A lone visitor, backpack still in place, takes a break from his travels to spend a few minutes relaxing at one of the many overlooks that run the length of Imperial Beach. I anchor the image with the massive z-shaped wall that he leans upon. I made this image during a midweek afternoon. The crowds that filled this same beach a few days before have now vanished. In their place are just a few umbrellas, and a small child who contrasts with the nearly empty sands that fill the frame. A red flag pulls the eye into the image – it is one of many that warn swimmers of the strong currents.

This couple was packing its gear and getting ready to head home after a long day at the beach. I watched and waited as the woman unfolded a large translucent beach towel and began to wrap it around herself. The light passing through the towel, as well as its color and shape, resemble the wings of a butterfly. The diagonal flow of the towel repeats the diagonal struts of the Imperial Beach pier in the background. The rows of horizontal waves echo her outstretched arms as well, while a smattering of bathers link the couple to pier in the background.

The sun has dropped below the horizon, yet it still illuminates a rain squall miles off shore. A somewhat chilled bather, his shoulders wrapped in a crimson towel, stops in the foreground to savor the scene. We share this view of those distant showers together with him. A lone horizontal wave echoes the horizontal beach, ocean, and rain squall.

I interpret the town’s “Sea and Sky” sculpture for the third time in this gallery, using life to imitate art. This time I show only the stylized soaring metal sea bird in flight, and waited until a live seagull flew into my frame. I made this image of the gull, it’s wings edged in light, echoing the shape of the metal bird, yet flying in the opposite direction.

An inconsiderate visitor left a bag of junk food behind on the beach, causing dozens of seagulls to fight for its remaining contents. I made this image from a considerable distance, using a 350mm telephoto focal length, and shooting from the high vantage point of the Imperial Beach pier. The photograph expresses the heart of an ecological issue – the trashing of our natural resources. The thoughtless person who tossed this bag of junk food onto the beach and left it there represents just one of many who, in their ignorance or laziness, may well cause disease and death to come to these creatures. While this image leaves an impression of chaos, it also speaks of the imperfect relationship that exists between man and nature.

Although I made this photograph from the Imperial Beach pier, I seemingly caught this pelican plunging through the sky over the downtown San Diego skyline, some 14 miles away. The pelican is diving for fish, and within a matter of a second or two, it will strike the ocean’s surface and hope to scoop a fish into its pouch. The pelican is actually only a few hundred feet from my vantage point, yet my 350mm telephoto lens is long enough to compress the distance between the pelican, the San Diego skyline, and myself, making it seem as if both the bird and the city are close at hand.