Sunrise and shadows on the sand

I awoke early the morning I shot this photograph in eager anticipation of the sunrise, believing that there would be a few gems to be discovered in my camera after I finished shooting. When I walked out onto the beach the wind was chillly and blowing stoutly, carrying sand and seafoam with it. The water fowl seemed to be enjoying playing and gliding on the air currents, often looking as if they were having contests to see which of them could stay in one place in mid-air the longest. The sky was glowing pale blue on the horizon as the sun was making it's way to its debut. I planted myself as close to the surf as I dare and waited. . . . Suddenly, there it was! One second it wasn't, the next it was. It never ceases to amaze me. This time I tried to imagine the earth moving instead of the sun, just to try to get a sense of our place in the solar system -- I wanted to feel small, sitting on a huge rolling ball as it flies around the sun in the vastness of space. I wanted to sense God's bigness, to get goosebumps at the thought of it.
I started snapping photographs as soon as the sun made its appearance, and I didn't stop for another forty minutes. I watched the seafoam blowing on the beach, and the birds, first chasing the surf and then running from it. I watched the pelicans flying in a line and gliding into a landing on the water, a few of them diving into the ocean after a fresh catch for breakfast. I looked at the way the sun shown on the water and the sand, making the water sparkle and glow fluorescent blue and orange, and casting long shadows on the tiniest ripples in the sand. The sand fences and dunes in this photograph caught my attention just as I was walking back to the house and I reached the top of the deck stairs. I looked down over the railing and was captivated by all the different shadows that were being cast. I captured a few different angles and then shut down the camera, hoping that I didn't get too much sand blown into my lens.
When I looked at the photos later I was stunned by the way this one turned out. It looks like a desolate place, almost like it could be desert land instead of the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean. The shadows all showed up and created patterns and shapes of all sizes and kinds.

I love being a photographer in part because of the way it helps to emblazon certain memories like this particular morning and all of its sights, sounds and smells on my memory.
I was revelling in the Creator's glory that morning and I won't soon forget how awesome it was!

(photograph taken at Sandbridge Beach in Virginia Beach, VA -- April 2006)