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A calm summer's evening. Sea breezes gently wafting the smells of salt and seaweed through the air. The susurrant hiss of the waves breaking on the pebbled foreshore. The sky glowing red in the light of the setting sun. The mournful cry of the lonely gull soaring overhead. All of these sensory delights combine to enthrall my wife Liz and I as we stand and watch as the suns sets out to sea off the coast of North Wales at Llandudno's West Shore beach.
This is one of our default 'go to' places when the weather is good (or not - we don't care) and we have an evening free from the bustle and demands of everyday life. Sometimes I'll get the camera out and sometimes not. Sometimes it's best just to experience being in a beautiful place without the pressure of having to photograph it in a meanigful and artistic manner.
However, on this occasion the camera was out and on the tripod as I just couldn't let such a moment pass by without at least trying to capture some of the evening's mood in a photograph.
I think that capturing mood is one of the biggest challenges and greatest sources of enjoyment in photography. There's no Photoshop plugin that'll do it for you, there's no 'mood enhance' setting on your camera. It's just down to you, your skill and your vision to make it happen.
Did I succeed with this image? You decide!
Filename - sunset beach 05.jpg
Camera - Canon 5D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 105mm
Exposure - 1/3sec @ f22, ISO100
Location - Llandudno, North Wales
This image - 640x800px JPEG
Conversion - ACR & PS-CS2
Comments - Slow shutter speed used to slightly blur waves.
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