I mentioned in an earlier post that after listening to a lecture by Jesse Alexander at Falmouth University, and realising that the tides were against me, I had decided to spend this week taking photographs of the view from our garden at night, rather than capturing the seabirds as originally planned.  My intention is to reveal aspects of the shoreline that I find interesting (by using torchlight).  This is an experiment, although I have done similar work on the Road to Elgol.

Week 3 – Day 1 – Monday 30 March

The first day of the experiment was clear and as the light faded the night sky was also clear but it was cold.  The tide was coming in but much of the immediate shoreline revealed rocks, pebbles seaweed and patches of water.  I decided to use a 50mm prime lens to give a relatively wide view whilst also taking advantage of any residual light in the scene.  I took a selection of shots around the Bay so I could get a sense of what might work as a scene and also to determine the settings of my camera that would give the best results.  This shot shows the immediate shoreline outside our garden and then looking across the Inner Sound north to Longay Island, the Crowlin Islands and the mainland beyond.

Week 3 – Day 2 – Tuesday 31 March

This image looks across the Bay, north-east to the small settlement of Waterloo apparently so named as it was founded for veterans of the Napoleonic Wars.

Week 3 – Day 3 – Wednesday 1 April

Another shot looking across to Waterloo with the middle distance shoreline illuminated.

Week 3 – Day 4 – Thursday 2 April

This image looks across the Broadford Bay towards the village and the hospital beyond.  The skies are lighter looking north-west so this shot has a rather different feel.

Week 3 – Day 5 – Friday 3 April

I wanted to wait for a dark sky and a high tide combination to try some different natural lighting to get a more subtle effect. That only occurred on the last day of the week.  I woke earlier than I had set my alarm.  I had planned to be up an hour before sunrise but I was out with my camera nearly two hours prior to that.  The skies were dark and dramatic and the colours ranged from dark blue to rose skies.  However, I started intending to produce these images in black and white so this is my first attempt.

Week 3 – Day 6 – Saturday 4 April

However, I think I prefer the colour version.

Week 3 – Day 7 – Sunday 5 April

I think the week has finished on a high and I have enjoyed trying my hand at night photography.  I plan to wake early over the next few days to see what nature has in store for me.  This final image of the week is produced here in black and white and colour.  Which one do you prefer?