On the black beaches, the picture is in the wet sand. When the tide is out, the sand holds a thin layer of water that reflects the sky. When the tide is in, there is no sand to reflect anything. So I plan every evening around two tables: the sunset and the tide.

In winter on that coast, low tide and good light line up on about six evenings a month. I mark them in my calendar weeks ahead, and then I hope for a clear sky.

Twenty minutes

The good part starts when the sun is just below the horizon and lasts about twenty minutes. I stand in the water in rubber boots, with the tripod pushed deep into the sand so the waves cannot move it.

The sea always wins. You just have to be standing in the right place when it pulls back.

Black Sand, the afterword

The frame above was made on the fourth attempt at that beach. The first three evenings, the cloud came in from the sea ten minutes before sunset.