After finally emerging from my Digital Asset Management Hell earlier this week I got back to work preparing images from the summer and came across this dusk picture from Bedruthan Steps.
Bedruthan Steps is a small beach on the North Cornwall coast near Newquay with a row of sea stacks across it's length. I believe the name is a reference to a giant called Bedruthan who was said to have once lived here, the stacks being his steps to the sea, or something like that.
On this day the low tide occurred almost exactly the same time as sunset. I spent about an hour before sunset watching the retreating tide looking for a picture. I found two. The first I made just before sunset and the second was to be at that magical time around 20 to 30 minutes after sunset when the sky turns pink. The idea was to capture the colour of the sky reflected in the wet sand left behind by the tide and that large rock you see centre frame was to be my foreground. That was the plan anyway.
I had neglected to consider how much the turning tide would shift soon after sunset and I found myself ankle deep in water on what quickly became quicksand. With a rapidly listing tripod I had to retreat. Having moved back several yards, I ended up with the stack to my right (now a black blob) in the frame. I wanted the brightest part of the sky centre frame so panning left wasn't an option. Moving the whole camera to the left proved tricky too as I was on an island of firm sand that was surrounded by more of that quicksand and the tripod would not stay still anywhere else. Then I am sure a light bulb appeared over my head. "Square" I thought.
So knowing I would crop away the sides I made my second exposure of the evening complete with one of Bedruthan's steps in the far right of the frame. I had just enough time for a third exposure so I turned the back round for a vertical version but the first square crop turned out to be by far the superior.
On this day the low tide occurred almost exactly the same time as sunset. I spent about an hour before sunset watching the retreating tide looking for a picture. I found two. The first I made just before sunset and the second was to be at that magical time around 20 to 30 minutes after sunset when the sky turns pink. The idea was to capture the colour of the sky reflected in the wet sand left behind by the tide and that large rock you see centre frame was to be my foreground. That was the plan anyway.
I had neglected to consider how much the turning tide would shift soon after sunset and I found myself ankle deep in water on what quickly became quicksand. With a rapidly listing tripod I had to retreat. Having moved back several yards, I ended up with the stack to my right (now a black blob) in the frame. I wanted the brightest part of the sky centre frame so panning left wasn't an option. Moving the whole camera to the left proved tricky too as I was on an island of firm sand that was surrounded by more of that quicksand and the tripod would not stay still anywhere else. Then I am sure a light bulb appeared over my head. "Square" I thought.
So knowing I would crop away the sides I made my second exposure of the evening complete with one of Bedruthan's steps in the far right of the frame. I had just enough time for a third exposure so I turned the back round for a vertical version but the first square crop turned out to be by far the superior.
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