Approaching Day, from Harlech Beach

The complex of dunes in front of Harlech, Wales, hides a long stretch of beach even from those who live in the town. It feels as if at the edge of a wilderness. In front is the Irish Sea and the long arm of Wales, the Llyn Peninisula, thirty miles of land reaching out to the sea, like the arm of a diver about to unbalance and fall forward. The retreating tide has left the exposed the bed of a small stream. The presence of the sun is only implied as it has yet to struggle above the horizon behind the viewer, but it has started to burn the sky above the Llyn peninsula with a cool glow. The moon seems like an impostor, it has been caught out of its element, the night. Its reflection on the water below the horizon is a reminder that it must set soon, before the sun takes command of the sky.