Space is at a premium in the rocky intertidal. Producers, filter feeders, predators, and their prey pack together so closely open ground is scant. Low tide betrays jumbles of barnacles upon mussels, barnacles upon barnacles, algae popping up anywhere they can, worms, crabs, limpets and snails working the surfaces and interstices, and starfish lording over all. Finding focus is daunting, or so I’ve always imagined. I searched for less boisterous scenes and here’s what I found.
The everyday battle with desiccation
With low tide comes the risk of drying. In the crowded intertidal the desiccation drama is difficult to discern, let alone concentrate on. Here it’s riveting.
Breathing room
In a rare spacious moment every element expresses itself.
The Black turban
I spent all morning looking for black turbans. This is the only one I found.
The scramble for space
Below is the rocky intertidal as I imagine it, presented for comparison with the sparse scenes shown above. My “less is more” attempts lent new frames of reference for familiar creatures and processes. The sparse settings forced me (or gave me the opportunity) to focus on individuals rather than communities. I’ll admit it feels strange. Yet, there is a persuasive intimacy in the sparse shots. And who would dispute the virtue of exposing oneself to new perspectives?
theoutershores 
These shots are beautiful! The details, colors, and textures of are remarkable.
Thank you so much for sharing with us.
Thank you Amy! It was fun trying to meet the less is more concept.
Great photos.
I enjoyed this challenge and judging from your post, you did too! Thanks for your complement on my photos. Much appreciated.
First off the header shot is a marvelous abstract.
Then the spacious moment is a delight for individual expression.
Thank you for the introduction to the black turban. I’ll have to keep an eye out. Perhaps your imagined intertidal is more of a challenge to sort out. 😉
First off, thank you for the feedback. It’s funny you mention the header image. I put it in as a placeholder before I had any content. In the end, it didn’t fit in. I gave a passing thought to changing it, but I liked it too, so there it is.
And for the spacious moment, you said it so much better than I.
At the risk of overloading you with black turban trivia, I was looking for them because they are host to a little black limpet, which I wanted photograph. Interestingly, this one wasn’t hosting much of anything.
Nice set of beauties, love the black turban especially.
Me too. Go black turbans!
That red star is quite something!. Loved that composition
Yeah, there’s something there. I took that after I had a look at, and was kind of inspired by, the creativity challenge, which I was apparently not creative enough to participate in. Thanks!
Such beautiful images, especially like the one with the red starfish. Such pretty colors.
Thank you Sylvia. I think there’s something special in that one. I’m going to enjoy following your blog
Beautiful images, well chosen for this challenge too I think.
Coming from you that’s a solid complement. Thank you!