23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Drone/Aerial
Branches of the Sea

Captured from above in Qassabi, Abu Dhabi, this photograph reveals a delicate dialogue between sea and sand. Turquoise tidal channels branch organically across the shallow waters, resembling the veins of a living landscape. Patches of exposed sand emerge within the sea itself, blurring the boundary between land and water. From this aerial perspective, nature transforms into abstraction—where flowing currents carve their own patterns, and the coastline becomes a quiet canvas shaped by time, movement, and tide.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 11.2025
Date Uploaded: 11.2025
Photo Location: Qassabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, United Arab Emirates
Camera: FC8282
Copyright: © Shyjith Onden Cheriyath