The Juno Beach pier juts out into the ocean at the north end of the small town, which itself is at the north end of Palm Beach County on South Florida's Atlantic coast. Each winter, Juno Beach hosts an art fair that takes over the main north-south highway, A1A, and I had parked far up the beach and was walking down the road to see the fair.
It was an overcast day, and the hidden sun gave the whole area that wonderful "cloudy bright" look that photographers love. There was a glow and a muted softness to everything, and I was enjoying the view out over the water as I walked.
The road sits above the beach on a bluff, and I was only a couple of hundred yards north of the pier when I suddenly stopped. There was something intriguing about the way the foreground flora (mostly sprouting palms and sea grape) framed the water and brooding sky background. I found just the right vantage point and took a 35mm photo of the scene.
When I later viewed the picture, it again caused me to stop and stare, so I digitized the color negative and started playing with it in Photoshop. Experimenting with the colors, I finally hit upon a palette that pleased me. Maybe there was a subconscious pull toward a purple/grape color due to the presence of the sea grapes (coccoloba uvifera) on the right side, but whatever the reason, the final colors struck just the right balance for me. I've printed out the image many times, and the unusual yet subtle colors always seem to attract the viewer (including me!).
"North of the Pier" received an award at the 2001 MOCA (Museum of Computer Art) Digital Art Contest.
-- Harald