. So we’re all whining and complaining about discomfort and wishing for greener (and more temperate) pastures.

As I headed off to the beach this evening for relaxation and relief from the heat (it’s starting to become a habit), I realized that it is our proximity to the ocean that is the luxury that I would prefer not to live without. I love seeing the ocean in the distance as I sit in traffic on the freeway. I love knowing which direction west is as I watch the sun set. I love the briny smell of foggy mornings and the woody smell of bonfires along the shore. I love the quirky behaviors of seabirds, watching them run along the shore with bills specially adapted for the food source they seek. I love the piles of amber kelp that wash up and become jump ropes and sandcastle decorations and fun poppers exploding under my bare feet.

I love long walks, especially at low tide, with the white noise of the surf soothing my soul and relaxing that tight knot that often forms between my shoulder blades. The beach is definitely a luxury–and I wouldn’t want to live without it.

What luxury would you not want to do without?

An Unusual Point of View

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Yesterday I wrote a post about playing with frames where I was looking for different ways to photograph the ordinary in my life. This evening I headed off to the beach (again) to cool off and enjoy the sunset. And with my iPhone camera in hand I was again looking for new ways to explore the beach photographically.

When I sat down to write this post, I wondered about my topic. Would I write about my school day? Would I participate in Five Minute Friday and write about red? I took a quick look at my blog reader and saw today’s Friday Weekly Photo Challenge on The Daily Post…and discovered that this week’s challenge is just what I have been working at! The challenge is titled, “An Unusual Point of View” and talks about trying new ways to take photos of ordinary (or popular) views.

Back to the beach. The tide was ultra low when we arrived and the seabirds were feasting in the wet sand. I love sandpipers and their gently curved beaks that poke deep in the wet sand pulling up tiny shellfish and crabs. I was stalking this pair as they searched the shore and shot this photo, capturing the reflection of the cliffs in the wet sand. Can you spot my pair of sandpipers?

As the sun moved lower on the horizon, I took a few shots and then felt that they were too much like the sunset photos I took last week. How could I frame them differently? I noticed that through my sunglasses the view looks different than it does when I look without them. I decided to use my sunglasses as both a frame and filter for a picture of the setting sun.

And then as the sun sat down into the water, I tried using the people in the water as features of my photos. I tried some fishermen, some surfers…and then captured this pair which I am titling, Into the Sunset.

I love stretching and trying out new strategies. The experimentation adds a new dimension to my view of the world and has me alert to novel opportunities for photos. I look forward to seeing what others produce with their unusual points of view. What does an unusual point of view do to your craft?

Collecting Sandcastles

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I started a sandcastle collection. On my beach walks this summer, I have stopped to take photos of sandcastles abandoned by their builders, left for passers-by to admire and the surf to eventually reclaim. Here’s a few of my treasures.

Yesterday I also caught a few sand mounds that seem to be a variation on the castle theme. They weren’t fancy or decorated, but each included a canal from the top down to the bottom extending some distance away from the mound toward the water’s edge.

I’ve seen people of all ages building sandcastles. Kids build them in groups, teenagers build them with their friends, and adults build them–with or without their kids helping out. Some people use elaborate equipment: shovels and pails and molds. Some decorate their castles with shells and rocks and driftwood pieces. Some use the dribble effect, others are smooth leaving the imprint of the buckets packed with sand.

The picture I didn’t capture was the one of the three or four year old, outfitted in his tiny life vest and swim trunks, picking up handfuls of squishy sand and dribbling it onto a castle already substantially built. He was the image of #carefree…totally immersed in his world of sandcastle building.

This has been a summer of digital making for me–photographs and blogging and all the art and craft that goes into building, editing, and posting them. But I haven’t taken the time to build a sandcastle of my own. Maybe I will on my next trip to the beach…and I’ll take a few pictures to collect that one too!

Beach Curves: A Photo Essay

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Summers are always busy for me…but this summer has been busy in extreme! Between Geoff’s schedule and mine, we haven’t found time for a traditional, go someplace, kind of vacation. Instead, we have had to grab vacation time wherever we could find it. Today was one of those kinds of days…and we squeezed in a fun and relaxing one-hour vacation at the beach.

It was sunny and warm today…and the ocean water was on the warm side too…perfect conditions for a summer beach walk. The marine layer stayed off the coast and we got there early enough that parking was easy! We had just had a lovely breakfast at one of our favorite local haunts and were ready to walk and talk (or not)…and as always is true of me these days, take a few photos along the way. This week’s #sdawpphotovoices theme has been curves, so I was on the lookout for curves on the beach.

When we parked, the very first thing I noticed was this giant pipe on the street and immediately headed over to take a picture. I got Geoff to stand at the other end so its size would be noticeable–and I love the way the curve also becomes a frame for the portrait.

As we headed down to the shoreline, the tide was approaching high. This can be a limiting factor for how far we can go, so today we headed north. The waves were small, but the surfers and boogie boarders seemed to be having great success catching the curves and enjoying their rides.

Curves seemed to be everywhere. Erosion is a major issue along our local shoreline. The northern walk takes us below expensive homes that seem precariously perched above the beach. One section was still barricaded with yellow caution tape…and the crack we had seen a month ago seemed more pronounced today as it curves along the layers of sediment that make up the sea cliffs.

Giant kelp, which my students know by it’s scientific name Macrocystis Pyrifera, is a constant on our local beaches. Piles are evident as it washes up along the shore. Holdfasts, the rootlike structure that hold onto rocks in the water, are home to many fascinating sea creatures and we often see locals rummaging in these wet piles and finding brittle stars and tiny sea urchins hiding within and enjoying a close look before returning them to their wet and salty homes. The long stipes frequently form tangled webs although this one reached out in a gentle curve away from the rest of the pile on the sand.

Sand castle makers have been hard at work this summer. I passed this creation and just had to stop and get close for a photo.

I love this turtle version of a sand castle with its curved head, shell and limbs…and the extra touch of bucket-molded sand on the top. Ocean washed rocks became eyes and the proximity of the kelp seems like a perfect touch!

I was surprised to find this coconut laying in the surf. It had clearly spent some time being washed and worn by the sea, not quite round but definitely curved. Had me thinking of Tom Hanks in Cast Away.

There were quite a few holes dug with curved banks that began to hold pools of seawater as the tide continued to rise. I took a few pictures of the water in the holes and then stopped to wait to see if I could capture the waves coming over the bank to fill the hole. I love the sense of movement this still photo captured.

And then before finishing my walk, I came across another yet another sand castle. This one in more classic style with a moat, some bridges and curved turrets, and stones and shells for decoration.

I love the way #sdawpphotovoices themes focuses my attention and helps me see familiar places in new ways. My one-hour vacation was relaxing and exotic! The photos represent only a fraction of the curves I saw at the beach…and yet give a glimpse at the variety of curves along the shore. Tomorrow begins angles…I can only imagine what I will find as I look at the world through that lens.