Every year for around three weeks either side of the midsummer solstice I have a window of opportunity that allows me to get up at 2.30am and drive one and a quarter hours to arrive at Penmon Point on the Isle of Anglesey just off the North Wales coast in time to photograph the sunrise.
Why bother you may ask?
Well Penmon Point is a unique location, with its shingle beach, rocky outcrops, lighthouse and, of course, Puffin Island, from behind which the sun appears to the northeast at this time of year.
The still images for this time lapse were shot in early June 2015, from a vantage point above the beach.
Normally I will go down onto the rocks at the foot of the lighthouse to photograph this location, but on this occasion I decided to try a different angle, having scouted this viewpoint during a previous trip with my wife Liz; at a more sociable time I hasten to add.
Well I'm glad I tried something new, as not only did this viewpoint give me an excellent composition of the elements I wanted to show in the video, but also, just after I'd started shooting, three more photographers arrived and started working the scene where I would have normally set up on the rocks by the lighthouse.
If you look carefully you can just about make them out in the video.
Normally when I'm photographing in the presence of other photographers we're all very polite and move around to keep out of each others' shots, but that doesn't work when shooting stills for a time lapse, as you are literally rooted to the spot, unable to move, for as long as it takes to fully capture the action.
So I'm glad I wasn't mixing it with my fellow enthusiasts down on the rocks, as I would have been very unpopular by the end of the session!
In terms of what we saw, this was one of the most beautiful mornings I've experienced here at Penmon, with just the right amount of cloud cover to provide interest in the sky without diminishing the drama of the sunrise.
Well worth an early start to witness such loveliness first hand, of which this video is but a pale representation.
Filename - penmon sunrise timelapse 01.mp4
Camera - Canon 6D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @50mm
Exposure (start of sequence)
1/60 sec, f8, ISO100
Exposure (end of sequence)
1/160 sec, f8, ISO100
Time between exposures - 6 secs
Location - Penmon Point, Anglesey, North Wales
This clip - HD 720p
Clip duration - 39 secs
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2024 unless otherwise stated.