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The North Wales coast is a dramatic and ever varied blend of the natural and man-made.
Nowhere is this more apparent than at Colwyn Bay, a beautiful stretch of coast and host to the Gwynt y Môr offshore windfarm, the fourth largest in the world, whose turbines punctuate the horizon of the Irish sea in a whirling dance of shape and movement.
Some hate them, but I love them, both from an environmental point of view and from a photographic point of view, as they add so much interests to a scene that would otherwise be composed of just horizontal lines.
So I photograph them a lot, under all sorts of conditions.
My favourite times to photograph the turbines is during a colourful dawn or dusk, when the turbine blades are in silhouette against a glowing sky.
For this image, seeing as the turbines had their red anti-collision beacons lit, I decided to picture them as really small when set against the vastness of the sea and sky.
A reminder that mans' most impressive efforts pale into insignificance when set beside the wonder and majesty of God's creation.
Filename - windfarm-09.jpg
Camera - Canon EOS 6D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 35mm
Exposure - 30 secs @ f5.6, ISO100
Filters - 2 stop neutral density graduated filter used to balance the exposure between the sky and sea.
Location - Llandulas, Colwyn Bay, North Wales
Image enhancements - Adobe Lightroom
Comments - Tripod, mirror lockup and remote release used to prevent camera movement.
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2026 unless otherwise stated.