Which came first?

Walking on the beach one summer night, I spotted this gnarly oyster shell covered with barnacles. It was obviously bashed up by countless tides and crashing waves. It had a dull, brown patina left over from various sea weeds and slimes. It was ugly. In different mood or rushing through a different moment in my life, I probably would not have bothered to even glance at it. Even now, I am not sure why I found this shell interesting enough to photograph. Maybe I was just itching to experiment with my camera.

In any case, as I crouched down low to focus on my unlikely subject, I was stunned to see that the vertical patterns of the barnacles in the foreground of my photo were remarkably similar to the ferry dock architecture in the background. Now I wonder, which came first, the dock or the shell?

Because I shifted my perspective and was willing to get eye to “eye” with this humble and homely shell, I have a beautiful image that fascinates me whenever I come across it in my photo library. In taking this photo, I feel I have recorded an age-old "conversation" between the ocean and its shore dwellers. Can you hear what each "speaker" is saying?

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Photo credit: Photo by Jessica at Oceanwood.

Oceanwood Chronicles, copyright 2010 - Jessica at Oceanwood. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.) http://oceanwood.blogspot.com/