A stunningly beautiful evening on the North Wales coast and my wife Liz and I were enjoying the seaside at one of our favourite spots, the West Shore at Llandudno.
With views out across the Conwy estuary to the headlands of Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan to the southwest, glowing in the light of the setting sun, this is an amazing place for taking photos and just feeling good.
Stretching out from the West Shore promenade there's a huge expanse of sand visible at low tide, which can be quite dangerous when the tide turns as the waters really rush back in and the unwary can easily get stranded on a sandbank.
The tide had just turned when we arrived, and was making rapid progress over the flat sands, even catching me out while I was shooting the stills for a sweeping panorama of the shoreline, although I escaped with only a pair of wet boots on that occasion!
With such a dynamic and beautifully lit scene laid out before me it was a 'no brainer' to try and capture a time lapse of the tide coming in.
Having learnt my lesson previously I set up my camera and tripod on a convenient rock breakwater, giving me an elevated view of the beach and an escape route should I overstay my welcome with the oncoming sea.
My plan worked great, and I was able to capture almost an hour's worth of stills in the evening light before it was time for a tactical withdrawl due to the rising water.
But photography aside, it was lovely just to sit on the rocks listening to the gentle waves breaking and watching people enjoying themselves at the end of the day.
Filename - llandudno tide timelapse 01.mp4
Camera - Canon 6D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 40mm
Exposure (start of sequence) - 1/60 sec @ f4, ISO100
Exposure (end of sequence) - 1/15 sec @ f4, ISO100
Filters - Polarising filter used to enhance colours. 2 stop neutral density graduated filter used to balance the light levels between sky and land.
Shooting interval - 6 seconds
Location - Llandudno West Shore, North Wales
This clip - HD 720p 30fps
Clip duration - 17 secs
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