WHAT LIES BENEATH
After many years photographing Sea Pine Beach, I coined the phrase “sand tides” to explain the phenomena I’d witnessed there. Depending on the season—and the aggression of climate change—the sand height can change fifteen feet in a year. Most don’t notice this change, but if you pay close attention, it’s a stunning occurrence. The SAND TIDES STRATA work is crafted from seventy-two days of images taken over four years exposing what lies beneath the sand we so often take for granted.
SEA PINE BEACH
WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN
After a “bomb cyclone” storm hit the Sea Ranch coastline in early 2024, a fellow hiker asked me where all the rocks on the beaches had come from. Pausing in confusion, I realized that she believed the storm had brought rocks to shore that had subsequently covered the sand. After I explained that the reverse was true, she became fascinated with the knowledge and wanted to see a photograph of the rocks from another year. Of course, I had more than a couple to share.
BUDDHA BEACH
THE ROCKY ROAD AHEAD
My visits to “Buddha Beach” began in 2017, when it was still possible to walk across the buttery sand to reach the “Buddha” rock at the farthest end. Looking back now, I should have cherished that first experience far more. It’s been over two years since climate change has intensified storms at Sea Ranch, and the sand shows no sign of return. Regardless, I wait for the lowest tidal level conditions and climb out toward Buddha Rock every month, searching for a grain that foreshadows the sand’s return.
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