Each evening on Captiva Island, off the west coast of Florida, as the sun drops from its clear sky into the darkening waters of the Gulf of Mexico, I jump up from the supper table and run to the beach with my camera, leaving my companions to tidy up!

There I watch shorebirds searching for their dinner, oblivious to the glory unfolding on the horizon. To avoid being bowled over by the water, they perform an unending maritime ballet, dancing forward and back with the waves.

I crouch on the damp sand and take several shots, trying to incorporate a sandpiper and a wave in a single image.

As the sun disappears, I return to the kitchen, unfortunately too late to do dishes.

Reviewing my photographs the next day, I’m amazed. From this low angle, the shadow of a sandpiper is no longer an empty black patch.

It has been filled by refracted light, the warm orange of the sun meeting the cool blue of the waves. Without knowing it, I have captured a magical image, perhaps more like a painting than a photograph.

Visitor’s comment: “The sandpiper is a stunning photo.”

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