UNCW

I sat at the entrance to UNCW between Leutze and Morton hall at about 3:15pm and my light observation seemed to be overwhelmed by shadows.
The shadow of my hand across the page of my notebook.
The light swaying shadows of leaves blowing in the wind.
The darker shadows following people fading in and out of other shadows with light and shadow passing over their faces as they walk by.
The shadow of a bike as it passes through the crowd.
The solid dark shadows of the columns stretching sideways into the bright sunlit parking lot. The columns themselves are mostly shaded, with light only hitting the bottom.
The light and shadows change as people and objects move. The light and shadow appear to be constantly moving.
The direct light shines down through the opening in the roof.
Light bounces from above onto the tops of everyone’s head as they walk by, making their hair kind of glow.
The light shines down onto a stationary yellow bike casting one side in shadows and the other is brightly lit and glowing.

Outside Carolina Beach Food Lion on Saturday

The area was very crowded with constant sounds, no silence at all in the time I listened. I was intense. There was the continuous sound of cars speeding past on the street nearby, the low hum of the water and soda machines and the wind blowing. Cars entering the parking lot and parking had a slower sound than the cars on the road and some of them thumped with music. There were car doors banging shut, cars starting and the beep of cars being locked at intervals, along with occasional horn honking and brakes squealing. The sound of people talking and their footsteps would fade in and out and they came closer. The footsteps ranged from heavy thuds to flip-flops (mostly flip-flops). The noise of carts crashing and being pushed across the parking lot was fairly constant. One child was crying and a couple minute later another child was humming. There were a couple of sounds I may have missed if I had not been listening; a trash bag rustling in the wind and the water dispenser filling a jug. There were sporadic noises that included the clang of keys hitting the ground and the thump of a soda can dispensing and the bell on the door of the shop next door.

By the Pond with Fountain at UNCW at Night

I seem to be attracted to water sounds. There was the constant soft splashing of the fountain and a hum in the distance I could not identify. An owl hooted off in the distance once or twice along with beeping from a truck backing up. It was not very crowded, but flip-flopped footsteps and voices faded in and out as people approached and passed me. The wind blew through the trees on and off while I listened. There were the heavy, fast footsteps of a man running passed with his backpack jingling. The loudest sounds included the sound of footsteps with a rolling backpack thumping on the wooden bridge and the tower clock ringing out the half hour. Even though there was constant sound and the clock tower surprised me, it was not intense the way it was at Food Lion. The sounds here and at the beach had a different, more peaceful quality.

Kure Beach on Saturday

The beach was not as crowded as I expected but it was still full of layers of sound. Again it was continuous sound with no silence. There was the constant noise of waves rolling and crashing and the wind blowing. I could hear three different groups of people talking, the sound overlapped and faded in and out with the wind, making some of the conversation clear, but it was mostly muffled. There was the intermittent noise of children playing and yelling, and of seagulls laughing and other birds chirping. I could hear the flip-flopped footsteps of a few people, but bare feet were silenced by the sand. There were a few singular sounds like a man sneezing, a dog chain rattling and a plastic bag crinkling in the wind. As one group left, you could hear the sounds of beach chairs and umbrellas snapping shut and children asking to stay.