Category: Delaware

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Protecting the Dunes at Bethany Beach, Delaware

Dunes grasses and fencing are important to our coastal ecosystem.

A sea of grass and sand dunes extend out to the Atlantic Ocean at Bethany Beach in Sussex County, Delaware. This photograph, captured along a beach pathway at Bethany Beach, Delaware, highlights the importance of healthy dune grasses and fence to our coastal ecosystem. These beach grasses and dune fencing help protect the sand dunes and also delineate a pathway to the beach.

bethany beach dune grasses vertical
Dunes Grasses, Fencing and a Path at Bethany Beach

Bill Swartwout’s photograph of a pathway through the sand dunes at Bethany Beach draws the viewer in to explore the scene.

Bethany Beach, Delaware, is a popular summer destination along the Atlantic coast of the United States. A beautiful beach with no public access road over the dunes, the town relies on dune fences and grasses to direct visitors towards its sandy shore. Some people like to walk along the dunes and look at the grasses and the fence and maybe even imagine what it must have been like before there were people here.

bethany beach dunes grasses
Bethan Beach Dune Grasses and Fence

The very best way to approach photographing a subject is to imagine yourself in conversation with the subject, then moving closer and closer, becoming more of a participant as time goes by. Bill Swartwout’s work is an amazing way to capture the beauty of our natural surroundings, and Crossing the Dunes at Bethany Beach is a wonderful example of that. The photo is tranquil and peaceful, and looks like a scene from a faraway land. It’s an instant favorite!

Thought for the day: If you can’t find joy on the beach, then it’s not the beach that’s wrong.

Browse and/or shop with the gallery links below.

Link: Dune Grass at Bethany Beach – Vertical

Link: Crossing the Dunes at Bethany Beach – Horizontal

Link to: Bill’s Bethany Beach Collection.

Link to: Bill’s full gallery at Fine Art America/Pixels

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Food as Art – and Nourishment

Some food looks better than it tastes.

Some food tastes better than it looks. Some may look interesting and taste interesting, too.

Here’s a stack of Onion Rings from a restaurant in St. Joseph, Michigan named Clementine’s (yup, you guessed it, OhMyDarling.com). This tower of Michigan Onion (bet you didn’t know Michigan is a major onion-producing state) onion rings was about the best we’ve had – anywhere – ever. Artistically, the tower also has merit and would look great in a vertical wall art presentation in one’s kitchen or casual dining area.

How about some red hot chili peppers to spice up that blank wall in your kitchen? Hot peppers are all the rage these days – just look at the gazillion jars of hot sauces available at any gourmet market. These peppers, in blazing bright red, photographed at a farm market in Delaware, are the epitome of chili peppers and would certainly brighten up any place you decided to display them as wall art. Or what do you think about these depicted on coffee mugs or maybe even hot chili pepper throw pillows.

Red Hot Chili Peppers from a farm store in Rehoboth Beach, DE.

Then there is always popcorn. Right? How about this as a design element in itself. Everybody likes popcorn and this display of Carmel Popcorn, while photographed at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, might be found in just about any beach town – anywhere. Can you imagine how challenging this would be as a jigsaw puzzle. Absolutely and, yes, this is available as a quality jigsaw.

Caramel Popcorn on display at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, SC

Click the links below to see a bit more about each image and/or to browse/shop for wall art (for you kitchen, perhaps) or for a home decor item as a conversation piece.

Link: Best Onion Rings Ever

Link: Red Hot Chili Peppers

Link: Caramel Corn Behind Glass

Link to: Bill’s Food As Art Collection at Fine Art America – where you can see many other examples of “Food as Art” that may get your creative juices flowing.

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Sun Setting in the Trees of Assawoman Bay

Every sunset is different even if you view them from the exact same location.

The setting sun disappears into the trees at the western edge of Assawoman Bay at The Point of the Live Bayside Community. This golden sunset is in southern Delaware to the west of Ocean City, Maryland, and Fenwick Island, Delaware.

Sun Setting in Trees of Assawoman Bay

As the sun sets, atmospheric factors begin to play a much larger role in determining what features of the sunset we can see. Where we are in relationship to the horizon will greatly affect how much of the sun will be visible above the horizon. The same can be said for atmospheric conditions. If a sunset has a lot of clouds and haze, less of the sun will be visible. If it’s perfectly clear, this will allow more of the sun to shine through and illuminate additional parts of the sky. In essence, all sunsets are different because every atmospheric condition is different, but there are certain tendencies which we can observe as consistent patterns.

A black and white presentation of a gorgeous orange-sky sunset may lack the color but the monochrome emphasized the shading a detail of the trees. B&W also “works” in a more modern decor environment and even in a business office.

Sun Setting in Trees of Assawoman Bay Monochrome

Click the links for more information and to browse or shop the variety of wall art and decor items available.

Link: Sun Setting in Trees

Link: Sun Setting in Trees in Black and White

Link to: Bill’s Fine Art America Gallery

Link to: Bill’s Pictorem Ocean City Gallery (w/ Free Shipping)

I have been to this exact location on several different occasions over the years and I have never seen a sunset from this vantage point that can quite match this one.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that so many sunsets can look so different. But if you’ve ever watched one in the same spot over several days, you get to see all of the different ways the sun can set on a warm summer evening or at the end of a frigid wintry day. This golden sunset is in southern Delaware to the west of Ocean City, Maryland, and Fenwick Island, Delaware.

This is probably my favorite sunset. It couldn’t have been any more perfect. The sun prints the water perfectly while the clouds are there to add some drama to the sky. This shot reminds me of being on vacation and seeing these gorgeous sunsets day after day. I hope you enjoyed this beautiful example of one of nature’s splendor!

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Indian River Bridge Clouds Wall Art

The Indian River Inlet Bridge near Bethany Beach, DE appears different every time we are there.

These clouds predict the onset of a storm but, in this case it was just an illusion. It was 40 degrees and windy, up from a low of 19, when this photograph was captured.

The George W. Cullen Bridge over the Indian River Inlet is located between the coastal towns of Dewey Beach and Bethany Beach , Delaware. It is surrounded by the public beach, marina and campground facilities of the Delaware Seashore State Park.

Indian River Bridge Clouds
Indian River Bridge Clouds

In addition to the full color version, this is the black and white presentation “Indian River Bridge Clouds” and is unique in its own right.

Indian River Bridge Clouds in Black and White
Indian River Bridge Clouds in Black and White

Use the links below to see larger versions of the Indian River Bridge Clouds and to browse or shop the variety of wall art and home decor items available.

Link: Indian River Bridge Clouds

Link: Indian River Bridge Clouds in Black and White

Link to: Bill’s Indian River Bridge Gallery at Fine Art America

Link to: Bill’s Indian River Bridge Gallery at Pictorem (w/ Free Shipping)

When I wanted to photograph the Indian River Inlet Bridge near Bethany Beach, DE I knew that weather could be an obstacle. Sure enough, before sunset a warm front arrived, with at layers of clouds moving in from the west. But this time Mother Nature played a trick on me. The sky was filled with these ominous clouds and snow flurries started to fall, much like in this photograph. Even though it was cold and the wind was blowing, I had to wait until everything came together. I was hoping for a bit more color. But this cloudy scene doesn’t lack interest – in my opinion. Toned sky, ragged clouds and stark and empty rocky jetty on the north side of the Indian River Inlet are what makes this scene so striking!