Towards the end of last year, my photography took a back seat as I concentrated on getting the graphic design side to Pea Green Prints off the ground with my greeting cards on Thortful.
This year there are a number of areas I would like to develop and one of them is getting out and about more, exploring with the camera in hand. For the last week Cornwall has enjoyed unseasonal dry and bright weather, so it has been good to start the New Year as I mean to go on.
Yesterday’s forecast was very promising and so I set the alarm early and headed to Newlyn, near Penzance. Newlyn is home to England’s largest fishing port and it is always a colourful place to photograph. I was hoping by going at sunrise I would discover some new scenes and enjoy an old favourite in a new light. I wasn’t disappointed.
As the fish market was busy with vans lining the quay, loading up their newly purchased catch of the day, I decided to head along the pier towards the harbour entrance. As I went, I passed the large beam trawlers as they were being prepared for their next fishing trips and smaller onshore boats chugged in and out of the protective walls of the port.
There are two things I always do when out walking with the camera. They are to look up and check behind. You can become so focused on what is in front of you as you stare through the viewfinder that amazing things which are all around you can get missed. As I looked back from where I walked, I noticed the full moon hiding amongst the ropes and masts of the boats on the quayside. The town of Newlyn had also taken on a lilac hue that was reflected from the sunrise opposite onto the white plastered houses tumbling down the hillside to the water’s edge.
On the other side of the harbour entrance to where I was, there is a lighthouse and the tidal observatory. I knew the sun would rise from behind these buildings and my plan was to capture these in silhouette and experiment with exposure and composition. I snapped away in the ever changing light and then, as the blue hour gave way to the golden one, the light began to get too bright so I made my way back along the pier. I noticed a slipway that led down to the edge of the harbour and thought I would investigate.
The receding tide had revealed a small rocky beach scattered with old concrete mooring bollards and this was hidden underneath the pillars supporting the fish quay above. The morning sun playfully danced on the water and was reflected onto the huge piers like a nautical glitterball. Squawking seagulls flew in and out of the geometric shapes formed by the stanchions, as water dripped from the quay above and a gentle low mist rolled over the sea as if it was breathing out the cold, crisp January air. It was a superb find!
As the sun’s rays grew stronger, the magical atmosphere slowly ebbed away but it is a place to which I will definitely return and try to capture the ethereal mood there. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this selection from yesterday’s shoot.
