Dividing Line #14736

The Story

As the sun sinks into the west, a beach fence stitches its way across the Cape May beach sand toward the ocean expanses. But there are long thin beach fence shadows cast both ways on the evening sand. How can that be?

The answer is actually quite easy: there is a parallel fence just out of frame on the right casting its own shadow. Nevertheless, it’s compelling and a great confusing illusion both unique and unusual. And I love how the repeating shadow lines follow every ripple and rise in the sand while accenting all the curves like a Venetian mini-blind laid horizontally.

This picture was created with an infrared camera which makes the blue sky and blue water go black. And of course, what better than black and white to bring out all those repeating thin shadows of the beach fence slats?

In the distance, people are out on the sand enjoying the last daylight, and high above way out there, large birds are flying together in an almost-V shape. It is also a fair weather sky that will sometimes make long thin ripple clouds as fronts cross over one another. In this picture, they’ve left two long lines floating high and aloof above the scene, crossing the straight beach fence line at a right angle.

Location: Cape May, New Jersey. Picture and Story © Andrew Dierks