Bite-Size Blog Post #89 - Dawlish Warren

27 Sept

There’s a Reason I Keep Coming Back

There’s something therapeutic about being on the coast, especially at sunrise. As many of you will know, Dawlish Warren is a beach location I visit regularly, and over the last decade I’ve photographed it countless times.

There are many reasons for this. Perhaps it’s the relaxing walk along the beach, watching the sky change colour as I make my way towards the groynes and listening to the waves gently wash over the sand. The walk itself builds a sense of anticipation about what the morning might bring.

But ultimately, it’s the photography that keeps bringing me back.

Dawlish Warren is a completely different environment to the tors and hills of Dartmoor and requires a different set of skills and camera equipment. It’s one of the places where I regularly use not only my CPL, but also my ND filters. The NDs allow me to control the length of the exposure, creating longer exposures that smooth out the movement of the water and give the resulting photograph a more ethereal feel.

Structure and simplicity are also themes I enjoy exploring on Dawlish Warren beach. The sky, sea, sand and groynes are really the only elements I have to work with, and arranging these into a strong composition is a challenge I appreciate.

It may sound simple, and perhaps even a little repetitive, but the conditions are different on every visit, and so is the way I see the landscape. The light, clouds, tide and movement of the water all influence how I approach the scene.

I always come away feeling like I’ve created something new.

And that’s the reason I keep coming back.