It was another beautiful winter’s day, which made my late afternoon walk all the more enjoyable. Until this lockdown I’ve not spent much time on Westgate’s beaches. It has been my loss as Westbay beach is simply stunning when the tide is out. I love the fact that lockdown gives you both the time and the patience to observe the intricacies of what is around you. Today I enjoyed the perfect ridges on the beach caused by the tide, the abandoned shells that the sea left behind when it went back out again, and the thousands of sand castings (aka worm poop!)
The 20th century American author William Faulkner once said of his writing: “I discovered that my own little postage stamp of native soil was worth writing about and that I would never live long enough to exhaust it.” I’m beginning to think the same, visually, about my adopted area of soil, sand and sea.
Each day the combination of sun and clouds will be different, creating different light patterns and reflections on the sea. The wind will affect the surface of the sea, which will be at different points of being in or out. The position of the sun will be different, even if I were to head to the same spot at the same time. Sometimes you see both the sun and the moon at the same time.
There will be different shells and driftwood on the beach, and different formations of seaweed. Different people will be walking the beach, wearing different clothes. Different types of dogs will be running along the sands or swimming in the sea, chasing different coloured balls. I’ll see different varieties of seagulls, sometimes a cormorant, other times turnstones or sand pipers, occasionally an egret or a heron.
I can go on, but you’ll get the picture. And so will I, every time I step outside my door with my camera. Because, as sure as the tide comes in and goes out, there’s always something to worth photographing, rain or shine.
This image forms part of my Daily Print series, and is available to buy here
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