What is it about wet rocks on a beach that makes them so alluring? Is it because there are no two rocks the same? In some way, do they remind us of people – each with their own personalities, color, and character? Is it because its particular shape or color triggers something in our own memories? Is it because water seems to bring them alive and refreshed, like all other life on Earth? Is it possible to feel a connection with such an inanimate object? Of course, telling someone they have the personality of a rock could be taken as quite an insult. But each of these rocks has quite a story to tell, and I am sure pretty interesting, if they could ever tell it. How did that rock get those red circles or strange spots? Where has it been? Why is the line formed this way vs. that way? Some of them old, some of them new, some plain, some quite varied within. Of course a geologist would rattle off a thousand reasons why a rock takes on its particular look, and tell its story for it. For the rest of us – we can simply wonder, admire, and appreciate another object of nature that stimulates our curiosity.
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Frans Lanting, one of my favorite nature photographers, has a new book entitled Life: Journey through Time. My copy hasn’t arrived yet, but this work features his comparisons of visual parallels of life on our planet. To get a glimse of some of the incredible imagery in this new work, see the website dedicated to this book at; Life Through Time.
Lanting will be here in Detroit Oct. 22, presenting for Outdoor Photographer – I am looking forward to hearing him speak about his work and nature photography in general. Lanting’s book can also be purchased through the link below;
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[gmap name='mymap' lat='46.474222' lng='-86.734829' zoom='10' desc='This is the general area where the shot of the rugged Lake Superior coast was taken']
I found this Google Maps plugin for WordPress which is pretty cool.Â. This is basically the area where the image below was taken.Â. I don’t think it is going to lead anyone to my tripod holes, but it is an interesting tool to help communicate to visitors where certain shots where taken.Â. So thank you to Mike over at macdiggs.com.
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Give a nature photographer a good beach lined with plenty of rocks and they will be busy for hours. The variety of compositions and subject matter can be endless. Beach rocks are always best photographed in bright overcast light to avoid harsh shadows and reflections. A polarizer is a very useful tool to keep the reflections under control as well. We are fortunate in the Great Lakes region to have the great coastline of Lake Superior which has an abundance of rocky landscapes and beach stones. I just wish it wasn’t so far away from where I live and I could do this type of stuff every week.
Departing from the typical overhead pattern type shot, I got down on my belly to photograph small waves crashing over these beach stones. It sort of looks like half impressionistic painting / half photograph – which is kind of cool to me in the way the different portions contrast and compliment each other. More recent explorations of the rocks in this area can be found in my gallery on rocks and shells.
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