This month's image is also from my Vancouver Island trip, same as last month. It's taken down at the beach on a short day hike at the northern end of the Juan de Fuca Marine trail. Though it was pouring rain most of the time, I still enjoyed exploring all of the beach rocks, and found some with amazing patterns and colors. This is one such example.
Because it was raining I only imaged this with my iPhone. But seemingly that is all it took for this scene. I was helped by the soft overcast light which brought out the colors. Other than that I just composed in order to get the sweeping S-shaped trough to connect adjacent corners and for the golden cross element to connect to the lower left.
Love to understand whether this abstract holds your attention to explore and contemplate the details.
iPhone 15, 48mm equivalent, 1/300sec, f1.8, ISO 64
9 comments posted
Rick Hulbert
Hi Robert,
My attention was definitely held!
You captured some awesome details.
No need to consider your camera or the weather as anything but perfect for the scene you discovered. It is the kind of artistic graphic that could be either vertical as you have displayed it, or horizontal in format. While I love your image as is, you could even flip the scene left or right on its back (hope that makes sense).
Posted: 08/03/2026 01:52:21
Robert Atkins
Thanks Rick. I will play with the flip / rotate idea. As you know I am really into flipping and rotating images. :) Posted: 08/03/2026 22:19:24
Michael Griswold
I'm partial to abstract designs and love the bold colors in this, Robert. The gold has some impact and draws my eye first; it's also the brightest part. I linger on the s-curve most and like the shadows there that give it depth. It could almost be a photo from a plane.
If I could ask for anything more, it would be a distinct rain drop. I like it when small details suddenly clue you in to what it is and the scale of things. Posted: 08/03/2026 20:09:05
Robert Atkins
Thanks Mike. Interestingly I think there are in fact three raindrops. There are three "circles" - two in the S-curve and one in the upper right. I think that is rain because they are not there in the other frame I have of the same scene. Posted: 08/03/2026 22:14:40
Michael Griswold
Aha... I saw the big one in the s curve but not the others. I wasn't sure about it was actually a drop but maybe that's what brought it to mind. Posted: 08/15/2026 17:43:48
Bill Crnkovich
Hi Robert,
Excellent image. It grabbed my attention with the shapes, colors and exposure. The depth of field is well done. I am not seeing any modifications that could improve it. Posted: 08/06/2026 18:04:39
Robert Atkins
Thanks Bill. Posted: 08/25/2026 11:16:51
Pinaki Sarkar
This is a visually rich abstract?nature photograph. Beyond the incredible detail, there's a strong sense of flow-the undulating formations guide the eye smoothly across the frame, making the image feel dynamic rather than static. Great observation. For the colors, I'd slightly reduce the saturation or experiment a bit to see what feels best. Excellent image. Posted: 08/22/2026 23:10:36
