A tropical storm is off our coast this week, but this time, instead of running to the market for hurricane supplies, we are off to the beach to capture the beauty of nature. The photo below isn’t the one I planned, but it was the surprise I got when a wave crashed a bit too close, sending a cascade of sea spray just inches from the camera lens.
Focused and ready to take the shot, this was the result. The image has no giveaway of season or place. It could have been taken anywhere, at any time of year, in any decade.
A good photograph is like a good story, it engages the imagination and draws the reader in visually, revealing the plot slowly and with purpose; a rocky shore, stormy seas, a driving rain, or maybe it’s cold outside with a light snow falling. A solitary figure watches from the tower, he sees something, or could it be someone …. the mystery unfolds.
My goal when taking a photograph is to capture not only the image, but also the emotion within the image. This image stirs my imagination. It is not technically sound, by professional standards, but it is well composed. I like the solitary, almost somber feeling it evokes. The element of mystery is created by the foreground of sea spray which fades the image and takes it slightly out of focus. Without that, it becomes the ordinary photograph below.
I like the peaceful, contemplative feel of this photograph, but it is absent the mystery of the previous image. Shooting it from near ground level upward makes the look-out tower seem further in the distance and minor in relation to the splash.
The Real Story
This is a beach I visit and photograph often. I love how tide, time of day, wind speed, shadows, water color & clarity, sunshine and even clouds have an effect on every image I capture. It draws me back time and again and I always expect to be delighted. It is not unusual for me to plant myself in one location, shooting frame after frame, waiting for the one. Sometimes I come home empty handed, but not often.
The House of Refuge, in Stuart, Florida is one of the most photographed landmarks in our town and has stood on this small strip of barrier island for more than 100 years. In the 1800’s it was one of ten homes built along the east coast and staffed with a caretaker who provided aide to ship wreck survivors.
This is the last remaining of the original ten homes. It currently serves as a museum and houses interesting artifacts from that period of Florida’s history. You can read more about the House of Refuge here.
The beach behind the museum is lined with Coquina rock, which makes the house especially durable against rough seas. Those same rock formations create a backdrop of never ending drama and are a photographer’s dream under any conditions.
It is not unusual to watch the sea change from this………….
to this…………………….. in less than thirty minutes.
Capturing moments like this keep me coming back to my little piece of paradise day after day. Like most photographers, professional or otherwise, I think of my photographs as art, and therefore, a reflection of my soul. They are individual and personal and each one feels like a gift I give to myself. They make me smile and today, these are my gifts to you.
Enjoy!
Picture Retirement 
Thank you! I enjoyed these photos so much I want to go there to walk on that beach. I love the first one with the sea spray.
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You are welcome. Let me know when you want to come down and I’ll take that walk with you! The sea spray is clearly my favorite. It’s been an interesting week out there.
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Sounds great!
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Great photos and thanks for the tip for a place to visit
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You are welcome Alice. It is an interesting place.
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It’s nice that you shared your thoughts behind your photos. I can see why that particular piece of land -and sea – keeps drawing you back.
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It is a place with many moods and I love them all.
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Hi, Suzanne – Your photos here definitely entice and engage. If you ever offer photography lessons, I believe that you would have many takers (including me if I lived closer)!
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Hi Donna, thank you for the vote of confidence, but, I am still learning and far from having an ability to teach. I’ll leave that to the professionals. What I lack in skills, I make up for with enthusiasm! Thanks for viewing my little gallery today.
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Those photos do have a timeless quality to them. Nice job capturing nature in a bad mood.
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Dan, nature has been in a bad mood a lot lately. Timeless is a good word. Thank you.
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Your post title caught my imagination…snow in Florida? The opening shot is a wow and it does give the impression of snowing, a great photo that can be interpreted in so many different ways. I can see why you love to photograph this area.
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Hi Gilda, I really wanted to show off that first shot so I chose a cheesy title to get your attention. Glad it worked! Thanks for the wow! You have had quite a few of those yourself lately.
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Gorgeous! I’d be out there too, snapping pics in all weathers. Then trying to paint the scene later, back home. Love this!
Deb
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Deb, What a wonderful talent to be able to paint. Thanks for commenting.
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Well, I wouldn’t call it talent exactly 😜 More like experimentation and perseverance 😉
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Hi Suzanne,
The snow pic is amazing…how unexpected and unique.
We’ve been meaning to take a trip up to Stuart; this series inspires me to put it on the calendar once we get to Florida next month.
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Nancy, it is a short 3 hour drive from your Florida place. Let me know when you plan it and we can meet up.
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What fabulous photos, Suzanne! I do love that first one with the sea spray, for all the same reasons that you give. It is very painterly.
Jude
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Thank you Jude, so nice of you to visit!
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When we are at the beach in the winter, the tides never cease to amaze me because of the beauty and the strength. Gorgeous photos before the storm hit. Mother Nature can throw a punch that is for sure.
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Judy, your time to sit by the sea is drawing near isn’t it? Our snowbirds start arriving in November.
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It sure looked like snow to me in that shot, Suzanne, you had me fooled for a second! Lovely images of the beach!
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Thank you Terri. The King Tide we’ve been having has made for an awesome display.
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Wonderful photos – what a scenic area!
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Thank you Sheryl, it is a beautiful place.
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I love watching the places that I love best change from moment to moment. I am never bored! I’ve lived in the same coastal California town since 1986 and never grow tired of hiking the same spots because it is always different – the sky, the ocean, the light.
Beautiful words; beautiful photos. I am not a photographer but I totally get what you are saying.
Susan Grace
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Susan, the ocean is certainly a place of constant change and continual joy for me. California beaches are spectacular, you must love living there.
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