I have always been drawn to the work of Mark Rothko, by his ability to evoke profound emotions through his use of color and form. About 15 years ago, while jogging along the beach in Normandy, France, I was drawn to a scene that stirred me. The misty morning light bathed the familiar low tides, and the vast, quiet expanse of sea, land, and sky seemed to blend together in a way that felt almost otherworldly. There was an overwhelming sense of calm and awe, a moment of serene, understated beauty that felt timeless.

I knew I had to capture it. I rushed back to my auberge, grabbed my 6x7 medium format Pentax, and returned to the beach with just one roll of color film left. As I framed the scene, I was struck by the interplay of planes, earth, sea and sky intersecting in a peaceful yet dramatic harmony of seamless fusion. The simplicity of the composition, with its horizontal expanses, brought to mind Rothko’s evocative use of large color fields, where emotional depth emerges from the abstract.

The resulting photos, Low Tide I and Low Tide II, stem from that moment. They marked the beginning of a larger project I named Oxygen, which explores the elemental relationship between land, sea and sky. Through these landscapes, imbued with a quiet yet profound drama, I invite viewers to immerse themselves in a contemplative experience of transcendent scope.