THE CAMERA AND THE BEACH

A solo journey with my new Leica M10

   (read more after the pictures.)

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Black and white gallery – Click on the image.

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Colour gallery – Click on the image.

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Rimini is a very famous place for summer vacations, for its many kilometers long sandy beach and for its night life; during summer it is a never stopping place, 24/7 alive. Less than three hundred people live permanently here; in august the population peaks up to more than four millions people.

But in winter the atmosphere is completely different. The tens of thousands of colourful deck chairs that in summer cover every square meter of the sandy beach, are stored somewhere else, leaving the beach as an empty surface resembling a lunar landscape or an African desert.

Early in the morning, still before the sunrise, the sound of the sea in the darkness is almost scary. No one is around, looking toward the sea there are no hints of human presence.
What will pictures of darkness look like?

As the first light of the sun arises, the sensation of emptiness still prevails. Light makes rapidly its way through the horizon and the clouds. The line that divides the sea from the sky finally appears, giving back the feeling of space and dimensions. A picture of sun rise might seem obvious. Nevertheless, it is always magic.

As the sun gets higher in the sky, the evidences of human presence suddenly appear.
Temporarily closed restaurants and cabins, decorative palm trees, billboards, plastic made amusements for kids.
The fences that divide the resorts from the beach run along the coast. Some gates here and there allow bathers to access the beach; fences to constrain cattle come to mind.
Walking along the coast, no matter how far, the scenery repeats itself tens of times; the same small closed restaurants again and again, the same plastic amusements, the same palm trees. Everything resting after the intense summer, after the noisy bather herd has made its way back home.

The day eventually turns toward the end and again the darkness hides the sea. And again the line between the sea and the sky disappears, the two elements melting into one. It is winter and the sun sets early, therefore the darkness is somewhere violated by a light from a boat still sailing. And when looking in the opposite direction, Rimini’s city lights create a new fascinating scenery.

When it is again completely dark, after hundreds of pictures taken, the magic healing power of the camera has made its effect. Taking the needed time, exploring at a low pace and connecting, through the camera and its lenses, to such a place is close to a meditative experience. And the resulting images in some way seem to properly reflect that experience.

(Even though the first intention, as usual, was to produce black and white images, this time the colour images work well too. Therefore both versions are available.)