Fortunately, Hurricane Isaac barely brushed the Florida Panhandle, but we are experiencing some pretty awesome surf conditions, which I went to photograph early this morning. As I was about to leave, I spotted this shovel in the surf left behind, no doubt, by one of the many kids who was on the beach before the storm hit.

I love the serenity this represents -- with the colors and the scene as well as the fact that you have blurred the lines between sand, water and horizon.

Very creative and nicely done as usual Robert.

Lovely shot. Great find.

Awesome.. great shot

Fantastic shot!

If I was being really picky the only thing I would say is that I'd prefer to see a little breathing space below the shadow of the spade and I'd lose the frame. (but that's just personal taste) That said, I'm sure you have the winning shot here. Well done! :-)

carolyn farley wrote:
I love the serenity this represents -- with the colors and the scene as well as the fact that you have blurred the lines between sand, water and horizon.

Thank you, Lindy, for picking up on the transitions between sand, sea and sky. That is what I had hoped to accomplish.

Travis Rhoads wrote:
Very creative and nicely done as usual Robert.

Travis, you are too kind. Thank you!

Bill Adam wrote:
Lovely shot. Great find.

Thank you, Bill.

Howeird wrote:
Awesome.. great shot

Thank you.

Mairi wrote:
Fantastic shot!

If I was being really picky the only thing I would say is that I'd prefer to see a little breathing space below the shadow of the spade and I'd lose the frame. (but that's just personal taste) That said, I'm sure you have the winning shot here. Well done! :-)



Mairi,

Your comments are well taken, and I agree with you regarding the breathing space. Given time, I would have composed it slightly differently. I had waded out into the surf to get this shot as the surf was retreating, and I had only about 10 seconds to stick the shovel in the sand and set up before the surf came roaring back in; therefore, I lowered the camera to just above the water level, took the shot, took a quick look at the LCD, then made a run for dry land before my camera and shirt pockets got filled with salt water. When I looked back, the shovel was washing back out to sea.

There really is a limit to just how far one is willing to go to "get the shot."

Thank you for your insight.

Robert

Robert, I'm even more impressed that you waded out into the surf to get this shot. It truly is a wonderful capture. I appreciate how difficult it is to get the perfect shot with such time constraints. Glad you didn't get washed away with the shovel! ;-) This is certainly my favourite entry this week. Good luck!

Mairi

Wonderful entry! Love the tones and everything else about it! Well done.

Really cool shot. Simple, nice colors and composition.

rjs14 wrote:
Wonderful entry! Love the tones and everything else about it! Well done.

Thank you.

ts232 wrote:
Really cool shot. Simple, nice colors and composition.

Thanks!

great shot!