A World Less Seen

       Fine Art International Photography By Thomas Upton       

Coasts & Seascapes: Surf, Cliffs & Lagoons

Coasts are shaped by the meeting of land, water and weather. Rocky headlands, beaches, cliffs, coves and sheltered stretches of sea offer different patterns of motion, color and light. The photographs range from breaking surf and exposed shorelines to calmer waters and subtler coastal details. Attention to geology, tide, atmosphere and the changing edge of the sea gives the gallery variety beyond any single coastline or kind of seascape. Coastlines change dramatically with the rock beneath them and the water flowing to them. The photographs represented here include surf breaking across Point Lobos and Hawaiian lava ledges, Big Sur’s steep coves, weathered cliffs in Portugal and islands rising from the Sea of Cortez. Quieter tropical lagoons and reef water offer a contrast to the Pacific’s rougher edges.

A windswept cypress tree with twisted branches frames rocky Point Lobos coves and distant blue Pacific water.
Rocky cliffs and cypress trees surround blue-green Whalers Cove beneath a muted coastal sky.
A spiral sandstone disc sits in shallow wash on a moody beach, with waves and eroded rock ledges behind it.
Blue and white waves rush across dark lava shelves on the rocky Hawaii shoreline.
A bright turquoise bay curves behind dark volcanic rocks beneath a clear blue coastal sky.
A bright coastal scene shows eroded limestone cliffs, isolated rock stacks, and turquoise water below.
A split-level underwater photograph shows coral below the surface and a tropical beach beyond it.
Small tree-covered tropical island lies in calm turquoise lagoon water inside the Tahaa reef.
Surf rushes into and drains from a lava well at Wawaloli Beach.
Low tide reveals seaweed-covered rocks and reflective pools along a moody Pacific shoreline.
Coastal cliffs drop to a rocky beach while a line of pelicans flies across the open sky.
Orange and gray cliffs form a rocky cove around vivid turquoise water beneath a dark coastal sky.
Rounded tall brown sea stack surrounded by white foam and turquoise waves.
Jagged Point Lobos rocks rise from milky surf, with seabirds and weathered stone textures visible along the shoreline.
Ocean waves break around jagged Point Lobos rocks, with a distant cypress-topped headland and blue-gray water beyond.
A Point Lobos cove is viewed through cypress trees, with rocky cliffs, scattered surf, and dramatic clouds overhead.
A breaking wave crashes into offshore rocks, throwing white spray high into the air.
White surf explodes around two dark offshore rocks in a black-and-white view of Onomea Bay.
White waves near a low bluffed shoreline with a distant dark rock against horizon.
Large waves crash under a Monterey pier, sending foam around pilings beneath a yellow building on the wharf.
One of the world's most unique and scenic waterfalls is this one, where water pours directly onto the beach and flows into protected cove.
Pale eroded rock islands stand in vivid turquoise-blue water beneath a cloudless sky.
Golden cliffs descend into deep blue water, with rugged islands and sparse desert vegetation beyond.
Ocean spray erupts high behind black lava formations, with white foam drifting across the rocky shoreline.
Blue surf crashes into layered volcanic rock shelves along the rugged southeast Oahu coast.
Blue ocean water blurs around a rocky outcrop with distant shoreline and soft clouds near the horizon.
Purple and pink iceplant blossoms on a bluff overlooking a rocky surf-filled bay.
A broad white wave curls and breaks across dark water beneath a deep blue evening sky at Keokea Beach.
A long-exposure coastal scene shows misty surf, dark sea stacks, and lush cliffs fading into haze.
Elevated view of Hanauma Bay showing turquoise water, reef shallows, and volcanic coastal hills.
Clear blue-green water lies between rocky, pine-covered shores beneath a bright coastal sky.
The incredibly clear water that surrounds the Dalmatian Islands of Croatia is visible here on the rocky shore of Korcula Island.
A blue-railed path winds between rocky coastal cliffs toward the Caribbean Sea at the very southernmost tip of the island.
A black-and-white rocky shoreline shows blurred surf washing over dark stones and ledges.
Green coastal bluffs descend toward the Pacific Ocean along the Big Sur shoreline.
Rust-red cliffs descend toward a pale sandy beach and turquoise water beneath a clear sky.
Angular cream rock ridges surrounding a blue-green tide pool, with rough ocean beyond.