exposed structure

naples, florida is supposed to be great shelling territory. in my expereince the whole gulf coast of florida is as wealthy in shells as its inhabitants are in dollars. needless to say, i will be spending a few days sitting cross-legged, sifting through tidal piles of shells. it’s not always the perfect ones that grab my attention. sometimes the broken and worn ones have more to say. like this collection of whelks, whose flesh appears to have disappeared, leaving just bones behind.

worn conch shells spines