We have journeyed to the coast twice recently to escape the heat inland. A gentle on-shore breeze has been very welcome and a breeze is just what is needed on a gently shelving sandy beach to create ripples and ridges in the sand where water sits.
I spent some time walking along the beach hunting for patterns. It is said that no two snowflakes are alike, and as I walked it seemed that no square yard of ripples was repeated.
Isn’t nature beautiful?
LensScaper 
A great photo on which to contemplate nature and all it’s gifts, even shifting sands… Have a fantastic Friday. Best wishes, Mr Cafe 🙂
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Thanks so much Mr Cafe. We see the beauty in nature in the small things like these tiny ripples. There were quite a lot of people walking the beach – it was low tide – and quite a few walked past me. Some looked at me as if wondering what was occupying my attention. No-one that I spotted saw the beauty that I saw or was minded to capture it. I find that rather sad.
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It certainly is Andy. I have studied ripples like this many times on the beaches in Cornwall and never photographed them terribly successfully. I’ve never quite managed to get the image I wanted, an image like this to be honest. It’s very beautiful. I love the gold colour and reflection of light on the ridges. Super picture! 🙂
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Many thanks Adrian. I have to tell you that finding photogenic ripples is hard. I vividly recall photographing them on a beach just north of Blackpool about forty tears ago and that resulted in a very successful B&W exhibition print. But I’ve looked for another image on many times since and this is the first time I recall when the combination of tide, light, ripple and residual water seemed perfect for a series of images. I walked probably a quarter mile along the beach and shot over fifty images like this one – trying to prune that number down and finding the best will be quite a task. As I said in response to Postcard Cafe it was disappointing that others on the beach seemed oblivious to the beauty at their feet. This was Littlehampton West beach by the way.
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Perhaps because of our recent flooding, I thought first of mud when I saw this, rather than sand. In either case, the pattern is beautiful, and one that we rarely see on our beaches. Photos like this always are compelling. For me, at least, it’s the combination of regularity and variation. At first, everything seems the same. Then, closer inspection reveals that not one ripple is like another.
As for those people who don’t notice? I’ve been pondering the same thing. In some cases, I think they might notice, but never stop. Of course, even I miss a lot. That’s why there can be such surprises when I upload photos to the computer. There’s a world of detail out there I never see when it’s right in front of me!
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Thanks Linda. There is always beauty in the detail as you say. You need a very particular set of circumstances to get this effect, which is why in my experience, I have seen it so rarely. The colour was difficult. Memory plays tricks. I was sure that the sand was more yellow than this but despite trying hard I just could not get a colour that looked entirely right. Easy to think it might have been mud
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For as much as last summer was a terrific one, this summer has been one hot one here in CT. Sounds like you are experiencing the same. Terrific patterns in this photo Andy. I hope to get something as good when I hit the beach in early August.
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For the UK, we seem to be having an unusually good spell of fine weather at present. The temperatures touched the low 90s in Fahrenheit, but fortunately have dropped back a bit.
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I can’t shake the feeling that I’m looking at a close-up of something that’s been baked, whether a chocolate cookie or a piece of pottery.
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Ha! I’d go for the edible version. The thing about abstracts is that often there is no sense of scale – that’s one of the joys of the genre.
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Nature, the best artist of all 🍀
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Absolutely true, Mick, and thanks for the comment.
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Wonderful photo, LensScaper, you really have a great eye!
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You’re very kind – thanks Lynn.
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