Seascapes – Andy's Photography blog

After storm Ciarán finally abated leaving a trail of devastation in its wake last Thursday, I left a photographic trip to the seaside town of Teignmouth until Saturday, even then high winds and spring tides would make for possibly one of my most dramatic outings in some time.

The extent of the damage was considerable along the sea front, the pier battered and damaged, inner walled areas of the promenade pulverised by the sheer power of the waves intrusion onto land.

The tide was just on the ebb as I arrived in Teignmouth, but waves were still crashing into the sea wall and over into parking spaces closest to the sea, yet even then I was unprepared for the sheer volume of the roar and crash as the tail end of the storm did its worst.

For a few minutes I was glued to the spot as wave after wave thundered their way from sea to land, some incoming waves smothered by the outgoing ones, others combining forces for another assault onto the man made structures.

As I began my walk towards the ‘back beach’ I watched the waves crashing against the breakwater, where just a few shots in, I captured an explosion of sea water as it hit the wall, this was perhaps my shot of the day.

I have made this my desktop image on my PC monitor, I can still hear the thundering crash it made as it exploded with all its might, as did so many of the waves I was able to catch on this eventful day.

Careful to observe from distance, I spent the morning just watching where the biggest waves landed, positioning myself a good distance away from where they didn’t as I snapped frame after frame of the moody maelstrom as it unfolded before my eyes.

This is a trip that will stay in my memory for some time, reinforcing how beautiful and yet so destructive nature can be.

Sunday morning, the only morning when I tend not to set an alarm, yet still I wake at around 4am, my futile attempts at a lie in are appeased by the thought of my first cuppa, while I lazily thumb through the weekend papers or read one of the three books I currently have on the go.

A quick look out of the window and of course it is still dark, the rain covered road and pavements reflecting the lights of the few cars that pass by at this early hour.

Regardless of the weather, I have planned to spend an hour or three by the sea, a little shutter therapy is a welcome Sunday pastime, so make sure my camera bag is ready and batteries charged.

The earlier rain has cleared, but the overcast skies still show some intent, a strong breeze offers plenty of wave movement with the high tide just about to turn.

Dawlish Warren offers so many photo opportunities on days like this, naturally I look to try a couple of long exposures to capture the drama in both clouds and sea.

Moody skies and turbulent seas are always a good combination for long exposure photography.

Setting aside my tripod, I then decide to make my first attempt at the concept known as ICM photography.
ICM or intentional camera movement is where the camera is deliberately moved during exposure time, so an exposure of a second or more is recommended to get the desired effect, the effect essentially being the polar opposite of the sharpness and definition photographers strive for, a blurred ‘arty’ looking image, that implies an image rather than defining it.

I have an ND filter attached to my camera lens, at F5.6 I have an exposure time of just over a second, so begin my experiments in earnest, the first 5 attempts are not brilliant as I try different speeds with the camera movements.
On my 6th attempt, I have something that looks interesting if nothing else but it is a concept I will have more attempts at in the future.

Moving the camera horizontally at a reasonable speed gave this soft blurred effect of the beach and groyne, perhaps using this technique on a featureless area of the beach may have worked better?

Putting the filters away, my aim is just to stroll to the far end of the Warren and take the footpath around the nature reserve side of the beach, a long slow trudge through the soft sand that is the pathway.

Naturally there are several other people with the same idea of spending some time at the beach, a chance to to do some ‘street’ photography by the sea.