Walcott was chosen for this week’s sunrise photoshoot.
With the sunrises getting earlier, we needed to meet at 05:20 which meant a strategic alarm for 04:36.
Optimising get up and go routine
I have a routine now for optimised get up and get going to an early shoot.
Shower the night before, or just skip it (don’t pretend you’ve never skipped one…)!
Have all kit and bag(s) and paraphernalia packed and ready to go – this includes all batteries recharged and ensuring everything needed is ready to lift and go.
Last year, I had a habit of stopping by the roadside about a mile from home to double check I hadn’t forgot anything, but now I trust myself (fool)!
This could be foolhardy given on a recent Cromer sunrise shoot, I had forgot to put a memory card in my camera, and didn’t have a spare in my bag. Luckily, we abandoned that shoot as it was murky and raining.
I now double-check battery and memory card, and have spares in all my bags.
The night before, I brew a coffee (ground of course, no fag ash instant chicory nonsense) and microwave it in morning. Kettle will be boiled to make a cup of tea to go and top up the flask.
Breakfast en route will be a breakfast biscuit or toast.
Experience tells me this routine is approximately 15-20 minutes maximising my sleep time.
When the alarm goes off, I get up immediately – no snoozes as I’m worried I’ll sleep through it.
All of my clothing (thermal layers etc) are laid out ready to put on.
The Shoot
We parked on side of the road and made the very short walk down the steps to the beach – the tide was heading out, and we all made our own way to our desired starting positions.
There is a wooden sea defence which most of us decided to shoot first.
I persisted at this location as some of my fellow photography pals moved on – I found it quite a challenge to get something I liked.
Moving closer, I tried to get more of the sea defence structure, and in post it looked better in monochrome.
I wasn’t sure what to do next, and was lacking a bit of “oomph” in motivation.
I was wondering if last week’s epic Peak District trip had made me (even subconsciously) a little uninspired.
I took the shot below which is a very plain snap, but I think it represents Walcott beach quite well.
A good friend of mine (Mike) likes to bring his dog here for a walk and run around, and I can see why. It’s a big beach with plenty of room for everyone.
I decided to get the drone up having checked both the apps for permitted flying area, and the conditions.
The usual top down overhead view was bagged, alongside some nice video footage.
And that was a wrap.
Coffee and debrief back near our cars, and we all agreed that this location has lots of potential.
I made my usual donation to Ronald’s empire on the way home, and had a kip when I got home.
A return to this location would come sooner rather than later… which gives the game away I’m writing this blog later than usual due to a a fast stream of trips and a backlog of photo editing and blog writing.
Onwards and upwards…