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A study in blue.
This panoramic collage shows the Menai Straits as viewed from the Anglesey foreshore opposite Bangor pier on the North Wales coast.
The sun had long since set and the cool blue tones of the twilght sky were reflecting in the still waters at the turn of the tide as Liz and I sipped our tea outside the Gazelle hotel, right at the water's edge.
It was such a peaceful scene, and I was wondering how to capture the mood in a photograph when I realised that a composition with a lot of nothing much happening was the way to go.
This wasn't the time for a busy or dramatic image, but one that engendered the same feelings of calm and peace that we were experiencing by the side of the Straits.
In th end I decided on this wide panorama, taking in a full 180° view right along the Straits from east to west, taking in enough scattered details to hold interest while also providing areas of relative emptiness to allow the viewers eye to rest in tranquility.
When it came to processing the final collage I had the opportunity to reblanace the colour to a more neutral white balance, but in the end I decided to leave the original blue tones captured by my camera on its daylight white balance setting, adding to the air of thoughtful peace I was trying to engender.
Filename - menai straits panorama 02
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 105mm
Exposure - 2 secs @ f5.6, ISO100
Filters - 2 stop neutral density graduated filter used to balance the exposure between sky and foreground
Location - Menai Straits, Anglesey, North Wales
Conversion - Adobe Lightroom and PhotoShop CC
Comments - Panoramic image made by stitching multiple exposures
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2026 unless otherwise stated.