Donald Diddams
The Art of Digital Art
Where the Land and Water Meet
Losing Himself -- 2011
The land and sea meet gently along Siesta Key on Florida’s Gulf coast. A wide expanse of white sand tapers gradually toward the water, and the water subtly deepens as one walks away from shore. And sometimes, land and sea intermix when heavy rain, or waves during a falling tide, leave channels in the sand where shallow pools linger until filled in by the tide once again.
These are two portraits of that shifting spot between land and sea, the first in the white heat of a summer afternoon, and the second in the quiet coolness of an early morning with the slanting sunlight illuminating a lone bird and the city in the distance.
Feeding in the Shallows -- 2011
Donald Diddams 
Sometimes where exactly the water meets land is a grey area for me … and other times its brilliant white or volcanic black … depending on what beach I’m at.
Great images! … and check out those snazzy shorts!
where a photo is so much more than a photo. such as the colors!
and i love that subtle mist of the city in the horizon of “Feeding in the Shallows” while the bird stands out with a ‘personality’ somehow but is also organically elemental also somehow. the ‘somehow’ i guess, is the magic
Hi planetross!
Yup, it can be grey… or black, or white depending on the beach, or the weather. At night it can even be hard to find until you get your feet wet.
Glad you like the pictures, and the shorts! Thanks!
Hi tipota. Thanks so much. The changing colors are important in a flat somewhat undifferentiated land/seascape like this. And it’s funny how just that hazy hint of buildings in the background give that image an urban feel. I was lucky to find this one bird off by himself, even the birds are often crowded on this beach!
I vaguely remember such moments in Florida when the land fused with the water. Lovely! Makes one forget all about the world’s troubles, yes?
Both images are beautifully atmospheric. Good composition too!
Yes, Melinda, the seashore can be a calming place. Thanks!
With Florida so flat and riddled with rivers and swamps, the sense of land merging with water happens not only at the shore. However, in town, developers have done a “good” job of pushing that back so that the land seems solid and the water is contained to narrow channels or clearly defined lakes. That way no one needs to confront the reality that was Florida decades ago.