Fighting the coastal blues

I'd been anticipating this trip for a while and it was all looking promising until the weather man started to mess with my plans. We had enjoyed a week of glorious sunshine but I wanted a few clouds and less of the haze that had accompanied the heatwave. Forecasts earlier in the week seemed to suggest I would get what I was after and the tides fitted in reasonably well with my chosen date. On the eve of my trip, it was clear yet more sunshine and heat was in store but, I'd set my heart on going, and pinned my hopes on the suggestion of some early cloud on the coast. Up shortly after 4am and started my 60+ mile drive to Flamborough - things looked quite promising, with the odd bit of cloud and mist as I drove through the Wolds. 

Approaching Bridlington, my hopes for cloud started to materialise - the only problem being it looked suspiciously like a thick blanket of cloud, not the lovely broken sky I had imagined! Blanket cloud it was and sunrise was a grey, dull affair. Predictably, the clouds did shift and along came that rather harsh, hazy sunshine we'd seen for most of the week. For a while the light was reasonable and I was lucky to have some super waves to play with.

The above image is of Thornwick Bay - the combination of the peaked headland and incoming surf provided lovely shape and texture to the composition. It was then a matter of getting the right shutter speed and choosing the best set of waves - always a bit of trial and error but this was my favourite!

A little later, I moved very slightly further along the coast and found a rocky ledge where I was surrounded by pounding waves. An exhilarating place to stand, though I rather hoped no freak waves came my way! The view north was lovely, with a little misty cloud remaining in the far distance. This time I opted for a much longer exposure of 20 seconds, using Lee's Big Stopper 10 stop ND filter. The crashing waves of a turning tide have been transformed into misty surf, complementing the equally misty skies surround the distant cliffs.

Afterwards I continued further north to check out a few more possible workshop locations. It was good use of my time in the rather harsh light but, in the end, I headed back in the early afternoon - admittedly, something to do with the fact I had forgotten to bring any money and was absolutely starving after such an early start! Doh!