If you have read some of my previous blog posts, you will know that I love to photograph seascapes.
I take any chance that I can to take a trip to the coast and to bring my camera with me.
Sometimes I don’t get photographs that are worth showing to anyone, but these trips are always a good opportunity to re-connect with the mood and atmosphere that I find close to the sea.
I have always loved the sea.
As a child I loved to spend time by the coast, especially in winter when the landscape was wild, unpredictable and ever-changing.
I loved to sit and watch the sea crash against the rocks or walk along the rugged coastline listening to the sound of the waves.
I loved the dark foreboding skies that were often a feature of winter coastal landscapes.
Today it's no different and even in summer I prefer to visit the coast on days when there are no crowds, the sea is rough and the beach is more suited to walking than sunbathing.
Over the last few weeks, I was delighted to make a few visits to the coast on the south-east of Ireland.
The coastline here is very different to the Atlantic coast, with which I am more familiar. It is less rugged and not as dramatic, but I still loved to be there.
Since my trips were rather unexpected, I didn’t have my camera at the ready, but I did have my phone camera and I love that it allows me to always have some way of recording images.
Although the images are not very good, it was still a great experience, and it definitely whetted my appetite for more coastal photography to come this year.
I hope to experiment with long exposure and learn more about how best to use it, and the coast is a great place to do that.
I want to share a few of the images that I did take and explain why I include them.
The weather was dull on this day but I managed to grab a brief spell by the sea when the rain cleared. I loved the colours on the rocks in the foreground and wanted to include them in the image. Because it was 'in between showers' there was some interest in the sky.
I like the way the wet sand and the rock pool make leading lines in this image.
These groynes look like people watching from the shoreline. I added some luminosity to the image.
I used the Slow Shutter Cam app to make these two ICM (intentional camera movement) images.
The main focus in this image was on the footprint in the sand, with the sea merely providing the backdrop. It represents all the people who walk the beach throughout the colder seasons.
The following three images were taken on a different occasion when I had my camera and kit lens with me.
I like the way the sea makes a curved line in the sand, leading to the person standing on the edge of the rocks. The image may have looked better without the second person with a dog in the centre of the curve, but they were there at the time so I left them in the picture.
A friend's father worked on putting down these groynes as part of the effort to avoid erosion of the coastline. I like to take a photograph of them every time I visit.
These are some of the first seascape images of the year. They give me a longing to go back there soon.
Do you like seascape photography, or shooting near water? If so, you might enjoy this post: