The right place and the right time.
This time lapse video of the tide coming in over the mud flats of the Conwy estuary at Conway on the North Wales coast was shot just after midsummer on a gorgeous clear evening.
There's a narrow window of opportunity to film this view, because as the year progresses towards autumn the position of the sunset will swing down from the northwest until the sun sets to the southwest in winter, out of the view shown here.
So I grabbed the opportunity of a good weather forecast, an incoming tide and a free evening to head on up the coast to film this wonderful juxtaposition of natural events.
The view out up the estuary from the bridge over the river Conwy (next to Conway castle) is fantastic at any time, with moored boats, exposed mudflats and the shoreline buildings of Deganwy on the northern bank to enjoy.
But catch the view in the right light and it's utterly captivating.
So my wife Liz and I stood on the bridge for an hour either side of sunset, just watching entranced as the tide swept over the mudflats that were glowing in the light of the setting sun while my camera clicked dutifully away.
We were kept company by a family of herons, poking around in the shallows of the incoming tide, and if you look carefully, you can see them at the water's edge in the early part of this video.
Enjoy!
Filename - conwy estuary timelapse 02.mp4
Camera - Canon 6D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @24mm
Exposure (start of sequence)
1/1600 sec, f4, ISO100
Exposure (end of sequence)
1/30 sec, f4, ISO100
Time between exposures - 10 secs
Location - Conway, North Wales
This clip - HD 720p
Clip duration - 20 secs
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2024 unless otherwise stated.