Shadow and sand...

Strong winds and rain have been a feature of the UK's South West over the past few days, causing damage to nature and property, but today there was a break in the cloud, leaving blue skies to shoot under. However, the winds remained, gusting up to 45mph (72kmh) along the coast.

Under such conditions I nearly always opt to visit the seaside for photography, but despite the wind there is no sea running, so no chance of dramatic images. Instead, I concentrate on wind-blown sand patterns and shadows as here on the seafront at Southbourne in Poole bay.

Travelling light with only one lens - as I was today - is always going to be a compromise: the photographer can rest assured that in the case of toting a single optic such as a wide angle lens then a telephoto would be more suitable, and vice versa. This time I had chosen a wide angle zoom lens for flexibility, but my eye was seeing detail that ideally required a 50mm lens (or short telephoto) to capture the effect I was after. As a result I have to adjust my eye and look for the bigger composition, however mundane. Fortunately the ripples in the sand and shadows thrown across it help make the foreground interesting.


12-24mm AF-S F/4 Nikkor. 1/200 second at f/11. - 0.33 EV compensation. ISO 200

© 2012