Notes and Images from a Small Island (Practice 4 Day 4)

A stunning day and having had limited success with my work last week, I decide to return to the beach to continue with The Shape of Water project.  The colours are strong, vibrant and the light bright and sparkling.  There are breakers pounding the beach in one of the bays so I stride over to capture the rollers.  I use slow shutter speeds allowing the force of nature to make its own shapes and patterns.  The tide is coming in, fast, as I realise the water is half way up my wellies as the waves unsteady me.  I gravitate back to where I had some success last week.  There is a deep channel that skirts the road along the township of Waterloo.  The shells on the bottom of the wide channel do not seem as numerous as when I had last visited this area, but then I realised we had had some high spring tides.  However, as I wander along the channel, kicking the water as I go, I realise there are lots of shells to photograph under the gently flowing water.  Many of them have been broken by the strong currents and tides, and are covered in algae.  The small shells cover the bottom but occasionally I spy a larger and complete shell.  The water sparkles and lights up the treasures hiding below.

Today, has been a relief weather-wise, and a chance to venture out after days of a northerly airstream, bringing strong winds and heavy rain.  The air is clear, crisp and cold, but the spring sun is now strong enough to provide some warmth during the middle of the day.  As I retrace my steps across the beach before the incoming tide cuts off my path, I reflect on the shape of water project and wonder whether my work so far has captured the essence of the water encircling the Island.