Whatever the weather

Well my second day on the beach at le Houget was much more testing, the rain was as always wet and cold and being blown from the east brought with it a lazy wind that went through you rather than around you. Fortunately I had remembered to bring my camera "coat", a light waterproof material that wraps around the lens and did a great job of keeping my gear dry, and allowing me to continue to work in really bad conditions. Unlike yesterday the tide was only on it's way in so I was safe enough. I've also been reminded that wearing wellies, and carrying a camera on a tripod with a rucksack full of gear on your back is a recipe for disaster! If you try and walk over rocks with all the aforementioned you are looking for trouble. Insure your gear!

The sun did make an appearance, and then left once more.

The weather definitely helped to get me thinking outside the proverbial "box", and had me looking at more abstract images. I really didn't want to leave empty handed, though sometimes I do. I don't take images for the sake of it! If there's nothing inspiring or outstanding then I pack up, albeit reluctantly and head home.


That said I seldom leave any beach empty handed. If you are passionate about something, or feel very connected to something the image will find you or vice a versa. Having a tripod and a shutter release cable are essentials in this light and weather.

I didn't use graduated filters because the rain was really too heavy, so I stuck with a circular polarising filter. In order to get some movement in the photos I used the lowest possible ISO of 50 an aperture of F22 and shutter speeds between 1/30 to 1/5 of a second. I like to experiment with the speeds and apertures to get varying amounts of blur and movement in the images. Sunrises are not my preferred subjects but here in Normandy the light and colours can be irresistible so I have to remember to look around sometimes. It can be amazing! So now I have a stock of sunrise images to choose from, and they have sold well for me.

So what's the point of this short dissertation? I guess it's to say there's always something to photograph if you are well equipped and connected to your subject, whatever the weather.