Circumvention.
This is the sort of shot I simply can not resist. My photography has been described as “water over rocks” on more than one occasion, and in fairness, I photograph that subject with some frequency, as is evident in this image here. I found this rock at Mile Rock Beach in San Fransisco. As soon as I came across it, I knew I would create an image with it. The waves swept in and surrounded the rock, but not so much that it would obscure it entirely. But the tide was going out, so I knew I had to be quick to get this shot.
What I loved about this image (and all images involving water over rocks) is the opposition of rock vs. water. The rock seems like an unmoveable defiant object, while the water flows around the rock in what appears to be a compromising and effortless manner. But knowing that the water will eventually wear away the rock over time until it is only more grains of sand on the beach. It is a proverbial Tortoise and the Hair situation. Another aspect of this particular composition is the color. The rock's warm orange and red tones opposed and complemented the cool blue tones in the water. Not to mention texture, the rough, bumpy texture of the rock, with all of the hard crusty barnacles clinging to its sides, was in stark contrast to the smooth, fluid motion of the waves. There were simply so many things in this scene that I loved.
I set my camera up on the tripod, looking down at the rock, and waited for the waves to roll in. I wanted a longer shutter speed for this image to emphasize the movement of the water and show it surrounding the rock. So I waited for just the right wave to come in. I clicked the shutter as the wave receded into the ocean, giving the wave a sense of motion. A sweeping white veil of water surrounds and seemingly isolates the rock. About three minutes after I managed to get this image, the tide had receded enough that the waves were no longer reaching the rock. I walked away from this scene feeling lucky to have found it and to experience the moment before it disappeared.
