Hoist By My Own Petard - 20/12/2009

A couple of days ago I posted on the importance of preparation - checking the weather, knowing the tide tables, watching the time. Yesterday I set of for Armado, a beach on the west coast with a new broadwalk which I thought would look good in the late afternoon shadows. I thought I'd make a day of it, so I checked none of those things, reckoning I'd have time to busk it. So much time in fact, that I procrastinated throughout the day.

Of course, by the time I finally hauled the bags out of the car, the sun was practically down, and I barely had time for a shot - a poor return for a very long drive. Distracted (I have been)? Stupid (I may be)? Losing my touch (I could be)? Anyway, here is my poor best. If I can't do better than this, maybe tiddlywinks beckons.



Ah well, art mirrors life as ever - there are days when whatever you do is wrong.

In the meantime, the techniques here are fairly straightforward. On the first shot we have a leading line down the steps and along the sunlit water. The second uses one rock to add interest to the foreground, and is done with an extreme wide angle. The first, to my mild surprise, appears to be quite popular...