Sitting on the shore on this hot New England day, the cool Atlantic water looked inviting. This indentation at the tip of Deep Cove, located on Maine’s mid-coast, has occasionally served as a swimming beach for Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. In this artist community, I taught a photography workshop and captured this image 50 years ago.

Maine seawater is cold, influenced by the Labrador Current’s icy flow, which moderates the warming effects of the Gulf Stream further offshore. The water temperature reaches the high 50s during late summer and early fall. Only a hardy swimmer can challenge the otherwise welcoming ocean. Still, it’s one of the few places along this coast with a beach that extends far enough into the bay to wade despite its ten-foot tidal range.

Low-lying islands draw a subtle line between the cloudy sky and the deep, tranquil Jericho Bay. Spruce and fir trees densely cover Deer Isle, with a vibrant green understory of lichens and mosses fed by the cool, moist air of frequent coastal fog.

The soft dusk light mingles with the transparent water of an ebbing tide to reveal the near shore’s sandy and gravelly till, sediments from glaciers that covered this region 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. More gently sloped than the rest of the steeply ledged shoreline, granite shelves frame this small cove. The clarity of the water and the lightness of the underlying till, reflected by the glow from the late-afternoon clouds, catch the sun’s muted light, giving the cove a brightness. It seems as if one could wade into a bath of light.