Fading Into History

     Pantai Elak-Elak is a peninsular white sand beach on Lombok Island, Indonesia. It was my island base when marooned there for years during the Covid pandemic. In the not-to-distant past, the calm bay and a fairly substantial dock was used by the local fisherman and industry. Over time and overfishing the site and dock fell into disuse. By the time of my arrival in 2020 the shoreline was a pristine white sand beach but the dock was just a skeleton of its former self as seen in old pictures taken by the locals. I arrived on the beach early one morning to find it engulfed in a heavy sea haze with the early light turning everything into pastel shades of colors. With nature providing the soft focus, it felt like I was seeing decaying shades of a time gone by. A ghostly reminder of times past. I exposed at +2/3 stop to brighten the mood to match the feeling created by the sea haze which added to the feeling of ghostly apparition. My timing was good as by 2022 when I was able to leave the island the local government had (sadly) removed the dock and touristified the beach area complete with beach chairs, public toilets, and street vendors. The memory and image are all that remain of that time now gone by.