Stone and Sea hold opposing views of permanence. Stones are permanently at rest, while the Sea remains permanently in motion. Both are fundamental symbols of the world (paraphrasing Stephen R. Donaldson). Wood is much less permanent, but it is the embodiment of life. Stone and Sea may host life, but Wood is life, and while less permanent, it reminds us that life follows the path of time. Eventually, even Stone and Sea must succumb as well to the gentle insistence of the passage of time.

The inspiration for this work came during a trip to Acadia National Park in Maine. While I traveled there to shoot fall colors, I felt drawn to the seashore, and I found more compelling subject material there. For this image, I found some rocks with an interesting set of cracks that seemed to lead out to the sea. I combined two shots of these same rocks - In the first image, the rocks and the water seem to be more brooding and ominous, but there isn't any sky. The second image has a visible sky, but lacks some of the mood of the first image, especially in the water around the rocks.

I found this broken tree standing some ways down the shore from where I found the rocks, but I knew that this is what I wanted to be standing at the apex of the leading lines in the stone.