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A crisp winter's day and the low angled sun at this time of year is casting a wonderful modelling light across the undulating features of the enormous sandy beach at Llanfairfechan on the North Wales coast.
Winter is a great time for outdoor photography when the sun shines, as the cold air is less saturated with moisture and dust compared with the warm air of summer, reducing haze and improving clarity.
Add to that the fact that the sun never gets very high in the sky at this time of year, resulting in the revealing low angled light that us photographers crave.
Which is why you'll find my wife Liz and I by the seaside whenever the winter weather is favourable, strolling along in the crisp, clean air taking in the wonderful North Wales views.
The coastal path at Llanfairfechan is one of our favourite walks, which, thanks to the very large tidal range in this part of the world, gives us a view out over that huge expanse of contoured sand at low tide.
Punctuated with lines of decaying groynes, a futile attempt to prevent longshore drift, the beach is a visual wonderland of golden sand and blue tidal pools, much beloved by wading birds which flock here to feed.
So our walks along the coastal path are very much a stop / start affair, with many pauses along the way for me to take photographs of the ever changing scenery under that wonderful winter sunlight.
Filename - llanfairfechan 07.jpg
Camera - Canon 6D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 70mm
Exposure - 1/160 sec @ f8, ISO100
Filters - Polarising filter used to reduce glare and enhance colours. 2 stop neutral density graduated filter used to reduce the brightness of the sky.
Location - Llanfairfechan, North Wales
Image enhancements - Adobe Lightroom
Comments - Handheld exposure with image stabilisation.
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