Penarth Pier
I’m from Cardiff, which is only a few miles from Penarth. Penarth has always had a special place in my heart, as it was often the destination for an afternoon walk along the beach or along the pier and was always rounded off with an ice cream at Rabaiottis. Rabaiottis is a café that has been in Penarth for so many years that it’s part of the furniture.
Sometimes you’d arrive at Penarth and the tide was in, which would mean a walk along the pier if it was open. Otherwise, if the tide was out, you’d get to walk over the stones and rocks that make up the beach and try to find some skimming stones to throw into the sea. So, it was always a great place to visit.
My grandfather was a keen photographer, and there are so many great pictures of my family taken by him, but precious few of himself. That’s the downside of being a great photographer. He died when I was just 5 years old, so my memories of him aren’t many. But I do remember him having a camera with him no matter where he went.
I first picked up a camera when I was about 12-13 years old and was happily snapping pictures of the family before being offered to share the use of my dad’s Pentax when I was about 15, circa, 1985. With this camera I was able to use different lenses and got interested in wide angle and in particular long exposure pictures of landscapes. Fascinated by the ‘not knowing’ of what your images would look like, especially when photographing the sea, you’d get some surprising results.
I thought about taking a college course on photography but didn’t have a portfolio and as result never got past the application stage and wanting to get away asap and go to university, I settled on a geography-based course and on arrival in Sheffield, regretted instantly making that decision. But I kept the photographic flame alive and took many pictures in and around the city, while I lived there.
During a summer vacation while I was still in college, I went down to Penarth Pier early in the morning, about 4:30am, as the weather had been good and I knew that the tide was going to be out, so there was a promise that a good sunrise was on the cards. Let’s face it some of the best photographs are about being at the right place and the right time, with a bit of luck sprinkled in as well. The light shifted all the time, and the blue hour was giving way to the golden hour, and the first pictures I took came out the best. As soon as the sun started to rise above the horizon it threw the pier into a silhouette and the pictures were not nearly as good. I photographed Penarth Pier for the first time in colour. But it wouldn’t be the last.
Penarth Pier is only beautiful at low tide. The rocks that the low tide reveals are what makes the picture. You have all this texture and detail in the foreground, with the Pier superstructure in the background and it’s a wonderful contrast. Those rocks have been sat there for millions of years, moving around, smashing against each other by the waves coming back and forth all through that time.
I hung that up in my college dorm till graduating, in pride of place.
There’s something wonderful about getting up early in the morning. I run a lot now, and like photography, I find that the mornings are best. Especially very early in the morning when the world is asleep and it’s just you and the nature. Penarth Pier is no different. Occasionally you get people walking past on their way home from the clubs/pubs and they shout over to you if they’ve even noticed you, but generally you’re left alone. It is in those moments that great pictures can be made. I don’t think I’ve ever photographed the pier at any other time. It was always at dawn. In the summer that means a very early start, but you’re always rewarded with the quickly shifting colours and must move fast. It never fails to take your breath away when you see how quickly the sun rises, and it’s that point when as far as I’m concerned, the photo shoot is over. I would have taken all the shots I wanted by that time. That day, I had taken black and white film and took pictures of Penarth Pier in black and white.
One thing I noticed on that day was that there was a lamppost on the pier that was lit, and I was able to get a great starlight bursting from it. I don’t know if it was on a timer or whether it is light dependent, but at 6am it shut off. Looking at the pictures I took before it went out, they were the best, with the starlight adding a nice bit of detail. It was great timing, and I was very happy that I’d had the chance to take these pictures with the light on. The starlight from the lamppost would have been missing if I'd arrived later than I did. I wouldn't have known either...! and for me, it helps make the picture.
Unexpected things can happen in your pictures when you shoot long exposures like light trails and moving objects leaving a blur. In this image you can see the waves as they were rolling in and out have created a kind of mist. I would have had the lens open for about 60 seconds to take this picture, which is plenty enough time to create this mist effect. It’s one of the main reasons that I like to shoot long exposures, for these unexpected benefits.
The last time I went to Penarth was just a few years ago and this time was with a digital camera. As before, I’d looked up the tide times on the BBC Tide Tables website and knew when I needed to be in place. The important thing is that the tide needs to be at its lowest point before the sun rises. It’s a combination of the tide and the sun being in the right place at the right time. An app that I use a lot now, PhotoPills, helps tell me where the sun will be and what angle it will rise on, including the exact position. Everything has changed now with the technology that we have at our fingertips. I think it makes us rush as we’re trying to capture it all in at the same time as take on board all this extra information we have. I even made a note of exactly where I was standing using the app, What3Words, ( deals.wide.author on What3Words ). This makes it helpful especially if I want to go back again to either try out a new lens or retake the last picture in approximately the same position. What3Words makes this easy now for me, or you, to get to this point and reshoot.
The time on the beach always files by. Often, you’ll be there an hour or two, and you’ll think you’ve been 20 minutes. But stiff from bending down and positioning and repositioning the tripod with the rocks not giving you much in the way of support, and certainly no smooth place to sit down, you’re perched. But for all that discomfort, the end results are always worth it. My better pictures have always happened when I have taken time to get them, not rushing, and enjoying the moment. Not spending time thinking of how you’ll be developing them later, either in the darkroom or now at home on the computer, but just staying as long as you can focused in the moment. That’s something I’ve tried to develop and help me to take better landscape images. There are quite a few steps to get in place before you can be sure that you can take a great picture. And, with taking pictures of structures like the pier, they never complain, never tell you that they’re tired or wanting a break. You can take as long as you want to be sure you’ve got your picture and can come back as many times as you want. They never complain.