Playa Chiquita Beach // Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
September 17 // 5:09PM
The sun sets in the west, so on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, that means that there are no magic sunsets over the water. The tall trees and palms of the rainforest cast a shadow over the evening beach, while the sun continues to shine on the water. Locals surf and play in the warm Caribbean water, then rest on the beach in the shade.
Dark Sand on Playa Chiquita
The beach in the area is largely void of people. There are many places where the waves crashing on the shore aren’t heard by anyone except the toucans flying around the trees above the beach. The weather was nice, and I had already biked into town earlier in the day. I decided to skip out on my afternoon lounge in the hammock this day and head through a 100m trail in the jungle to the beach to see if I could make a few images.
There was a local guy and his son enjoying the water together. I knew early on I wanted to make a silhouette of someone with the beautiful water and beach in the background, and the lighting situation on the beach was perfect. So, I waited.
I sat down on the beach against a washed up log. I made a few different photographs of locals walking along the water. A girl with a bike, another sitting and watching the waves break, but none of them were quite right. I waited longer. I’m learning to be patient when I shoot. I’m a reactive shooter, and my background as a wedding photographer has been sensory overload for my trigger finger. I’m not used to “waiting” for a photo, but rather grabbing them constantly on a couples wedding day.
The father and son came by and their silhouettes were perfect. The board gives them purpose and their composition gives them a story.