Beached, it's Creation

 

This is the story behind one of my most popular and favorites photos and how by accident, it came to be. In the later part of 2022, our area Facebook pages became a buzz, talking about this sailboat that had washed ashore in the Navarre Beach/Pensacola Beach area. Well of course, being one of my favorite subjects to shoot, I got with fellow photographer (Walt Ebbert of Walt Ebbert Photography) and headed down to see what it was all about. 


Sure enough, there she was, beached at the surf line. At that time, no one really knew how it got there, it was just too soon to know the story. It later came out, the owner was sailing off of the Navarre Beach area and suffered some type of medical emergency, incapacitating him. The seas were a bit rough at that time causing the sailboat to drift ashore. Some beach walkers found the boat and called for help, the gentleman was life flighted to a local hospital and that's where the story dissipates with not much, if any info afterwards. The sailboat remained in place for about 6 month's and became quite the attraction for a while, before being removed. I never got the word on how that happened, but either the state or insurance company took care of it.


After checking out the sailboat that afternoon, we decided to go back a couple of mornings later for a sunrise shoot. There were no clouds in the sky that morning, but the warm glow of the sun more than made up for it and actually simplified the shot. I had a customer order a 24"x36" Fine Art Mounted Print and it came out really nice! Ok, on to how my final image of the sailboat became one of my favorites.


It was a few months later, when I decided to go out and shoot sunset at the beach. I have a few favorite areas I frequent, but this day I thought, I'd head down towards the sailboat and shoot some beach scenes there. The parking area is a few hundred yards east of the sailboat so I headed west down the beach. The clouds were starting to come in a bit heavier as they seem to do at sunset (that's how my luck usually runs) so I wasn't to optimistic, but I carried on hoping for the best. After a another few hundred yards past the sailboat, I was having no luck finding a composition I liked and sunset was pretty dismal, so I headed back towards the car. This time I hugged the dunes, as I was walking past the sailboat, two things caught my attention. First, I noticed the small dunes with three Sea Oat bunches, second, was how a small stripe of sunset light was on the horizon. I got down low, set up my camera with the sailboat between the two dunes and fired away. I wasn't sure if I'd really like the shot or not, but better to take it than always wonder what could have been. Once I got home and put it on the computer, wow, it really came to life and I knew right then, I had captured something special!
So, as with most all photography, even if the conditions don't seem right, go out and give it a shot anyway, you never know what jewel you just may capture.

Ok friends, until next time..............



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