Behind the Shot
Prior to the 1920s, the region that became the city of Manhattan Beach was covered in tall exposed sand dunes—some as high as 250 feet tall. The shoreline was relatively narrow then, with steep sloping beaches. In the late 1920s, developers literally sold the beach, and excess sand was shipped to Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. Over the next few years, the beach width doubled as sand was used in construction projects all over Southern California. Today the mostly flat beach is nearly 400 feet wide, and attracts over 3.5 million visitors each year.
Richard recalls the day he shot this image: “It was a typical busy summer beach day in Manhattan Beach. I really like capturing people in a free-flowing form. People doing their thing and not realizing they are being watched. The way people act on the beach is interesting, and how they spread out and do their own thing on their own naturally in a candid way. It’s a very natural day at the beach, and it’s my favorite view to get.”
