Heading South. 1 - A Trip to the Seaside
There’s no place like home. Except the beach. ― Anon
West Pier, Brighton
Fujifilm X-T5 | 24mm f/8.0 40s ISO125
When I said that I fancied a trip to the seaside I guess Helen thought it was no biggie. After all, we only live about ten minutes walk from the sea, fifteen if you take the scenic route. When I hinted at slightly further afield that didn’t set off any alarms - Budle, Bamburgh and Beadnell are just three locations beginning with ‘B’ in easy striking distance of the house. Northumberland has no shortage of beaches. When I announced, firmly, that I wanted to go to Brighton I think Helen suspected that this was neither sensible nor practical.
Nonetheless, on a crisp February morning just before 7am I found myself on Brighton beach wondering why, contrary to every weather app known to man (or at least me) the only bank of cloud in the sky was sat where the sun was due to rise over the Palace Pier. So, while the sun rose it rose in a far less spectacular and colourful fashion than I’d hoped and I reverted to plan B, the West Pier.
Brighton West Pier
There’s a fairly substantial body of evidence to suggest that for some photographers (myself included) the West Pier in Brighton is a little like catnip. It provokes an excitement and enthusiasm that many others find hard to understand. There is something about the derelict structure and the clean backdrop that means that it works in all sorts of weather and light. Given the calm conditions I went for long exposures and fairly simple compositions. The image at the top of the page is not the only one taken that day…
A Walk to Hove (and Back)
Once the best of the morning light disappeared I left the beach to fortify myself with an excellent breakfast from Café Coho before heading off for a stroll through the town and along the promenade to Hove. The weather, while crisp, was bright and the few folk that were out and about seemed to be enjoying the weather as much as I and the light, while a tad harsh, was really quite good…
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my morning. I’ve written about Brighton previously - here for example. Given how simple it can be to get to I’m sure I’ll be back…
Royal Pavilion, Brighton
Fujifilm X-T5 | 21mm f/8.0 1/125s ISO 125
