Rialto Beach is the kind of place that changes as you walk it.
On this winter morning in Olympic National Park, I started with the larger rock formations along the coast. From there, I kept moving, watching how the shoreline, water, driftwood, and forest changed from one section of beach to the next.
The weather was cold, and working with the camera became harder as the morning went on. But the conditions also kept me engaged.
I did not arrive with one photograph in mind.
I wanted to see what the coastline would give me.
Starting With the Larger Forms
The sea stacks establish the scale of Rialto Beach almost immediately.
Some stand well offshore. Others rise close enough to the beach that their shape changes as I move past them.
That gave me several ways to work with the same coastline.
In Rising in Silence, the larger rock formation dominates the scene, while the smaller forms around it help establish distance and scale.
A closer view created something different.
Rooted Heights brought the trees on top of the rock into greater importance. The photograph became less about the broad coast and more about the relationship between stone and the trees holding their place above the Pacific.
A short distance away, another formation offered a very different structure.
The opening through the rock reduced the landscape to a few strong shapes.
Instead of showing the whole formation, I used the opening as a frame for the water and light beyond it.
Stone Guardians returned me to a broader view.
The paired rocks gave the scene a simple structure, but the changing surf kept the space around them from feeling static.
Following the Beach
As I continued along the shoreline, the larger rock formations became less important.
The beach itself began providing the photographs.
Water crossed the sand in narrow channels. Wet areas reflected the sky. Each wave changed the edges of those shapes.
Where Waters Meet came from one of those temporary arrangements.
The curved water in the foreground gave the open beach direction and carried the scene toward the distant shoreline.
I could have walked past and looked only toward the ocean.
Instead, the foreground became the photograph.
Calm Between Tides moved even closer.
Here, the lighter rocks stand apart from the darker sand and shallow water surrounding them.
It is a much smaller landscape than the sea stacks I photographed earlier, but it still belongs to the same coast.
Looking Closer
The longer I worked at Rialto Beach, the less I needed recognizable landmarks.
Texture began to matter more.
Water moving across sand left patterns that changed from one moment to the next.
This photograph became almost abstract.
Light and dark areas stretch across the frame without needing a large rock formation or horizon to identify the location.
It was simply one small piece of the beach that worked on its own.
Driftwood offered another kind of structure.
Branches, logs, and roots overlapped along the upper beach.
The arrangement was complicated, but the lighter pieces of wood created enough separation to hold the scene together.
It was another reminder that a coastal project does not have to remain focused on the ocean.
Where the Forest Meets the Sea
After spending much of the morning looking toward rocks and open water, turning back toward the land gave me a different view of the place.
The dark forest, scattered driftwood, and open shoreline created a quieter photograph.
It also helped complete the series.
Rialto Beach is not only surf and sea stacks. The coastal forest belongs to the experience too.
Returning to the Pacific
By the time I started back, I had photographed large rock formations, tidal channels, isolated stones, driftwood, patterns in the sand, and the forest along the beach.
The subjects changed, but they all came from the same walk.
I like ending the series with the ocean.
After working closer and closer through the morning, this photograph opens the landscape again.
The beach, waves, distant rocks, and sky return the project to the larger Pacific coast where I began.
That became Echoes of Light and Tide.
Not one view of Rialto Beach, but a series shaped by walking, looking, and responding to what changed along the way.
Behind the Scenes
I also recorded a short video while working along Rialto Beach. It offers a look at the conditions, the shoreline, and the way I moved through the landscape while making this series.
Further Explorations
Ruby Beach: A Black-and-White Study of the Olympic Coast
North Cove Beach: A Quiet Study of Washington’s Southwest Coast
