It was back to Hopton-on-Sea for another sunrise.
Two of us decided to tap up an old favourite in Hopton-on-Sea.
We met nice and early at 06:15 and made our way up to the staircase at the entrance to the beach.
We walked down the steps to do a recce near the beach, and we observed the tide was higher than we had expected.
It was apparent that we weren’t going to be able to walk along the beach so my fellow photographer suggested we go to the clifftop and walk along the top.
As we did that, there were some great views of the sea and rocks, and the sunrise colours were now appearing.
While my fellow photographer decided to carry on along the clifftop, I stayed put as I quite liked the view of the rocks from his vantage point.
One of my first shots showcases the best of the sunrise colours.
I was enjoying this viewpoint, and just watched a while for the sky to change.
I then decided to grab a shot to also include the clifftop and a discreet element of the caravan park, so that the image provides a wider perspective on the scene.
The next shot below demonstrates how quickly things can change in terms of the morning colours in the sky.
I decided I wanted to shoot the rocks straight on. Perhaps in my mind, I was gunning for the glory of alligator rock?
I went for a long exposure for this one.
I’ve tilted the image up to emphasis the rock shape more, but I think there’s some reworking or more work to do if I wanted to put this in the pile for potential competition image.
A similar shot was taken but I’ve cropped in a lot, and edited it with a pastel leaning.
There’s more working or re-working to do on this image too, as I find the darker sunlit area on the right takes the eye away from the image overall.
I had missed a phone call from my photography friend suggesting I join him further down the clifftop, so I made my way down there.
The best of the sunrise sky had gone now, and I thought that was it. It had been too windy for flying the drone.
When I met up with him, he showed me some images on the back of his camera, and had some stunning captures of the curvy rock and pink sky.
Right in front of us and down the steps was that rock, and without wishing to copy his shots, I couldn’t resist grabbing a portrait orientation shot of the steps and rock.
The end result is most pleasing I think.
I really like this capture. It’s sharp, with great leading line and sky with the warm colours. However, on reflection, the composition isn’t great as it’s cluttered, or too compact with subject elements.
I’ve had a go at removing a couple of the dark rocks to create a little separation, and on the suggestion of my friend who was present cropped the steps a little.
I’m still unsure about the image, but it’s a scene I may have another edit session to see where I could take it. If I’m honest, the quality of the image is top notch, but that composition is flawed so I think it’s more likely, I will assign to the B sides bucket.
It is easy to say “Just shoot higher”, but the position was cramped on the steps and moving higher would include more of the steps and the handrails. There was a bit more tripod height on offer though, so it is something I could try again.
And that was a wrap.
We stayed in this spot for a while and chatted about different scenes, and how pleased we were to try different shots.
A wander back to our cars for coffee and debrief, and back home.
The Golden Arches at Yarmouth snared me like some kind of kamikaze jet fighter plane autopilot without an eject button, and I was a willing and enthusiastic victim to their breakfast fare.
I did call by at Strumpshaw again, but the weather was worsening as the morning went on and there was quite a breeze building up.
This was in line with the weather forecast so it wasn’t difficult to head home for some Zzzzzzz’s.
Onwards and upwards…