nomadlens
Images of the South West
Blue, Sandymouth
This is a long exposure shot that I have wanted to take for a long time. It needs a coming together of the right conditions; that is, an Atlantic storm, a high spring tide, high tide being just after sundown, and either no wind or wind from the North. Only when there is a storm surge does the area at the base of the waterfall completely fill up; only in the blue hour after sundown is the scene lit as I have wanted it; and only when the waterfall is sheltered from the wind does it cleanly jet outwards in this way. It also helps with keeping the camera steady on the tripod that when the wind comes from the North it does not create the usual wind tunnel effect in the deep runnel that provides access to the beach.
Last night all these conditions came together. This is the waterfall at Sandymouth, also depicted here: Waterfall, Sandymouth
There are many little waterfalls along the Culm Coast but none are as accessible as the one here and the sea does not always reach the base of them. It might not quite be on the scale of Milford Sound but it is always lovely to see a waterfall falling into the sea.
As I said, it’s a shot I’ve always wanted and it has turned out pretty much as I always envisaged it would.
Location
Sandymouth, Bude, Cornwall, UK
EXIF
Camera: Olympus E-M1
Lens: Olympus M 12-40 mm f/2.8
Focal Length: 40mm
Aperture: ƒ/8
Shutter Speed: 15s
ISO: 200
Image Details
The 10 stop B+W neutral density filter has a tendency to desaturate most colours except blues. In processing this shot I continually had to watch the blues. My contrast boost with Color Efex's Pro Contrast saturated them further and the LAB saturation to bring back the afterglow from the sunset in the sky seriously ramped them up again. I had to drag them back with Color Efex's White Neutralizer in the end. I didn't want to lose them enitrely though, the shot having been taken in the 'blue hour'.
1 Comment
Beautiful photograph. The detail about how you achieved the end result is most informative. Thank you!