"When in Rome,. . ." goes the saying. I live in Moab, UT, where the geologic backstory includes some 19 incursions of shallow and deep seas, resulting in ocean and windborne sediments that were once buried, turned to stone, and rose again from the depths only to be weathered into their current national park status pinnacles, hoodoos, and other visually exciting landforms.
When I travel to the West Coast, I never intend to photograph its icons, but I had to make an exception here. Photographing at Bandon Beach is like traveling back in time to my home in Canyonlands. Familiar forms rise out of an ocean, a real ocean of water rather than the ocean of sand and sage that I wade in at home.
These sea stacks rising from a tidal pulse of water or left floating on a sea of wet sand when the tide recedes is just too mesmerizing of a subject matter to walk away from. I found this juxtaposition of elements at the end of the day. I had to skooch my tripod over a little to the left several times to avoid direct sun as the below-the-knee waves pulled on it and me – each time, I had to compete with the sand suction, slowly sinking my tripod for control.
I was afraid my camera would have too much wiggle for the image I was working towards, but I found there was a still moment between the push and pull of the waves, and that's when I made my exposures. Afterwards, I found I'd enjoyed working with the sea to make this image. It's not unlike many others made on this beach, and that is fine because the experience is mine and mine alone.
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Dimitri Vasileiou • Editor