My friend Tolla from San Francisco came visiting the Dunes. Driving to the Lakeshore, he alerted me to a hawk. At the beach, I started doing my usual thing, imaging textures of sand, water and sky
until Tolla called me to watch two fish that he said were either spawning (in the fall?) or more likely having wild gay sex.
One of them swimming off, no doubt, happy.
Lucky me, having a visit from my gay friend to pull me out of my doldrums.
Birgit:
Very mysterious that second image. The water splashes up without evident cause: is it coming from beneath? Is it a thrown object?
I think that the matter-of-fact photography adds to the effect.
Jay,
It is coming from beneath. If you look very closely, you can see part of a fish at 7o clock to the splash.
Will be interesting to hear the views of the Chancellor of Cold Spring Harbor Lab as regards his take on gay fish. I am sure he will have something interesting to say…
Sunil,
In response to your comment, I vaguely remember information on an environmental toxin that alters the gender of fish.
Birgit:
Was your “gay friend” the fella or the fish?
And wouldn’t the fish be perhaps sixty nine degrees to the splash?
Jay,
Tolla is my gay friend.
About ’69’, that is the ‘asana’ of hermaphrodites such as leeches.
I don’t know whether I’m more impressed with the first photo, or the fact that there are hermaphroditic leeches.
The light and shadow of the first image is so sharp, I love it. I love that sharp ledge of sand and the thought that it’s continually falling into the water. Maybe at some point it comes back onto the ledge.
Tree,
I used a different method for sharpening the first photo. Usually, I sharpen the entire picture. But Tolla suggested to selectively sharpen the ledge of sand plus the water next to it. I am grateful to him for that tip.
Sunil,
Having now also read today’s NYTimes made me think that the chancellor of CSH Laboratory is going into dementia.
I like the effect of the sand dividing the two water textures, the relatively sharp and clear rippled foreground water, and the partially blurred, larger waves in the distance. It would be interesting to play with this contrast in different compositions. Here, it seems secondary to the cliff (which Tree likes), but you can change the importance of one or the other by your camera position.
Another great photo, Birgit. Reminds me of Steve’s horses in its clean shapes.