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I began thinking about
the pier project around Christmas 2003. Piers have a certain power
that I find fascinating. Certain childhood memories are of rusty
nails, oil soaked planks and dried bait stuck to the railings. Yes,
these are "romantic Steinbeck" images to me. Piers are
also huge graphic structures that I wanted to capture in a certain
photographic mood. It was not possible to have the environmental
conditions I needed in the winter. I needed very low tides and long
exposures. I wanted to see the piers reflected in the wet sand,
the waves in motion and the sky nonexistent and white.
A
quick search of the tide calendar told me I had to wait until the
beginning of August when the lowest tide would be an hour before
sunrise. There were only about 5 days when the condition would be
at the optimum and there were only five piers in San Diego from
Oceanside to Imperial Beach. I set my alarm for 4:00am.
The timing was perfect.
The Pacific Ocean cooperated with calm waves less than 2 feet. The
low tides left huge reflection pools for the piers to be seen upside
down. The
overcast low coastal clouds provided the white sky and long exposures
I wanted
Some of the exposures
were 2 minutes or more. As the water moved, the piers stood motionless.
There were no disruptive foot tracks in the virgin sand, just a
few birds and seaweed.
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I
set up the camera around 4:30am under the pier and could continue
photographing until 6:45am. The lights on some of the piers remained
on until 6am.
I used a digital camera as an exposure meter with its histogram
feature. Then I would expose the scene with a Hasselblad SWC 903
loaded with black and white film to complete the job.
Each pier had its own personality and design.
They stretched out into the vast sea balanced on their sturdy life
covered pilings with the starfish, crabs, and mussels clinging and
waiting for the returning tide. Ground water drained outward into
the sea and tiny waves tried to reclaim the shoreline while being
pulled backward by the full moon’s power. A few sea birds wandered
about looking for an early breakfast in the wet sand.
When I finally folded up my tripod and walked off the beach a few
eager surfers were wading into to water looking for something to
ride. A variety of joggers trotted along the shoreline and shell
collectors bent over sifting the sand for treasures.
I really cherished the
few hours exploring the image possibilities and mental exchange
with nature. The images captured on film will bring back those feelings
while I work in the dark room making prints for my walls and to
share with friends who also have their own pier memories. It was
well worth waiting the eight months to begin the pier project.
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