Through a Storm

13December

I’ve not really been out in stormy conditions to take photos. I seem to be good at exploring and predicting the fair weather opportunities that I have had over the years.

So at the start of December I took myself to Felixstowe and photographed down on the beach near Clifflands car park. It’s a spot I regularly visit and always come up trumps with the shots I manage to get. The forecast was pretty dire for the Suffolk spots except Felixstowe, so I hedged my bets and went there. It ended up being completely the opposite.

When I got on the beach, the sky was rolling in heavily and I certainly wasn’t ready for the heavens to open. Don’t get me wrong, I usual go out with a raincoat and waterproof trousers (well I thought they were waterproof!!!), but when there was a deluge of rain and hail over the following hour and half.

I started with one of my faithful sections to shoot. The groins along this area are great to use for foreground/midground interest. I find it is good to start there to get off the mark and get over that block of trying to find a composition. I know they work so the familiarity of the location really helps by starting there. It then opens up to new opportunities for new images.

I took a few shots of different compositions and then went about capturing a few new ones that I have not tried. Along the top of the cliff are a number of beach huts. I composed my shot looking away from the sea towards the huts on the cliff. I was able to capture the sky looking menacing, with the beach huts filling the middle of the frame.

As the tide was low, I ventured close to the shoreline which is not uncommon for me and placed my camera looking towards the south. The conditions were great to capture that moody feel of the sky rolling from left to right, with the waves crushing in up the beach. Juxtaposed with the beach huts in the mid ground. The bright colours of the hut remind people of the summer holidays. I have taken shots from the beach looking up but I’ve not included the water in the same way. Then came the hail! I carried on for a little longer and was able to capture a few more shots along the beach here.

I was quite surprised by what I was able to capture. I suppose in life we have to embrace those stormy days, where it’s tough to learn how to move forward. But what we can come away with is the opportunity to learn more about ourselves. Our ability to adapt is what we all need to learn to do, it’s something I have found to be a good skill to have especially in the creative industry and photography.

Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes
Alexandre Dumas

It’s almost certain, that we should allow a storm to engulf us and embrace it for taking us out of our comfort zone. However long, or whatever they might be, storms are inevitable, it’s how we react and what we take from those moments that we should be looking for. We will all then have the confidence to move into other new experiences.

It was great to explore the stormy weather and I will definitely not shy away from going out again in storm conditions. I came away very wet, and certainly had to warm up but in the end it was worth it.

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