Beneath the Golden Arc

About this piece

A sweeping palm anchors the foreground as the shoreline recedes toward a hazy, mountainous coast. Golden light fills the clouds and catches the breaking surf, while scattered figures lend scale to the expansive beach and sea.

The story

I framed the shore beneath the curve of the palm, letting its dark trunk lead my eye into the light. Along the water, people stood between one wave and the next, their figures small against the bright sea. Footprints covered the dry sand, while the surf kept smoothing its own narrow strip of beach. What held me there was the contrast: a sky full of grandeur above an ordinary, unhurried gathering at the water’s edge.