Notes and Images from a Small Island (Practice 10 Day 1)

After a break from my practice, to get a substantial period of writing completed, I return to a different object of Being.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I have decided to focus on the sea, or more specifically, on the liminal space between water and land.  It is a paradoxical space where the softness of water meets the harsh element of land.  The line between them drawn by nature, and itself changing on every tide.  In this space where elements merge and where creatures and other living organisms dwell, there is a cornucopia of forms, shapes, and patterns – a constant dynamic of movement which is ever-changing.

In terms of my photographic practice, this study is a challenge.  I am faced with a paradox of whether I represent the liquid form of the sea, the rigidity of the land with which it intersects or the point at which the two merge.

I choose to take a relaxed approach to my practice and experiment with those aspects that capture my attention.  I am immediately attracted to the forms, shapes, and patterns on the water.  The overhead sun is creating specular highlights and lighting up the world beneath the surface.

As I work in the shallow water, I become interested in the creatures and plants being constantly moved by the swell of the receding tide, and the gentle waves pushing the seaweed closer to shore.  Some being left by the tide only to be collected as the sea continues its journey of ebb and flow.

The intense lime green colour of Bladderwrack flashes beneath the surface while other more delicate forms are buffeted in the dynamic swirl of momentary interaction.  I recall deciding to focus on the moment in time when liquid and object become one and, at the same time, choosing not to freeze the action by using a fast shutter speed, but rather to try to capture the reality of superposition and entanglement.  It is an interaction and moment of turbulence not capable of being recorded by the human eye and rather than use the camera’s capability to freeze the action I decide to give a sense of chaos and dynamic movement.

I realise that what I am trying to capture is the reality of Being, and two objects Being aware of the other’s Being and in turn my Being aware of their Beings.  A moment of natural entanglement.