Patterns in nature have always fascinated me. Well-known ones like the golden ratio of course, but also the subtler ones like ripples on water, and bubbles on the sand. For a while now, I have been intrigued – to the point of near obsession – by the way light catches on the water. The interface between two mediums – air and water – a sacred join and the place of much magic. Don’t believe me? Spend sunset on, or near the water, and you will bear witness to this magic.
The delicate dance of golden ripples on an inky blue background. The precise pattern of a ripple’s fluid facets that shift across the surface, never consistent yet never quite repeating either. Every sunset spent by the water’s side is truly splendid. A serene moment of tranquillity and wonder, a few minutes of captivaiting awe. Nature never disappoints, if you take the time to marvel at the little (and often not so little) things.
The play of light: a golden sunrise glistening on azure water – fascinating patterns.
Bubbles. Glistening orbs of fragile sea foam, ephemeral, glassy pockets of air that catch the light for a few brief moments of splendour. So small, so seemingly insignificant, yet so perfect in their creation.
At the beach, a quiet crackling sound can often be heard over the crashing waves – the bubbles popping one after another as they bake on the hot sand. Stranded as the wave retreats, a field of shining foam is left smeared along the shore. A snaking band of glittering white that marks the waters furthest advance.
The Nautilus is a wonderful example of nature’s captivaiting patterns. Its delicate perfection and spiralling ripples of calcium, make it a rare and precious find. The patterns on this deep-sea cephalopod’s shell are an intricate rendition of the omnipresent Fibonacci spiral. A shape which enables the Nautilus to grow without changing shape – sealing off old chambers as it grows into new, bigger ones. Often referred to as a ‘living fossil’ this remarkable creature has held fast to its original design, changing little over 500 million years.
Its elegant shell includes an expertly designed, integrated, and controllable buoyancy system. A way of regulating the gas-to-liquid ratios in internal compartments and therefore enabling this long-living, deep sea creature to manoeuvre efficiently through the water column.
These are just a few of the countless, fascinating, patterns one finds in and around the ocean. A world with expert perfection in every detail, and one from which we humans have much to learn.