As far back as I can remember, the sea has always beckoned me. From being taken on family day-trips to the beach as a young child, to driving my first car out to the coast on epic summer vacation days as a high-schooler, or most recently raising my own family on the edge of Puget Sound, there is a magical, even spiritual bond I’ve always had with the Pacific Northwest coast of the US.

This coastline, however, is a force to be reckoned with. It’s a powerful beast, far better known for beaches with cold winds that rip through your jacket and blast sand in your face than for offering tourists warm sunbathing settings with lounge chairs and sunbrellas.

But the harsh environment is also unbelievably beautiful. Glorious morning light can break through the frequent overcast, spotlighting offshore rock spires known as stacks and gilding the tips of breaking waves. Trees—the successful ones, at least—are wrapped and twisted into marvelous shapes and textures from the unrelenting wind. Lighthouses perch on rocky outcrops, launching their beams of light toward the horizon, daring the latest storm to throw its muscle against concrete and stone. And the calmness we encounter once a storm has past—when an eerie silence temporarily replaces the howl of the wind, and you find yourself treading softly on packed sand so as to not break the stillness… such moments are truly sublime.

My Seascapes collection presents a taste of that Pacific Northwest coast experience. Wander through these images and see if you, too, are inexorably drawn to this gorgeous, wild place.