Watching the tide go by

Flowing...
Boynton Beach, FL, December 2007
[Click all images to embiggen]

It's way past Zach's bedtime as my uncle pulls the car into the darkened parking lot of the Boynton Beach Inlet (click here for map and here for geotag.) It may be almost 11 o'clock, but this oceanside park and marina is a busy place. Genial folks my parents' age sit on a picnic table under the peaked roof of the services building in the middle of the park, lit like beacons by the yellowish sodium lights that pierce the darkness here and there throughout this place. Toward the edge of the park, fishing poles arch out into the darkened sky, disappearing into the black water as small groups of people pace behind them and debate the merits of different types of bait.

The channel to the north connects the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. The tide's coming in, so even in the shadowy yellow light that barely paints its swirling surface, it's easy to see the fast-moving water below. Instinctively we stay back from the edge. I set up my camera and take a quick series of long exposures. Looking at this photo, I feel like I'm back there, smelling the salt air and feeling very small in the face of winds and tides that could easily sweep me away in a blink.

Your turn: The first three words that come to mind when you see these photos are... ?