Club members chose Happisburgh again as the meet up location for another sunset shoot.

Why Happisburgh again?

The inspiration for this choice was a recent visit and subsequent YouTube video by Pro Photographer Gary Gough.

The tide was favourable for the North end of the beach which meant we would be able to see the sea defences and have plenty of options for compositions.

The weather forecast looked good.

Access to the North end of the beach

You need the tide to be out, or at least heading out to be able to get to this part of the beach.

Gary was aiming to grab fine art mono images of the wooden sea defences. I wasn’t feeling it but my first shot did grab a wide angled view.

It’s OK but this scene was not inspiring me

There is a stretch of sea defence rocks which you can walk behind but care should be taken as the tide does come in past the rocks and it’s easy to get cut off.

I noticed Gary had a comment on his video from someone claiming he had over-dramatised the risk of getting caught out by the tide. I thought this was unfair because personal safety is a serious issue. Some people eh?

Images
I walked further up past the long row of posts where most of the guys were setting up, and I did some ICM shots.

ICM Zoom Bursts

I turned around and captured the church and the cliffs with another ICM shot.

ICM Mono looking back at Happisburgh Church


The golden light of the evening sun was lighting up these posts and I really like the shot below:

Golden hour light is the best!

A mono of a similar composition produces a nice scene especially with the texture of the sand.

Moody! But look at the textures in the sand!

I then spotted a metallic remnant of a sea defence sticking out of the sand, so decided to take a few shots.

I experimented with different shutter speeds, and as always, was trying to emphasise the texture in the waves. I was quite pleased with the following shots:

Different shutter speeds, different textures

I also tried some ICM zoom bursts with the same composition.

It’s getting quite addictive, this ICM stuff!

As I was taking these shots, I began to realise that the sky was reflecting in the water on the sand, and that these shots had the potential to be something special.

Shot of the night!

As everyone began to head back to the cliff top, I felt I ought to grab a couple more shots of the wooden sea defences.

Final shots of an amazing evening

As we returned to the clifftop, there was an amazing sunset sky which meant that many of my fellow club members lined up to grab shots of the light house.

I really should’ve grabbed some shots but I’d had my lot for this particular evening. I’ve found that often on shoots, I reach a point where I have had enough and am happy to call it quits.

This evening had been awesome, and we all reflected on Happisburgh being a superb location for so many different compositions and images.

Onwards and upwards…