Growing up on the Connecticut shoreline and spending a lot of my free time on our town beach has fostered in me a lifelong affinity for the ocean. During the summer, I would ride my bike down to the beach to meet my friends nearly every day. Our beach was on the Long Island Sound. On sunny summer days, the sandy expanse in front of the rambling white building containing the snack bar and bath house was buzzing with children making sand castles, teens listening to the radio while working on their tans, and mothers chatting or reading in their beach chairs. The ideal family beach.

In my travels, I have taken a multitude of beach and ocean photographs. I have assembled a collection of pictures from destinations like the Maine coastline, the Jersey Shore, Bermuda, Hawaii and Prince Edward Island. While visiting Malibu in Southern California, I went to Point Dume to admire the stunning views of the dramatic coastline, coming away with a variety of scenic photographs. My love of the beach and seaside photography has inspired my new photo essay.

Far below, the Pacific Ocean rolled steadily into shore on the curved stretch of golden sand. The slate blue water dissolved into frothy white sea foam as each wave reached the beach. Cecelia Hart stood at the head of a winding path that meandered down the bluff to the secluded beach, where a number of people strolled along the shoreline beneath the autumn sun. She breathed in the ocean air, hoping to clear her mind. After spending her morning writing, this view and a walk on the beach was just what she needed.

Wishing she had brought her Canon EOS digital camera with her, Cecelia reached into the pocket of her LL Bean barn coat for her cell phone. She framed the photo of the beach with care and tapped the screen, capturing the panoramic view. She smiled as she inspected the picture on her camera roll. The yellow wildflowers that dotted the hillside above the beach added a splash of brightness to the scene. She would have to save this image in her folder of favorite beach shots.

She had photos from all over the world in that folder. The last beach she had traveled to was on Prince Edward Island. While there, she had begun researching her historical novel, which was set in a former estate, now hotel, on the island. Remembering the afternoon she got the idea for her book, she opened the FaceTime app on her phone and called her friend, Alicia.

Alicia was a poet who was visiting PEI at the same time Cecelia was there. They had struck up a friendship over their mutual love of writing and a plate of charcuterie. Alicia was a sailor and a poet. She wrote elegantly spare verses about the sea. And she had told Cecelia about the history of the hotel that inspired her novel.

As she waited for the call to connect, Cecelia made her way down the walking path to the beach. When Alicia’s smiling face appeared on her screen, Cecelia pointed her phone at the ocean and said, “Look at where I am. Isn’t it gorgeous?” She crossed the warm sand and began to stroll along the water’s edge, turning the phone around to chat with her friend.

“That’s just glorious,” Alicia agreed. “It makes me think of my favorite line from Treasure Island.”

“It’s the glory of the sea that has turned my head,” the two friends said together and laughed.

Gazing out across the sparkling water, Cecelia brushed her auburn hair back and shaded her eyes with her hand. “I’m here in Malibu for that writing retreat I told you about, and I just finished the first draft of my book.”

“You did? Good for you. How marvelous!” Alicia’s voice was filled with pride.

“It is pretty marvelous.” Cecelia nodded a greeting to a couple walking their dog, a bright eyed golden doodle. Turning her attention back to her conversation, she went on, “I’m going back to PEI next month to do a little follow-up research. Do you want to meet me there?”

“That sounds like a grand idea,” Alicia said. “There’s nothing better than a weekend by the sea.”