I decided to go out on a proper photography mission last week with the intention of really trying to get some good shots in poor weather. It was something of a retro trip out to a favourite local walk I’ve done hundreds of times and I went with a fairly basic kit; just my 24-105 f4 which was the first lens I got when I got a serious camera. It’s a great lens and very versatile but sometimes it’s tempting to carry a heavy bag with a longer lens or to chuck in a fast prime ‘just in case’. The 105 gives enough length to get some compression in your shots and 24 is wide enough for most purposes so it’s a decent choice for a day out. The gallery below is in fairly chronological order starting with a shot through the wet windscreen out to the harbour at Porthgain while I waited for the rain to stop. I spent a lot of time on Traeth Llyfn trying to find a composition that worked. With the sun low in the southern sky and obscured by thick cloud it meant that the light was flat but also the far end of the beach was dull and in the shadow of what light there was. I tried a few long exposure shots but had difficulty finding a good angle on the rocky outcrops that stretch out like fingers from the cliffs at the back of the beach. Trying to find something for the foreground wasn’t really working for me until I got my feet wet and tried some long exposures with an ND filter smoothing out the textures in the water and sky. I’d gone out partly with the pictures of Michael Kenna in my head and was somewhat successful in getting what I wanted out of some of the shots.
I spent a good amount of time on the beach and was reminded why landscape photography (at least the way I do it) is best as a solitary activity. Walking back and forth along the beach and occasionally cursing myself and walking back to a spot I’d abandoned because I felt like there was definitely a shot to be had from a certain spot if I could just work harder to find it. Some textural shots from a closer study of the rocks and then I was ready to walk on before the tide started to threaten my safe departure. Walking around the corner towards Abereiddy provided a nice portrait of a sheep lit by the sun which was starting to find more gaps in the cloud before I arrived at quite a popular little lookout over the headland and beyond to the hills above St Davids. I got a nice sunset shot looking southwest along the coast with the elevation enough to get a good view. I’ve taken a few shots here over the years but not sure how many have been blessed with such nice light, the only one I processed in colour. After that it was time to head for home, slipping along those muddy winter paths.
