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Beach and Waves #12

Large wave breaking on a stony beach at sunset in Devon

The story behind this image

The last rays of the setting sun hit the Devon coast at Lynmouth as Liz and I watched those dramatic Atlantic breakers expend themselves on the shingle beach. (From a safe distance I hasten to add!)

Our few days holiday here provided some lovely moments, and watching the spray turn pink as those waves crash into the unyielding coastline was one of the best.

As usual I had my camera and tripod with me, and as the camera was loaded with Fuji Velvia transparency film rated at an ISO of 50 I had no problem in shooting a slowish exposure of the waves breaking, with the lit spray blurring evocatively.

This is the sort of scene in which Fuji Velvia excels, with the low contrast and muted colours fitting nicely into the emulsion's somewhat narrow dynamic range.

Just a couple of minutes after I took this photo the sun set and the scene turned grey.

Still, the experience of watching the light was lovely while it lasted, and made all the more precious for being so fleeting.

Image data

Filename - beach waves 12.jpg

Camera - Canon A1

Lens - 70-210mm zoom

Exposure - Not known

Location - Lynmouth, Devon

This image - 800x545px JPEG

Original - Velvia transparency

Conversion - Epson Scan @ 2400dpi

Comments - Tripod used to prevent camera movement during long exposure.