One of the things I love about La Jolla is how diverse the different beaches are - La Jolla Shores has wide open sand and relatively calm waters, Marine Street's sand is soft but there's that crazy dip where you plunge into the ocean, Windansea has a crazy rock terrain and incredible scenery when you turn left and right, and the Cove has all these different inlets with their own mini beaches too. For the longest time, I've loved the tide pools at Marine Street and the Cove - for those of you unfamiliar, tide pools form when high tide or waves fill the crevices in rock formations with seawater. When the water pulls back, these little separate habitats live the hidden spaces. I have fond memories of poking my fingers into anemones (Finding Nemo, anyone?) and having it close onto your finger. It was really amazing getting the chance to venture out (terrified I was going to drop my camera in one of the puddles) and photograph the area for the first time on my own.
At first I tried to photograph into the water, attempting to capture the life in the puddles. I became far more interested in the strong contrasts, geometrical repetitions, and reflections in the water and shifted gears partway through. The image above came out as my favorite - similar to my light, form & abstraction project in school, I loved how when the context is removed, the photograph can take on such a different meaning. In reality, it's just one of the smaller and shallower tide pools - but to the eye, it could be a lake at a distance, or a shot in a forest. The lights and darks evoke a sense of emotion - it's fleeting because of the light, yet tranquil and calm due to the water. 
tide pools