Across the Dunes at Cocoa Beach
Blue Sky, Blue Water
A view of the beach and the ocean beyond from across the dunes Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach, Florida, as seen during our 2019 Florida Summer Vacation.
Whenever we visit Cocoa Beach, after spending some time in the water I usually wander around for a while with my camera, looking for things to photograph. While in some ways beach photos can look very similar, in other ways there are interesting angles to find. You just have to take the time to look for them.
I liked this view of the sand dunes with the beach beyond. You actually can’t see that much of the actual beach here. If it is actually okay to use two forms of “actual” in one sentence. Anyway, you can see a few people walking on the beach, even if you can’t see the beach. And you can see some colorful umbrellas popping up in places, too. Of course, there is the beautiful water and the blue sky off in the distance, too.
I like that beach umbrellas are usually colorful. Blues at the beach are nice, and green grass on the dunes add a little color, too. But then you throw in a multi-colored umbrella and you have all sorts of interesting colors there. Even if they are rather small in the large view like this. I like those little dots of color.
Oh, and if you ever think about running out across the dunes to get to the beach, be sure and note the Keep Off the Dunes signs. There is a reason you don’t see any people out there.
Which Are You?
I have learned that in this world there are two kinds of people, Beach People and Non-Beach People.
Beach people love the beach and can stay out there for hours on end, especially if they have some sunscreen and an umbrella. They come prepared to stay all day and only leave if a rain shower with lightning drives them away.
Then there are the Non-Beach people. They don’t care for the beach at all. They don’t like sand because it gets everywhere. They don’t like being in the sun. And they just don’t like the beach.
I suppose that technically there is a third group, which would be Semi-Beach People. They go out to the beach for an hour or so. Sometimes, they come armed with all of the usual Beach People things like chairs, umbrellas, or tents. They spend lots of time setting up their things. But then they take it all down and leave an hour or two later. I would consider the Semi-Beach People a subgroup of Beach People, because they do give it a try, even if they don’t last all that long.
Of course, we are solidly in the Beach People group. It is probably a good thing that we do not live near a beach, because we would end up spending all of our time there instead of doing important things like going to work. But we do love the beach.
However, we know that just because we love the beach doesn’t mean that everyone else has to love the beach, too. That is just one of those things that makes us all different and interesting.
Still, it is fun to see which group people fall into, just for the sake of comparison. Which one are you?
Bible Verse
And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. - Genesis 1:9-10
About the Photo
This was one of those photos that I wanted to have a very colorful look. Whenever sky and water are in a photo, I expect them to be a nice blue color unless there is some good reason for them to be otherwise. For example, see the Mississippi River. But at the beach on a partly cloudy day, vivid blues were in order.
To get the colors that I wanted, I once again turned to Aurora HDR. In addition to the color saturation, I added in a bit of Orton effect to give it a slightly dream-like feel, too. Because we Beach People are always dreaming of the beach.
Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Aurora HDR. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
_Lens: _ Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens
Date: June 11, 2019
Location: Lori Wilson Park, Cocoa Beach, Florida
