I'm sure you've seen an image like this before.

I know.  It's not ground-breaking or earth-shattering.  You got your beach, the sunrise, a seashell and boom--a stereotypical seascape shot. 

Well, let me tell you why this is different from the others. 

This actually happened (just a few days ago). This scene is real.
Many other seashell (or starfish) shots you've seen were posed.

Maybe you knew that, and maybe you didn't, but these fantastic shots reveal landscape photographers' dirty little secrets. Yes, I've done it too...I've taken an interesting object from somewhere else and put it in the foreground to add some dimension. It's not what any of us photographers want to do and it is a last resort (at least I know it is for me.) I'm transparent about how my artwork is created, and in fact, many of my surreal artworks take on the blending of multiple shots at different times and locations to convey what I'm after. This wasn't one of those times. This was reality.

I got up that morning just before 6am at Riviera Maya... 
Just like I did every morning when I was there this past week. I gotta say I paused when I got to the beach and it was totally clear, all except for this shell looking at me. I didn't even walk 10 feet before I saw it. The day before, Meaghan and I went on a seashell hunt and found zippola, nothing, nodda, zilch. Not even tiny ones. How could a beach not have ANY shells? Come on man!

For whatever reason, the shell decided to make its appearance that morning. It is at this precise moment of discovery where photography is incredibly rewarding. This rare time, the shot came to me versus me having to hunt it down and find it. This shell was huge and just perfect. It was roughed up a bit as I'm sure it had rolled around in the ocean for countless hours, days, or months. 

It was a bit entertaining because a woman walked by as I was shooting the scene (she was obviously on a mission looking for shells and she said "You found that?" She was in disbelief. I chuckled and said, "Yep." If I had not arrived there 15 minutes prior, she would have scooped it up and you would not be reading this. 

Anyway, here it is. I hope you enjoy. Every morning gave me different conditions, so you'll be seeing many more pictures of Riviera Maya.