A curling wave breaks into white foam beside a sandy beach beneath a vivid cyan sky, with a small bird overhead.

Before the Water Falls

MG-0012

2020-07-15

About this piece

A dark, translucent wave folds toward pale sand, its crest breaking into white spray beneath an expansive cyan sky. The level horizon and diagonal shoreline frame the surf, setting the brief turbulence of the foreground against the open water beyond.

The story

I watched the edge of the water, where each retreat left a thin sheen across the sand. Beyond the breakers, the sea held a nearly unbroken horizontal line. I wanted both rhythms in the frame: that distant steadiness and the wave gathering close to shore. As its lip folded into foam, a bird passed high above. For an instant, the smallest mark in the sky balanced the weight of the water.

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