An Unlikely Bloom

About this piece

An orange-and-cream seashell rests among bare branches, its radiating ribs sharply defined against a saturated blue sky. Selective focus softens a second, pale shell into the background, while the diagonal wood contrasts with the foreground shell’s rounded form.

The story

I framed the shell as though it were a blossom, letting the bare branch lead my eye toward its warm, ribbed surface. Against that blue, the orange seemed almost luminous. A pale shell farther back offered a quieter echo, just enough to suggest this was not the only unlikely bloom. I wanted the photograph to hold that small surprise: the shapes of the sea appearing where I might have expected leaves.