Meandering

I've always loved photographing the coast. It's hard to beat watching the sunrise on a deserted beach and seeing the scene in front of you transformed by the first rays of golden sunlight. There's more to it than that though, there's something about the coast that has that extra bit of magic that photographers crave. Of course the weather conditions can change quickly, sometimes going from one extreme to the other quicker than you can put your hood up, often rewarding you if you are brave enough, with dramatic light that quickly makes up for the soaking you've just got.

It's the sea though that draws me back time and time again. With it's ever changing moods and constant tidal ebb and flow, the sea provides endless inspiration and with a clear horizon the light at dawn and dusk can seem to linger for hours, which is how this photo came about.

I took this image on my first visit to a stretch of beach that has since become one of my favourite spots, below the cliffs at Hunstanton in Norfolk. I'd spent an enjoyable couple of hours shooting the cliffs, rocks and shipwreck around sunset and the sun had long disappeared below the horizon when I headed back to the car. As I walked up the beach I looked back and noticed this scene behind me, the beach was now almost black and the streams of water snaking across the sand  at low tide looked silver in the fading light. I very nearly didn't take the photo, but after momentarily weighing up whether it was worth unpacking my gear for, the camera came back out and I shot a handful of frames, intentionally blurring this one a bit to emphasise the motion... a little abstract but isn't this all about the depths of perception?

This is my entry into the Depths of perception: Ocean waves photoblog competition, find out more at http://www.cruise.co.uk/blog/depths-of-perception-ocean-waves-photoblog-competition/