Southport and Ainsdale beaches are vast, flat and featureless. As a photographer you have to latch onto any object of interest, even if it is a solitary shell in the middle of that vast, featureless expanse of sand. It’s a good job I like minimal photographs as the Sefton coast lends itself to this sort of shot!
I believe that these paint peeling, faded and jaded Victorian shelters are going to be given a makeover, but I have to confess: I quite like them as they are! Perhaps I should make a record of them now before they get upgraded…
Some days you go to the beach and it’s empty, some days it just seems far too busy! I captured these kite surfers on the beach at Ainsdale, the sun backlit the kites making the image feel nice and bright!
Another stop off at Ainsdale Beach on my way home, another sunset.
You can’t beat the combination of seaside marram grass and clouds with a sliver of sea in between – a cloudscape with marram!
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!
I was standing in the middle of Southport Pier, catching the last gasps of sunlight as the sun dipped below the horizon. I was using my wide angle lens. I saw the tram, honest, but it was oh so far away through my viewfinder! When the driver started tooting I thought it best to move to one side. I quickly placed the tripod and clicked the shutter. The tram flew past in a blur leaving me with this…
Is it the fastest tram in the North West, or was I just a little bit slower than usual?
Very often less is definitely more! When attempting to capture the essence of the Sefton coast I’ve tried to reduce the elements in the image to those most evocative of the scene. For me it is the marram grass edging the beach, with the sea and sky as a backdrop that is most distinctly our coast. In looking for the kind of image that I could hang on my wall I think that detail distracts, busyness makes for a restless image. In this case a simple image is more restful on the eye, and, I think, something that will endure as a pleasing image much longer than a typical beach scene full of activity and detail.
OK, I admit it, these aren’t the colours that I saw when I took this shot. It was a bland, overcast day, the tide was out and the beach flat and lifeless save for the pooled water in the dips of the sand. What is a guy to do but play around with the colours and create something a little more atmospheric? It’s amazing the difference colour makes to our perception of an image. The original is quite flat and, perhaps, boring, but add a little colour into the equation and the whole becomes much more interesting.
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.
