| One of the wonderful things about reflections
off the surface of still water is that the reflectivity depends
on the angle to the water. This means that you get a tonal
gradient from the reflection, and it also means that you get a
gradient where you can see what's below the water, fading into
the reflection. With the sand patterns that extend into the bottom of tide pools, this can make for lovely photographs. |
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| It doesn't look like it in this photograph, but the feathered sand patterns near this tide pool are caused by the water flowing into the pool, not out of it. It's hard to see in the web version, but in a print you can see the surface disturbance caused by the water flowing into the pool. |
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| In some places on the coast, when the tide down around minus two feet, quite a lot of beach is exposed. The exposed beach is an endless source of patterns and shapes, punctuated by reflections off the tide pools. |
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| What I loved about this spot was the way the water had formed scallops in the sand, and the way the scallops had captured dark material from the water, so that you can see the pattern extend through the surface of the water. Careful use of a polarizing filter lets a photographer control the reflection and manage the balance between reflection and the patterns below the water. |
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| My good friend David Clarridge and I have
photographed together on the beach for years, but this image and
David's version mark the only time David and I have made nearly
identical photographs. But how could anyone resist that perfect reflection, and that beautiful curve? |
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