Making a perfect beach still life is an elusive photographic challenge since I usually get to the ocean once-a-year. An image like this has the power to fuel me with satisfaction for months.

It isn’t just that I saw this with my own eyes; that it is held in my memory.  The image offers some timeless moments of air heavy with ocean brine; sounds of incoming waves crashing on the shore; the sensation of firm wet sand underneath my bare feet; hues of blue where sky meets water; clouds moving and shapes changing.

Sea Grapes | 1/1000 sec; F/8; ISO-160; 21mm

At the beach, my daughter spent some quality time playing with piles and pieces of this flame colored seaweed. She handed to me a piece of this washed up plant and called it “sea grapes.”  We observed together that it had clusters of round air sacs that reminded her of fruit off-the-vine.

I am not familiar with this aquatic plant, although I find the form and color quite beautiful.

Please: if you can provide a positive botanical ID for this seaweed, I gladly will add its name to the post as well as acknowledgement of my thanks. (R)