Around the world, beaches, cliffs, coves, and bays are regarded as places of contemplation and — as we say in German — "Fernweh", literally the "longing for the faraway". They mark the end of land — and thus of human influence and power — and designate the beginning of the wild, untamed sea. This and their sheer beauty explains the fascination that inevitably befalls us whenever we stand at the water's edge. Below are my favorite vistas that I captured at the Atlantic and Pacific ocean, and the Mediterranean, Baltic and Northern sea.