Wet…
I was on the beach at 4.45am yesterday for a dawn shoot. The surf was probably around 4ft so quite rough and as is the way with the sea, every now and again, and in a very random way, a much larger series of waves would surge in. I know this about the sea of course, I’ve been wet any number of times before, but as the intrepid photographer that I am ;-) I’m always keen to get as close and as low to the surf as possible. I got wet again.
As I set my tripod down, preparing to take another series of shots and with my back turned to the beach while I exchanged a few words with fellow blogger Poppy, one of those much larger waves put in and appearance, soaking me to the waist.
With the wave trying to knock me off my feet, I managed to hang on to the camera and tripod and take a shot. I’m very glad my camera and lens are weather sealed and both came through the ordeal unharmed.
I’ll be posting more (if WordPress fix my feed) from an extraordinary week of photography I shared with fellow blogger, Poppytump, in the coming days and weeks. I’m still having real problems with WordPress so please bear with me…
24mm f/11 1/2 sec. ISO-100
Cornwall Photographic 
Love it!!
September 21, 2013 at 6:59 pm
Absolutely beautiful shot, worth getting a little wet :-)
September 21, 2013 at 7:02 pm
Thanks Randall. I’m getting used to the getting wet part.. ;-)
September 21, 2013 at 7:13 pm
Lovely shot. Sorry about the getting wet part. Around here they say ‘never turn your back on the sea’….
September 21, 2013 at 7:04 pm
Yes that would seem to be a good adage Gunta. There really is no pattern to these waves, completely random. My fault, getting a little close but it’s all part of the fun. :-D
September 21, 2013 at 7:15 pm
I remember a holiday when I was about 7 in Cornwall Gunta, staying in a caravan, a father and his son from the holiday park were swept away by a freak ‘sneaker’ wave as you call them and were both drowned. It had quite an impact as you’d imagine and we had it drummed into us by Dad about the respect one must have for the sea. I am seriously always very wary. On the beach there, if I’d have been swept of my feet, the beach was shallow enough that I’d have been able to recover. I wouldn’t go near rocks and deep water if the conditions were similar.
September 21, 2013 at 8:29 pm
Undertow . . . can be real nasty.
I like photographing waves in Hawaii (when I am there), and I exercise the same level of caution (even more . . . most I ever got wet were my feet).
September 22, 2013 at 1:17 am
It can indeed Emilio. One definitely has to be careful. I would imagine photographing waves in Hawaii to be a very satisfying pastime.
September 22, 2013 at 7:47 am
That’s such a typically Cornish moody morning! Love it! :)
September 21, 2013 at 7:37 pm
Thank you Tracey. I did manage to get a couple of moonlight shots before it clouded over and became, as you describe it, a typically moody Cornish morning. Watch this space… :-)
September 21, 2013 at 8:31 pm
That’s fantastic, Adrian. I love the ghostliness of the spray!
I’m glad you and your camera didn’t get swept away, be careful out there!
: )
September 21, 2013 at 7:56 pm
Thanks Karen. I will indeed be careful. I have a huge respect for the sea.. :-)
September 21, 2013 at 8:44 pm
Stunning shot Adrian! I’m sure collaborating with another blogger was amazing too!
September 21, 2013 at 7:59 pm
Thank you Marina. It was a fun week. Poppy stayed in the holiday cottage next door for a few days and we had a couple of morning shoots and we then met up much further, west close to the campsite they were staying for the second half of the week, for the shoot on Friday. I’m so used to being out there alone, it really was nice to have company and to be able to share photography tips. :-)
September 21, 2013 at 8:48 pm
WOW!
September 21, 2013 at 8:12 pm
It was an interesting moment.. :-)
September 21, 2013 at 8:49 pm
Fabulous shot, Adrian. I think I got a little spray, just looking at it. :) I’m looking forward to seeing your Chillbrook and Poppy posts.
September 21, 2013 at 8:36 pm
Thank you Sylvia. We had a fun week. :-)
September 21, 2013 at 8:50 pm
Looks good! Looking forward to more wetness
September 21, 2013 at 9:44 pm
Thank you Chris! :-)
September 22, 2013 at 7:41 am
Till my soul is full of longing
For the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me.
Stunning and haunting at the same time :)
September 21, 2013 at 10:09 pm
Such lovely words Angi, I’m so glad I live so close to the sea. Thank you. :-)
September 22, 2013 at 7:43 am
Gorgeous picture. I wish I had a print of it to hang on my wall. :)
September 21, 2013 at 10:36 pm
Thank you Jennifer. The print will be available to purchase on my new site, launching in a few weeks. Watch this space. :-)
September 22, 2013 at 7:44 am
That’s great! Thank you! :)
September 22, 2013 at 7:54 am
Great shot! And I love hearing the story behind it as well. Thanks for sharing!
September 21, 2013 at 10:40 pm
Thank you Ben.
September 22, 2013 at 7:44 am
Good shot. And good to see you back.
September 21, 2013 at 11:03 pm
Thank you very much, good to be back.
September 22, 2013 at 7:44 am
The wave, you and the wave really made a good picture, Chillbrook! ;) Really good!
September 21, 2013 at 11:27 pm
Thank you Bente! :-)
September 22, 2013 at 7:45 am
Great shot.
(did I read somewhere or other many years ago that it’s every 7th wave that is larger and higher than the other 6?)
