Photography is such a challenge!

Well, it’s now March and the mornings are getting longer, yes that means an early start again!

Yesterday, I visited St Monans in the East Neuk of Fife to get a sunrise shot that I have been aiming to get for such a long time now. The weather conditions were to be a clear night heading into sunrise which takes place at 07.05. Now, you might think that these conditions seem to benefit a photographer but having clear sky’s doesn't make for a great photo. Anyway, I took a chance and headed for the coast. I had previously checked the tide times so, but didn't expect the tide to be as far out as it was, eliminating the chance of the image I had in mind. So I came home without anything!, another disappointment! 

I have now been to this location about five or six times resulting in zero photos. It’s either, the weather, the tide, the wind speed or a combination of all.

Time to try again!

The forecast for this morning was very ominous, mass cloud cover but the tide times were good so I thought I would give it another shot. Sunrise is at 07.02 so I left at 05.30 with a journey time of about 40 minutes. All the best light comes about half an hour before sunrise so I had plenty of time to set up. My shot was Newark castle, an old ruin about half a kilometre away from St Monans on the coastal path. (Please Note: If you are heading there, you cannot take the coastal path at high tide!)

As I approached, the light was already magnificent, a real pleasure! I took my time over the actual position to shoot from, making sure there were no unwanted elements in the scene. Before I take a photo, I always have an idea of how I want the picture to look or visualise a print so I took a couple of test shots making sure I had the correct exposure time. The sky was such a vibrant pink colour, it almost looked like someone had painted it. I have truly never seen anything like it before! 

Although the view was remarkable, it is a very challenging scene to photograph. The sky was extremely bright where the foreground, was the opposite. Like always though, you have to meter for the sky hoping to bring out detail in the foreground in post. I like to do everything I can in camera so I had a 3 stop ND grad to neutralise the sky and a polariser to take the reflection away from the water. I also wanted a more surreal look so I put on a 6 stop ND filter (Lee little stopper) to give me an exposure time of 8 minutes. This is so hard to gauge as it gets lighter be the second, (usually I set it to aperture priority and take a reading). I then use an app for the correct exposure time and reduce it according to how I think the light has changed. Generally, I take off about a third of the exposure time set. ( This is only at sunrise/sunset).

This first photo was taken 40 minutes before sunrise atF11, ISO 64 to get the least amount of noise I could and an eventual exposure time of 355 seconds.

The light changed very quickly from pink to reds and oranges, almost like god threw a bucket of rainbow paint down, it really was the best sunrise I have witnessed to date. This is genuinely why I love photography, millions of people miss this every day. Just standing, admiring, and taking in what nature brings! 

This shot was taken about 15 minutes before the sun came up with the same setting as before with a shorter exposure time of 225 seconds to accommodate the light. The exact same filters were used. 

Another glorious morning had come and gone and the sun had come up beyond the horizon. This is the point that I usually head home for some much needed breakfast but to my surprise, due to the cloud cover, there was still gorgeous light. Time to head for Elie!

I have shot here on numerous occasions as the little lighthouse has such an obvious attraction to a photographer. I was looking for a different vantage point that I hadn't previously looked at. After some consideration, I decided to follow the sun! I clambered onto rocks seeking out a view of the sun directly over the lighthouse. Now, where photography is concerned, I can be very reckless and I did it again. Looking at the sun and the overall scene, while clambering over rocks, I slipped and almost ended up in the sea!! not once but twice, and with camera and tripod in hand!. Luckily I was that cold to begin with and totally numb,I didn't feel it. ( bloody sore now though) 

I managed to capture this shot of Elie lighthouse with the sun overhead shining down. I had a 3 stop ND grad as the sky was so bright and for the first time in a while, I got out the Lee big stopper (10 stop ND filter) to give an exposure time of  154 seconds at F11, ISO 64. 

I generally go out looking for one photo that I am happy with but I actually quite like them all!