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Landscapes

Beach Huts – A Very British Thing

Hastings Pier and Beach Huts at Sunset

The town of Hastings, nestled between two hills on the South Coast of England is one of those archetypal British resorts. There’s the old town, with all its quirkiness, and the new town alongside, stretching the promenade all the way along the coast. The pier has been subject to a recent modernisation project, but from a distance looks just the same as many UK piers.

The beach huts are ubiquitous all along this coast. For most resorts the choice of paint is up to the individual, resulting in many colours, and much fading and flaking. When I saw this set of beach huts by Hastings Pier I loved the uniformity of colour as well as the freshness of the paint. They make a wonderful foreground contrast to the pier and the setting sun.

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Southport Southport Pier

Southport Pier Sunset

Southport Pier Sunset

We got to the pier just as the sun was setting. I’ve been aching to get a decent long exposure at sunset and tonight I was just in time to get a 134 second shot – enough to have the clouds nicely streaked across the sky 🙂

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Southport Southport Pier

Fast as a speeding Tram – Southport Marine Lake

Fast as a speeding Tram

Taking a walk around Southport’s Marine Lake the other day I decided to try for a long exposure shot of the lake, pier and bridge. The intense sunlight made it almost impossible to see the image on the camera’s screen, but I could just make out enough to get a few shots. I was so intent on getting the exposure right that I didn’t notice the tram setting off. You can see the blurred movement of the tram along the pier in the centre of the shot.

Categories
Street Photography

Livepool Pier Head

Pier Head, Liverpool

Visiting Liverpool recently to see the Giants we enjoyed a stroll by the Pier Head. With the new museum up an running I liked the juxtaposition of the old and the new buildings, with a few superlambananas to add to the mix!

 

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Landscapes Southport Southport Pier

Southport Pier Sunset

Southport Pier Sunset

We went for a walk down on the beach last night. The beach, as usual was a mess, more mud than sand, not really pleasant. Also, as usual, the pier was locked long before sunset so I resorted to the usual method of sticking the lens between the bars of the gates. This was a multiple exposure combined to show the foreground detail while keeping the colour in the sky.

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Landscapes Southport Southport Pier

Southport Sunset

A Cloudless Sunset

At certain times of the year, the sun sets directly behind the end of the Pier in Southport. Sometimes the sky is dramatic, often it can be cloudless and flat. Occasionally the colours are rich and warm (this shot did receive a little help in that direction in post processing).

Timing it right I caught the last gasp of sunlight before it sank below the pier railings. I hope you enjoy the shot!

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Southport Southport Pier

Sunset over Southport Pier

Sunset over Southport Pier

 

It was cold, wet and windy, but the sun was setting, so I grabbed a few shots as the sun sank behind the pier. The wave patterns in the foreground sand add a wonderful foreground interest to this shot.

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Southport Pier

Southport Pier Sunset

Southport Pier Sunset

As the light fades the length of exposure increases which makes for some fun photography when there are moving objects (or people). I generally take a tripod when I go to Southport Pier so that I can get everything just right, it also means that I can capture moving walkers as the sun sets.

The Southport Pier sunset changes with the time of year, and at this time of year the sun is a little too far south to be spectacular, but I think it was still worth grabbing the shot!

Categories
Landscapes

Brighton Beach

Pebble BeachWe took a trip to the other end of the country for a few days. As it was a holiday I didn’t really have time to do much photography, but I did take my camera with me on the beach. This shot was taken hand held from the beach looking towards Brighton’s burnt pier. This pier has been the subject of many photographs, so I wanted to try and do something a little different. The shot was taken hand held, but slow enough to show movement in the waves.

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Southport Pier

Purple Pier, Southport

There are just so many ways to shoot one pier. Getting down on the beach at sunset is one great way to get the silhouette of the pier framing the setting sun.

 

Purple Pier