Mentor Headlands fence and shadow on a bright sunny day.

In many parts of the country these types of fences are called snow fences.  They were designed to prevent snow from drifting beyond them and were commonly used along the sides of highways in the past.  I don’t see them used in that way too often anymore.  Where I do see them used most commonly now is on beaches as a way of producing and growing sand dunes.  I’ve seen them on all of the coasts and this photo shows them growing and holding a sand dune on our Northcoast, on Lake Erie, at Mentor Headlands State Park.

Now most of my friends live around the Great Lakes anymore and the sight of sand dunes on beaches is not unusual for them to see.  Many of my friends however live in other parts of the country and think of lakes as small, calm bodies of water with little or no beach.  For those of you, let me tell you, the Great Lakes can produce some mighty storms, think Edmund Fitzgerald, and have some beautiful beaches, dunes, and lighthouses.

I live about 6 miles from this beach, Ohio’s largest, and captured this shot on a bright, sunny winter’s day in 2003.  Bright, sunny days can cause shadow problems for photographers, but in this case the contrast of bright sand, fence and dark shadows just makes for a beautiful black and white image.