Sunrise at the Washout on Folly Beach, with three old pilings standing in the wash.

The pilings are the reason to look. They are cut timber, worn down to three different heights, and the nearest one has been beaten until the top came apart into fibers like a used brush. The tide runs around all three and a long exposure has pulled it into smooth amber streams. The sun has only just cleared the water, and everything in the frame has gone the same warm color.

The Washout got its name the hard way: Hurricane Hugo took out the houses and much of the land along this stretch in 1989. What it left behind is the sandbar that makes it the best surf on the island.

Vertical, amber throughout, with real texture up close. It suits a warm room.