Her images run the gamut from explosive to contemplative. They are unique in that they treat their subject with indifference toward anything but discoveries of serendipitous design. Her favorite hunting ground for capturing these images is 500 feet off the sand in Brighton Beach, where her telephoto lenses capture the minute and the grandiose alike, each swirl or crest a gesture unique as a snowflake. But for Gottlieb there is no need for metaphors. The ocean is self evident, a territory connected via water to every land mass and even in the air itself. It’s like taking a picture of a single gargantuan soul in motion toward its fate.