Bude Sea Pool
OMG, Sunrise is Early
I love sunrises. It’s my favourite time of day to shoot. I love the excitement of driving to a location not knowing exactly what is going to happen. With sunsets, I will have spent the day reading updated forecasts and looking at the sky. With sunrises, I just wake up, get in the car and go!
As much as I like sunrise though, getting up early is not always that easy. Often it’s less about the actual sunrise time and more to do with the additional time you need to get to a location and still be there well before sunrise itself. I think the earliest I’ve ever been up for sunrise is 03:30 and at the time of year when these images were taken a 05:00 alarm call can be classified as sleeping in!
When a friend and fellow photographer asked if I fancied joining him one morning (13th March) to shoot the sea pool at Bude I knew the answer was yes, but I also knew this would be a 04:00 alarm call. I needed time to get up, make a cup of coffee, drive to Bude and still be there before the sun rose. This wasn’t going to easy but with the lure of photographing something different and the chance to catch up with a friend I was happy to miss out on a few hours sleep.
Blustery Bude
My friend was looking to capture some seascape images of the sea pool at Summerleaze Beach in Bude. With a high tide and strong winds forecast the conditions were ideal for the type of images he wanted to create. The type of images that I would be able to capture that morning would be very different from the wide-open vistas and landscapes that I usually take but it’s always fun to try something a little different.
I had most of the gear that I needed for this type of shoot but the one thing I’m currently missing at the moment is a long lens. I no longer have my 70-200mm f/2.8 F mount lens, and I’m waiting for delivery of my 24-200 Z mount lens so the longest focal length I have is from my 24-70 f/4 Z mount lens. I knew that not having a longer lens would limit my compositions and getting closer to the action would not be possible.
Bude Sea Pool #1, Cornwall - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 24-70mm f/4 at 70mm, f/8, 0.5 secs at ISO 160, Kase Filters K9 CPL.
Lack of gear is rarely an excuse for not giving things a go and that is exactly when I did when I arrived at Bude. Conditions were as expected and the waves were crashing around and over the sea pool. It didn’t take long for me to realise why a long lens would have been useful as some of the interesting compositions that included the pool steps were out of reach for me. Not to worry though, there were still compositions to be had closer to where I was standing.
To mix things up a little I tried stepping down to the pool edge but this proved to be a little risky. Before getting too close I watched for a little while to see how big the waves were and if there was a chance of getting soaked. Getting wet wasn’t the issue though. As I know from experience, it’s less about getting wet from the waves as it is more about what is in the waves in terms of debris. I noticed that pebbles were being washed up by the waves and I didn’t fancy myself or my camera getting hit by one.
Bude Sea Pool #2, Cornwall - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 24-70mm f/4 at 70mm, f/8, 0.5 secs at ISO 160, Kase Filters K9 CPL.
Work With What You’ve Got
All that aside I enjoyed the experience of trying to capture something different and working within tighter constraints than normal. While my shots aren’t necessarily original and won’t win any awards I am none the less pleased with them. They have at least given me a taste for this type of photography and are a good basis from which to build up my creative skills in this area.
Bude Sea Pool #3, Cornwall - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 24-70mm f/4 at 45mm, f/8, 0.5 secs at ISO 160, Kase Filters K9 CPL.
Looking at the images with a slightly critical eye I would have liked some of the compositions to have been a bit tighter and contained fewer subjects. Perhaps a little more minimalist. The wind and waves were also a little strong which meant there was a little bit too much white water. I think the shutter speed is about right giving me some nice texture in the water, but there are too many areas where it is just white water.
Bude Sea Pool #4, Cornwall - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 24-70mm f/4 at 45mm, f/8, 0.5 secs at ISO 160, Kase Filters K9 CPL.
As I said though, I’m pleased enough with the images. It was a great way to spend the morning and it was made even better as I got to spend it catching up with a mate. The only downside was that there is nowhere in Bude to go and get breakfast at 7 am!