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The harbour end of Rhyl on the North Wales coast has seen a bit of a renaissance of late, with the construction of the new Pont y Ddraig (Bridge of the Dragon) footbridge over the harbour inlet taking centre stage.
Liz and I first used the footbridge during an afternoon's explore of the area, and I was impressed with the graphic quality of the design as we walked across.
Of course I stopped to take a couple of photos of the bridge, but these were nothing more than record shots in the flat, overhead daylight and I didn't bother working on them them further.
But a few weeks later we returned to photograph the Colwyn Bay windfarm at sunset from almost the same spot, and walking back to the bridge in the twilight I stopped open mounted at the transformation before me.
Set against the purple and magenta of the dusk sky, the bridge upper works stood in sharp silhouette against the heavens, while the walkway cycled through a range of colour changes, all reflecting in the waters of the harbour entrance below.
Wow! Now this was a scene to be photographed seriously, and I spent the next half hour as the colour slowly faded from the sky trying different angles and compositions, eventually selecting two for further processing into screen worthy images, of which this is one.
A long shutter speed helped smooth out ripples in the water below the bridge which helped the definition of the reflection.
Not content with just capturing still images I also shot a video showing the Pont y Ddraig cycling through its colour changes, which you can view by following the link.
When you've finished, just hit your browser's 'Back' button to return here.
Enjoy!
Filename - rhyl pont y ddraig 02.jpg
Camera - Canon 6D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 32mm
Exposure - 15 secs @ f11, ISO100
Location - Rhyl harbour, North Wales
This image - 533x800px JPEG
Conversion - Adobe Lightroom
Comments - Tripod, mirror lockup and cable release used to prevent camera movement
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2026 unless otherwise stated.