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 I am 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 my 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.

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.