What a splendid afternoon at Kehoe Beach! The light was incandescent, burnishing the sea to a blinding platinum white. We had taken our favorite trail, off to the left and downhill to a still-water pond strewn with ancient driftwood logs. Jean and I walked the pond’s edge, following the creek to where it emerges onto the sandy shore. Kehoe’s creek, especially after the winter rains, carves beautiful patterns in the sand as it courses its way to the sea. It is the handiwork of this creek that soon captivated me during our recent February and subsequent April visits.

Looking Down
During these recent visits to Kehoe Beach I began looking down, more carefully, at the ephemeral designs the creek was making. As followers of my blog may know, I have become increasingly more fascinated by the beauty of our world as seen very close up. In our February visit, the light was sparkling brilliantly on the winter creek as it rushed by. I paused to photograph across the creek, toward the Point. Then, a flash of light caught my eye. I looked down and then kneeled with my camera, closer to the creek. I was transfixed by the patterns I began to discover.

Returning to Kehoe Beach
In early April, Jean and I were suffering from a bad case of cabin fever. So, before our beautiful, life-giving beaches were shut down, we headed out again for a walk on Kehoe Beach. I brought my camera. On the trail, we took our customary route and turned left, downhill, before the dunes. Going this way feels as though you are entering a sanctuary, a sacred place. Indeed it is. We followed the creek as it narrowed and delivered us to the beach. The light was softer this time. The creek was moving more slowly, pooling and creating patterns in the tiny grottos it had carved. I walked slowly along, looking down. Time stood still as I became lost in a photo revery. Jean sat on a nearby driftwood log, lost in her own revery as she watched the waves come and go. The more I looked the more I found. Here are some of the designs that appeared before  my lens. Click on the individual image s here to see the enlarged views.

New Kehoe Beach Collection
I’ve gathered these pattern photographs along with my best classic landscapes made at Kehoe Beach into a new collection. The Kehoe Beach Collection includes film photographs created in the late 1990s  Two of my favorite photographs were made creekside during a brief break in a winter storm just before sunset. Dune and Clouds was made first as I braced myself against a strong wind blowing off shore. Winter Sunset followed. I think both of these capture the primal forces of nature at the ocean’s edge.