Castle Construction and Photography

Have Fun !

So, how do you build a sand castle anyway? Sure, there are the bucket-type molds that are sold to the kids, but those do not allow for much creativity or flexibility of design. And what if you are not trying to make a castle? That's what I like to make, but if you want to carve out trains or dinosaurs, or make statues of people, that is up to you. If you really want to make something unique, you need to carve it out yourself. Before you say that you can't do it - ask yourself "why not try?" Most people do not feel that they are "creative" enough to make a unique sculpture, but most also have never tried it. Here is something you can make that is unique - even if it is not great you can have fun trying it. My first attempt at sand sculpture was not as good as the ones I make today, and there are other people today doing better work. Let the achievements of others be an inspiration to you; not a source of discouragement. If you are not the best in the world the first time you try something, that is not necessarily a good reason to quit! We all can learn from our mistakes, right? If you think I have never made a mistake, think again - I just don't routinely publish those! Working with sand can have several benefits. It is good exercise, it can be fun, it gives you something to do at the beach (other than lying in the sun frying) and can start some interesting conversations. And carving someting out of sand is much cheaper than using clay or marble. Okay, so it doesn't last as long (except in photographs) but where would you put it anyway? Safety notes: Remember to use a good sunscreen. If you are going to be out there 8 hours, 10 hours, or all day, a sunscreen with an SPF rating of 50 or higher (and reapplied as needed) is a good idea. Yes, I do come back from my week at the beach with a tan, but that's not my main goal. And I certainly don't want to come back looking like a cooked lobster. Bring some water with you. Just being in the sun from 8:00 to 5:00 will dehydrate you if you do not drink adequate water. And if you are digging and piling sand, you will work up a sweat, even if it is not a hot day. I take a half-gallon thermos bottle filled with ice water in the morning, and refill it when I go have lunch. Depending on conditions, you may need even more water to keep hydrated. If you feel tired, take a break. And if at any point, you feel faint or unusually thirsty or fatigued, do something about it immediately, do not try to keep going until you drop! Call for help if necessary.
Start by digging a hole down to the water line. The closer you are to the ocean, the easier this is. I am usually well above the high tide mark, so I have to dig 3 feet or more. Digging through sand is easier than through the rock-filled clay soil in my back yard, but hard-packed sand is still tough to dig through. Take your time, and pile as much of the sand as possible in the same spot. This mound will raise your castle that much higher, making it more visible. For this stage of the work (which can take an hour or more) a full-sized garden shovel is helpful. You are not likely to need it again until the end of the day, when you use it to fill in the hole (to prevent anyone falling in it at night.)	Once you hit water, grab handfuls of the wet sand at the bottom of the hole and pile it where you will be building your castle. The castle (or other sculpture) is held together only by the water between the sand grains. For most sculptures, the rule is "the wetter, the better." In this photo, the pile of slightly moist sand made of sand dug out of the hole has been covered in a layer of wet sand, which will be smoothed out by carving. Several handfuls of sand have also been piled atop the pyramid. This smaller pile will be carved into a building. By piling sand higher, towers can be built. How high they can go depends on the quality of the sand, the width of the tower, the weather, and the experience of the builder. Start small, and work your way up to the tall towers. Anything over 6 feet tall is going to take a lot of work!
Here is one finished Mayan pyramid, complete with steps. These are formed by first carving a ramp, and then using a small shovel or trowel to cut the steps into the ramp. Push down, pull forward, and repeat. With practice, this goes very quickly, and steps always impress the people who pass by and see your castle. The hole in the foreground is the "quarry" from which all the construction material has been drawn.
Here are three pyramids completed, with the base for a fourth in the foreground. The hole is in the center, providing easy access to wet sand for all the surrounding construction. By scraping sand from the area surrounding the pyramids, the hole could be filled, and the pyramids were made to look that much taller!
I don't have many "in-progress" photos, since digging in wet sand and handling a camera are not a natural combination. This photo shows an unusually tall and narrow tower (only possible with exceptional sand, no wind and a moderate temperature.) The lower part of the sand pile is still to be carved. The carved portion above the plateau is approximately 4 feet tall, and 4-6 inches wide. From the normal surface of the beach, this tower was about 6 feet tall. The lowest part of the photo includes the side of the hole from which the wet sand was being pulled. When the wind started blowing around noon, the moisture holding everything together was blown away, and this tower lasted little over an hour, breaking off about 1/3 of the way between the plateau and the top of the tower. The effect produced was like an ancient ruin in the middle of a modern town, and the dry sand that fell down on the lower structures was easily removed.	Putting people in your photographs will help establish a sense of scale. If you use 1/87 scale people like these, it will look like a photo of a large building. I got this idea from a judge at a photo competition, who gave a critique of one of a photo of one of my sand castles (he didn't know it was a sand castle.) He said, "Obviously someone went to Europe and took a photo of one of the castles over there....the image is monochrome, though. You need some color; maybe a person in a red shirt waving from the top of the wall." Taking this one step further, I found some small-scale knights on horseback, and used them.
There are several ways to make an arch, but the way I usually make them is to build a wall and carve the opening through the wall. Start small, and enlarge the opening from both sides until the desired size opening is achieved. If you remove too much, the arch will fall, but you will know better next time. Yes, that is the voice of experience speaking.	Another photographic trick is to shoot your pictures from a low angle. This is much easier with the modern digital cameras, many of which have LCD screens that can be tilted, so that you can see what you are shooting even when the camera is two inches off the sand. The low angle means that you are looking up at the castle. Since this is usually a sign that something is very tall, that is how the viewers' eyes will interpret it. By doing this, you also eliminate any trash cans, lifeguard stands, umbrellas, etc. that would otherwise show up in the background. A few houses in the foreground add some interest also.
Here, an automobile gives the illusion that this is an enormous structure. The car is a little over an inch long, the structure is about three feet tall, and the base of the pyramid is approximately 4 feet by 4 feet. Along the right side of the image, a bit of the Wildwood Convention Center can be seen, but not enough to detract from the illusion presented in the image.
Here is the "tall tower" from a higher angle, showing the beachgoers at the surf in the background. Here, it is obvious that this is not a full-sized structure.	Since this beach is very wide, and most people tend to congregate just above the surf, I have the "middle" part of the beach mostly to myself, but people passing by stop to see what I am doing, and some sit down to watch for a while.
Most of the people who stick around for a while are kids. Adults have a definite goal in mind - have to get to the water's edge and relax! Hey, this is what I do to relax! A few co-workers, having seen my vacation photos, have remarked that I work more on vacation than most people do at work, but I like what I am doing, so it doesn't seem like work.	Sometimes, the adults do stop, but very often they only stop long enough to take a photo or two on their digital camera or camera phone. A few will stop to talk, but usually end up saying something like "I could never do something like this." My response is that they should try. Although they may not make something on their first try as I do after 30 years of doing this, they may be surprised at how well they do. You never know what you can do until you try.