September 22, 2013 at 1:45 am
Thanks Vicki. I happened to have a physicist handy on Friday and unfortunately the 7th wave rule is a bit of an old wife’s tale. It is all completely random apparently as there are so many individual factors that combine to produce the bigger wave, especially on a tight rocky cove like the one in the photograph. :-)
September 22, 2013 at 7:50 am
Do you mean to say, I’ve stood on the pier watching the waves crashing on the rocks to capture the best spray on every 7th wave for nothing – LOL.
September 22, 2013 at 11:05 am
Mmm, it explains why, despite counting, the big waves still always happen when I’m looking the other way. :-D
September 22, 2013 at 11:16 am
Beautiful photo (as always)… glad your camera didn’t get washed away!
September 22, 2013 at 6:26 am
Thank you John. :-)
September 22, 2013 at 7:51 am
Fabulous capture. Glad you and your camera came through the experience relatively unscathed. My blessings to you and Poppy. Looking forward to more from your adventures together :-)
September 22, 2013 at 7:54 am
Thank you Isabella, there’s lots to come.. :-)
September 22, 2013 at 7:59 am
Wonderful photo, so atmospheric. You can see you were in it! Sounds like you had a great time with Poppy.
September 22, 2013 at 8:56 am
We did have a great time, thank you Anna. :-)
September 22, 2013 at 11:14 am
Wow, this really caught my eye. Breathtaking! Such wonderful color and movement (and dare I say sound :-) )
September 22, 2013 at 11:41 am
Thanks Lemony. Appreciate you comment. I’m so glad you can ‘hear’ the picture, the sound of the surf is still ringing in my ears. :-)
September 22, 2013 at 8:39 pm
Suffering for your art :) At least it resulted in a beautifully moody shot not just a soaking!
September 22, 2013 at 2:50 pm
Thanks Noeline. It was a little cold once I was wet but I get so engrossed in what I’m doing it was only when I stopped that I realised just how cold I’d become. It was an hours drive back home with the heater in the car on full blast. ;-)
September 22, 2013 at 8:38 pm
Exquisite color and mood here! Makes me want to go back to painting water : ) Glad you escaped being swept away!!
September 22, 2013 at 4:06 pm
Thanks Anita. I love your water paintings so I’d be happy to see more. :-)
September 22, 2013 at 8:34 pm
This is astonishingly beautiful Adrian, wonderful work, and once again I’m thrilled you were up early to capture this while I slept. :-)
So you are still having difficulties with WP? Your posts never appear in my reader, I had to go find this manually. I actually thought you had just stopped posting completely.
September 22, 2013 at 4:40 pm
Thank you Phil. I love these dawn shoots. It’s become a habit now, and I do seem to do my best at that time of the morning but then, the light is on my side and I have such a wonderful environment in which to work.
WP are working on a solution to my blogging problems. They’re not really sure what is going on but my feed just doesn’t seem to be working, it’s like I’m an invisible presence on WordPress. I do hope they get it all fixed soon. It’s been a long time now.
September 22, 2013 at 8:34 pm
Very Turner-esque, great shot.
September 22, 2013 at 5:41 pm
Thank you Alex.
September 22, 2013 at 8:30 pm
Great picture and what a super company to take with…. Poppy!!!
September 22, 2013 at 5:46 pm
Thank you Doron. It was great to spend a few days taking pictures with Poppy.
September 22, 2013 at 8:30 pm
Excellent!
September 22, 2013 at 6:12 pm
Thank you Hans.
September 22, 2013 at 8:29 pm
Looks awesome
September 22, 2013 at 6:53 pm
Thank you Yvonne.
September 22, 2013 at 8:29 pm
Such a beautiful silky feeling to this great wavy wash . . .
September 22, 2013 at 8:52 pm
Thank you Patti! :-)
September 23, 2013 at 5:42 am
*WET* Yes indeed ChillB ! What a moment that was … I thought our photo sessions were over in more ways than one ;-)
You had brilliant composure I might say … talk about calm ….
Fantastic to get this shot :-)
September 22, 2013 at 10:04 pm
It was fun!! Sort of… ;-)
September 23, 2013 at 5:43 am
The epitome of wet! A fantastic image!
September 22, 2013 at 11:12 pm
Thanks Elena. :-)
September 23, 2013 at 5:46 am
The sea can be so capricious, but you caught a great photo. Looking forward to more
September 23, 2013 at 12:01 pm
Thank you very much. I’ll be posting again soon. :-)
September 23, 2013 at 6:22 pm
The picture is brilliant!
September 23, 2013 at 5:37 pm
Thank you very much. Appreciate your comment. :-)
September 23, 2013 at 6:22 pm
Gorgeous shot
September 25, 2013 at 10:00 pm
I’m pleased you liked it. Thank you. :-)
September 26, 2013 at 6:13 pm
Be careful, Adrian! Your camera is weatherproof, not waterproof. Nikon have just quoted me £230 to repair the water damage to my 50mm lens. Since I can buy a new one for £289 I have told Nikon to recycle it. I do like the mood you have achieved with this photo.
September 29, 2013 at 2:49 pm
Thank you Malcolm. Yes it was a close shave and a reminder not to turn your back on the sea when you’re that close to it. Sorry to hear about your problems with your 50mm.
October 1, 2013 at 8:18 pm
well constructed I am starting to identify with this view
October 14, 2013 at 6:09 pm
Thank you. I love Porthnanven. One of those places I will keep visiting for sure.
October 14, 2013 at 8:00 pm
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I really like this image! Must look great as a print.
November 5, 2013 at 8:58 pm
Hi John, thank you. I haven’t printed this one yet but I’m hoping it’ll print well. I’ve just invested in an A2 printer and have been very impressed with the quality of prints produced.
November 6, 2013 at 1:06 pm