Behind the Scenes Feature: Beach combing treasures for Can You See What I See?
Cool Collections
 
walter wick

Many types of collections – from toys to found objects – are depicted in Cool Collections, the third book of the Can You See What I See? series. Washed Ashore, the picture Walter is arranging here, depicts a beachcomber’s freshly gathered collection of shells. A shallow sandbox was built to contain the sand within the limits of the image area. Shells, sea glass, pebbles, driftwood, and bits of flotsam and jetsam from Walter's collection were used as props.

 

A toy wooden boat looked too bright and new to be found washed on a beach so it was artificially weathered with a sandblasting tool.

sandblast
boat

The boat buried in the sand now looks as though it’s been tossed around in the ocean and faded by the sun with flaking and chipped paint.

 

The “sun-lit” effect was enhanced by placing cardboard cutouts just out of frame of the picture to cast shadows in the sand. Just before the picture was taken, water was dripped on shells and rocks to make them glisten, and to create the impression that this particular collection is still in-progress.

 

washed ashore
 
Washed Ashore ©Walter Wick, 2004,
from Can You See What I See? - Cool Collections