Summer and school holidays mean longer, slower days, so of an evening, I’ve been taking myself down to the beach and trying out long-shutter speeds on my camera. This, however, has been largely unsuccessful. I lost my thongs to a rogue wave on the first visit, and the quick-release plate for my tripod on the second—although that was later found on the back seat of the car. Third time lucky, I thought, but it was windy, rocking the camera and leading to some not-so-beautiful blurred shots.
I did manage to capture this tumbleweed on the beach:
Monique loves cooking with fresh, seasonal produce and over the last six months she’s focused on eating more of a plant-based diet. This salad looked delicious, so she had to set up a photo and make everyone wait for their food. It tasted as delicious as it looked.
The colours of this photo burst out, in a very mouth-watering way.
Midweek Moment is a weekly photographic project in which Monique Mulligan and I team up to share our favourite photos on our websites. It’s a way of stretching ourselves creatively and a nice distraction from writing. Click here for more of our Moments.
Lovely thank you Louise and Moniqur
Thanks, Nicola—I’m glad you like them! x
They are so good Louise x
Thanks, Rae. x
Such a lonely tumbleweed. Thanks for sharing it!
Thanks, Jim. It does look lonely in this shot. It actually had a friend close by, just out of range!
Aw! That’s good to know!
🙂
Gorgeous photos, once again! The tumbleweed reminds me of our old home near the beach – I do miss living near the ocean…
Thanks, Helen. We’re a fifteen minute walk from the ocean, and I love it. Although, sometimes, I’d swap it for Europe!
Yes, it is pretty cool being in Europe 🙂 I did love my beach lifestyle though – I’ve lived near water since I was 11 and it seems strange not to have it near now, though I’m getting used to it. Still, when I see photos it brings it back, how fresh the air was, the sound of waves at night – I feel very fortunate to have lived somewhere like that.
I know what you mean—the ocean is special, but then so is the English countryside, and the mountains, and the Aussie bush, and a medieval village for that matter (not that we have any of those here!). All of these places have their own beauty and uniqueness. Luckily, the world wasn’t all made the same!
Ah, a break from my mundane week. As always your photographs are remarkable. Yours Louise makes me feel warm and surprised tumbleweed on the beach? how cool. Monique’s makes me hungry. How wonderful to see the beauty in everyday objects.
Thanks, Penny! Don’t you get tumbleweed on beaches in the US? It’s everywhere here! I agree that Monique’s photo is incredibly appealing to the tastebuds, and I also agree with how nice it is to see beauty in the everyday. Since I’ve been looking for photo opportunities, I’m sure I do it more. xx
Tumbleweeds are only out west where there is no water.
In some places there are sea oats growing out of the sand dunes (the sea oats are protected now) That’s pretty much it for vegetation at the beach-*except for seaweed that wash ashore when there’s a storm at sea.
Funny how different beaches can be in depending on where you live. And how readily we think everyone’s beaches are like ours. Human nature I guess.
You’ve made me think that maybe it’s not tumbleweed, but I think it is—it certainly tumbles across the sand in the wind! The beaches here are lined by a strip of native grass and low shrubs, but the beaches further north in the tropics have full-on trees lining them. We have the ubiquitous seaweed, too—not much here in Perth, but there can be clumps of it after a storm, as you say.
We do think of all beaches as the same, but they are different. I must say, I haven’t yet found any that beat the ones we have here in Australia—no wonder we flock to them!
Your beaches do sound amazing. I hope one day I can see them.
Many of ours have hotels or condos bordering them. (Some–catering to tourists–have stretches of shops with boardwalks that separate the commercial from the beaches.) Others are more natural; usually they are protected so they will remain that way.
Unfortunately, too many properties around our beaches are zoned for commercial development. I suppose it’s easy money for the nearby towns and cities. It’s really a shame, but I can’t see the trend changing anytime soon.
On a happier note, I understand Tuesday you celebrate the founding of Australia. Congrats! Enjoy!
The tumbleweed is so symbolic of silence isn’t it! Asparagus is positively gleaming.
I hadn’t actually thought of that, Michelle, but you’re right—the tumbleweed does symbolise silence! I agree about the asparagus, too—very tantalising! x