People seem to carry umbrellas to protect themselves from the rays of the sun in many parts of the world, but it is a custom not often seen in the United States, particularly on beaches. This woman is carrying this umbrella over her head as she runs along the edge of the tide very late in the day under a clear blue sky. The sun was already plunging towards the sea, turning the incoming waves and the piles of the seaweed on the sand a dazzling gold. She ran past me, incongruously determined to hold the umbrella over her head until the sun vanished below the horizon.