sandpiper | Thinking Through My Lens

Sometimes life seems to be taking place in fast forward–moving at speeds that make it impossible to catch up (or keep up, for that matter). Weekends offer opportunities to reconnect with loved ones, squeezed between chores like laundry and grocery shopping…and when I’m really lucky, time for an adventure or two.

I love the way my camera makes time stand still for an instant, but today I was trying to capture moments of motion. We headed north to the San Onofre State Beach, also home of the now defunct nuclear power plant. I’m always surprised by the multitudes of treasures I’ve yet to discover not far from my home…how have I missed this place I have passed by on the freeway so many times?

The day was gray and threatening. The weather forecasters had dismissed the rain for the weekend, but the clouds hung dark and heavy in the distance. We saw a couple of cars with surfboards on top heading away as we pulled in, and my husband joked that the surfers were done for the day. Until we turned the corner and saw the sea dotted with wet suited surfers afloat on their boards.

And a few were in motion.

I love watching sea birds, and I wasn’t disappointed today. I saw egrets and cormorants as well as the usual seagulls and pelicans.

I also caught this sandpiper frolicking in the surf.

Further north, we strolled out on the San Clemente pier with the wind whipping my hair and making me wish for the heavier jacket in the back seat of my car. The colorful flags danced in the breeze, in constant motion.

Surprisingly, there were no seabirds on the pier. But there were lots of pigeons. I noticed these bobbing their heads to drink from this sink. (Notice the sign…hmmm, were they drinking salt water or were they sipping from tiny pools left from the increasing drizzle?)

I love to go under a pier. There is something about watching the waves through the mussel-laden pilings that I find mesmerizing. The color of the water, the sound of the rocks, and the rush of the waves creates a musical performance of constant motion.

As we headed to the car, the rain began in earnest. And after all that motion, I am now sitting, near motionless, listening to the rain fall outside as I cuddle with the cats, chat with my husband, and try to stock up on some much needed rest to fuel the week ahead.

I’ve been thinking a lot about reading images and the stories held and told…both with and without words. This week at the Daily Post, the weekly photo challenge is titled Dialogue–with an invitation to post two pictures that open up new meaning when they are in dialogue with each other.

I love this idea of photographs in dialogue and thinking about how the images might speak to each other and the viewer in ways that create new understandings and opportunities for meaning making. I spent time yesterday evening on the beach…the perfect way to cool off and relax after a wonderful and exhausting first week with my students.

I often walk on the beach either in the morning or afternoon when the sun is higher and often more harsh. The evening sun was soft, bringing out reflections and colors that I don’t often photograph. As the day cooled and tide receded, the birds were active–running after tidbits of food, poking long beaks deep into the soft sand. I snapped many shots of sandpipers in action, playing with the light and shadows.

I love the way this sandpiper seems to be walking between the clouds as they reflect on the shoreline, an echo of the sky overhead.

And then as I thought about what other image to pair with the one above I was drawn to this image that I took of a hang glider in the setting sun.

Taken within minutes of each other, each photo tells its own story. Together, what do they say to you? I’d love to know what you hear in the dialogue between the photos.