Monday, February 02, 2009
Wintry Beach
A walk on an Atlantic wintry beach can re-define the word "austere".
One doesn't often think of the beach as a place for a pleasant hike in winter. I am one of those rare souls who does. It's easy to love the beach in summer, on a hot, sun-filled day. But in winter, with the winds whipping the waves into an unruly froth, and a cold mist covering everything, it is a less welcoming prospect.
One has to prepare to go out on a day like that.
But the beauty that is found in such austerity is also rare. One has to be willing to go looking, to be ready for the cold and the damp. On the day that I went to Conrad Beach, which faces the open Atlantic Ocean, it was that kind of blustery day. Luckily my son had his camera with him. Because I immediately wanted to photograph something which cannot be easily photographed: total grey. Degrees of grey, to be sure. But really just layers of grey upon grey.
It made me think of the subtle shading of Tanis' hand-dyed yarn (Tanis Fiber Arts) in some of her muted colourways, like "Shadow".
With just enough blue for water and sky, but just tone-on-tone greys.
I don't know why, but I was stunned by the gloriousness of it, the majesty--even while the salt wind was stinging my eyes, forcing me to look down. And then, with squinting eyes, I get to see the only touch of colour for that day: the unexpected gift of pink.
