penycwm

Seascapes Inspired by Robert Capa

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Perambulating on a recent filthy Summers evening I wasn't expecting to take any pictures so left the house with my older camera and a 35mm lens (not a very versatile landscape setup imo) but then the light got good and there was some drama to shoot. The tide was coming in rapidly and with storm driven waves surging up the beach and limited by my choice of lens I had to outrun the waves to get a shot. Inspired somewhat by Robert Capa’s war photography (obviously my evening stroll was thankfully free of any combat induced terror) his maxim 'If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough' seemed to apply here and I had to risk the horror of wet socks to get the composition I wanted. Shooting at a small aperture to allow a slower shutter speed to capture some of the drama of the waves without a tripod, I accepted camera shake as an inevitability. I'm not drawing a parallel with Capa's images shot on Omaha Beach during the D-Day landings but that's kind of what I had in mind as I took a soaking from a wave exploding against a rock behind me. An element of recklessness can be useful in any artistic endeavour and I suppose that by its nature and despite best efforts there is always a recklessness in war photography as a result of placing yourself in that setting in the first place. In other forms of photography including the usually sedate types like shooting landscapes; embracing abandon is a useful creative venture too but the life expectancy tends to be longer.

A little about Robert Capa. After humble beginnings in Budapest before spending formative years in Vienna, Prague and Berlin, which were important cultural cities at the time, Endre Freidmann relocated to Paris to escape the rise of Hitler. In Paris Freidmann adopted the pseudonym Robert Capa and went on to cover 5 major conflicts in his time before meeting his death by landmine in France's war in Vietnam in 1954 at the age of 40. His description of accompanying a US regiment during the D-Day landings and the 11 photographs that remained after fear, water and logistical challenges had conspired to destroy most of the images he made, are in combination perhaps the most concise insight into the horror of the day. His career first took off with coverage of the Spanish Civil War working alongside his lover and creative partner Gerda Taro who was killed near Madrid whilst on assignment in 1937. He later worked with Ernest Hemingway who was covering the war as a journalist before writing For Whom The Bell Tolls, a great read btw. He was influential in the lives of several great novelists as after WWII he travelled to the Soviet Union with John Steinbeck for his book A Russian Journal. He was a founder member and later president of the Magnum Photos agency. A fascinating life worth reading up on. As an avoider of war zones, consider these shots the best I can do in tribute.

One last thing for music fans who have read this far. Taro by Alt-J is about his death and ultimate reunion with Taro, his lover whose death he never really got over.

New local

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I have a new local beach. A place I’ve always enjoyed taking photos at. It’s nice to be able to walk 10 minutes from home to get there now. It gives a good opportunity to really experiment with finding new compositions and to make the most of the light when a glance out of the window looks promising. The last image has an amusing story to it as I got trapped by the incoming tide. I spent a chilly hour and a half in a little cove of the beach where I had to wait until I could scamper around the rocks to safety. I made use of the time and took a long exposure in the near darkness which I quite liked.

Winter walk at Penycwm

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At the North end of Newgale is Penycwm beach. It’s a favourite spot of mine and also quite local to me so I regularly walk there or on the cliffs above. The drone allows a different view of the familiar and is a reminder of what a fantastic stretch of coastline it is that runs from here around towards St Davids. At low tide when the rocks on the beach are exposed it feels like a prehistoric landscape.

Sea swim on a wet day

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Summer has deserted us over the last few days but with the sea flat calm and no wind to speak of, braver souls than me went in for a dip at Penycwm. There’s something special about being at the beach in the rain on a still day; it usually means you’re likely to have the beach to yourself and it can seem like you’re the first person to ever set foot there. The rain clears away footprints and dapples the surface of the sand, the sea is pocked with raindrops and wet rocks and pebbles glisten. It becomes a quiet place and it feels like an escape from the world. Not an unwelcome feeling these days.

Long exposures and wet feet

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We've been very lucky this Spring. At the moment I'm writing whilst rain falls outside but we've had some beautiful days recently. I've taken the opportunity when possible to get down to the sea and enjoy the sun and the water.

Sometimes it's nice just to go out, stand around in ankle deep water and take some really simple shots of the water doing it's thing. I've enjoyed a few hours spent this way in the last few weeks. To get this smooth effect with the water requires a bit of technique. Some of these were taken in bright sunshine where usually the shutter speed would be very fast. A neutral density filter helps cut the amount of light getting into the camera allowing longer shutter speeds without overexposing the shot. Slowing down the shutter speed smooths out the textures as the water washes in and out but leaves patterns behind. Each exposure is about 6 seconds long (longer on some of the shots taken later in the day) and each exposure can create it's own interesting effect. When I go out to take this type of shot, I often spend many minutes taking essentially the same shot but enjoying all the different effects each new wave can bring. As usual, I come back with a whole load of shots from this type of day so this little selection are the best from maybe 50 shots.

The first shot is taken from the beach at Newgale. If you look closely you can see a tanker on the horizon. St Brides Bay often becomes home to a few ships moored up waiting for their slot in the harbour at Milford Haven and they can be there for a few days or sometimes much more. I'm more of a landlubber myself so find it strange the life of the folk on those big boats. I find it odd to think of being out in all that space surrounded by water for weeks at a time but the captain of a tall ship once told me that was the appeal for him. I guess we all go and find that space somewhere although I suppose the motivation is more monetary for the folk aboard that tanker.

These were taken at Newgale, Marloes and Penycwm.