St Michael’s Mount – Dawn
There’s nothing quite like the light at dawn as the sun peeps over the horizon. That lovely soft glow can’t be beaten and is the result of the angle of the sun being so low. This is why the light in the autumn is so much softer, the sun is much lower in the sky. Anyway, here’s St Michael’s Mount, just off the coast of Cornwall at Marazion.
You can just see the causeway on the left, outlined in white water. Another half an hour and it’d have been possible to walk across to the castle. I hope you enjoy the picture as much as I enjoyed taking it. Click on the image for a clearer sharper view..
26mm f/11 1/13 sec. ISO-100
Cornwall Photographic 
Beautiful picture!
November 6, 2014 at 8:33 pm
Thank you very much! :-)
November 6, 2014 at 9:18 pm
Very beautiful
November 6, 2014 at 8:41 pm
Thank you very much MaryLou! :-)
November 6, 2014 at 9:19 pm
The light and colour in this are fantastic!
November 6, 2014 at 10:06 pm
Thank you Jude. It was blowing a gale and right before the sun came up there was thick heavy cloud and it was raining heavily. It all changed over the course of about 15 minutes. I was all set to give up on getting any kind of a shot. For once though, the weather forecast was correct and I was in the right place at the right time. :-)
November 6, 2014 at 10:35 pm
Splendid!
November 6, 2014 at 10:43 pm
Thank you very much Elena!
November 7, 2014 at 9:05 am
What a poetic light in this brilliant photo.
November 6, 2014 at 11:07 pm
Thanks Bente. What a lovely way to describe the light! :-)
November 7, 2014 at 9:06 am
Such a beautiful location I often wonder why you’re not jostling other photographers out of the way ChillB ! Very very lovely .. you bring a different mood to it each time :-)
November 6, 2014 at 11:10 pm
Thank you so much Poppy. It is a beautiful location. I think the reason I’m not jostling with more photographers when I’m there is the ridiculously early times of day that I arrive. Sunset is much more popular time to photograph the Mount. I’ve a feeling we might be making another trip very soon.. ;-) x
November 7, 2014 at 10:44 am
Great composition! Love the fluffy pink cloud in the top left. I really like the effect that shooting this when the tide was almost out has created, that wonderful silvering of the still wet sands :-)
November 6, 2014 at 11:16 pm
Thank you Sarah. Landscape photography is all about time and place as you know. We try and put ourselves in the right place at the right time but nature so frequently does not play ball and provide us with the picture in our mind’s eye. The tide is right and the light is all wrong or vice verce. It came pretty close on this particular morning. It was touch and go at first but it came off so I can’t complain. :-)
November 7, 2014 at 10:42 am
There are often many disappointing days I know! I think that makes the days and images that work out well even more special though. Most people will have no idea how long a photographer will spend out at a particular site, in all kinds of weather, waiting for that one moment when everything falls into place.
November 7, 2014 at 11:43 am
So very true Sarah!
November 8, 2014 at 9:48 am
what a lovely picture
November 6, 2014 at 11:50 pm
Thank you Ellen! :-)
November 7, 2014 at 10:00 am
Such a perfect photo, Adrian. Brought back great memories of when we walked out there and back again. :)
November 7, 2014 at 1:11 am
Thank you Sylvia. I’ve never been across to the castle. I must remedy that one of these days. Glad it brought back some pleasant memories for you. :-)
November 7, 2014 at 10:00 am
That turned out great! Jude said what I’m thinking.
Nancy
November 7, 2014 at 3:29 am
Thank you Nancy! :-)
November 7, 2014 at 9:04 am
That is simply gorgeous!
November 7, 2014 at 5:16 am
Thank you so much Jenifer!
November 7, 2014 at 9:05 am
Hi,
Love this picture 😄 x mum
November 7, 2014 at 7:55 am
Thanks Mum! :-)x
November 7, 2014 at 9:05 am
A lovely image and gorgeous colours. I have taken photos of St Michael’s Mount but never at dawn. It is a difficult subject as the sun always seems to be behind the Mount, creating a shadow over the visible trees and cottages. If you use an iPhone there are two very useful Apps. LightTrac gives the angle of the sun at any location, date and time; and Tides Near Me gives high and low tide times at many locations.
November 7, 2014 at 12:33 pm
Thank you very much Rhys. You see many images of St Michael’s Mount with the Mount extremely dark, I even had a card sent to me recently with an image of the Mount very under exposed. The secret is to visit at dawn, the sun comes up behind you this time of year and does shine on the Mount. You get a much more even exposure only don’t tell anybody, at the moment when I visit at this time, I’m always completely alone. Don’t want to have to start jostling with other photographers as Poppy put it. LightTrac sounds like a very useful app to have Rhys. I will have to look at for that one.
November 7, 2014 at 2:27 pm
Neat . . . that one walkway going down to the water in front of the breaker wall makes it look like it’s a boat, maybe an ark of some kind.
November 7, 2014 at 4:43 pm
An interesting thought Emilio.. I hope I get an invite when the day comes.. Thanks for your comment! :)
November 8, 2014 at 9:47 am
A beautiful shot in the Autumn light. I love to photograph in the late afternoon and early evening of Fall!
November 7, 2014 at 5:22 pm
It is such a lovely light, thank you! :)
November 8, 2014 at 9:48 am
Beautiful & crisp shot, positioned so perfectly with the lighting. Well done Adrian!
November 9, 2014 at 3:15 am
Thank you Randall! :-)
November 9, 2014 at 9:39 am
Lovely photo Adrian – that cloud is just perfect :) and nice to see a different view of the Mount.
I’ve just come back from a week in Cornwall and, prior to going, was hoping to try and meet up. It soon became very apparent that it wasn’t going to be :( Next time maybe?
November 9, 2014 at 11:17 am
Thank you Noeline. That’s a real shame about meeting up. I would have liked that very much. If you’re just home, I’m guessing you had a pretty rough week weatherwise? As you say, next time maybe. :-)
November 9, 2014 at 4:17 pm
It could have been worse! We only had one duff day (when I had the best pasty ever!) and worked around the showers otherwise.
November 9, 2014 at 4:42 pm
That’s good to hear. Where did the best pasty ever come from? Always on the lookout for the perfect pasty..
November 9, 2014 at 4:57 pm
Not an obvious place – the Wheal Martyn museum!
I hoped for good things as I had to wait 20 minutes for it to cook; nothing else to do on a rainy day but sit by the fire – and it was well worth the wait :)
November 10, 2014 at 10:11 am
Just five minutes away, nice and local! Marvellous. I’ve been meaning to call in. I need some information for my Par Docks book. Now I’ve two reasons to visit. Perhaps I can get down there this week. Thanks Noeline! :-)
November 10, 2014 at 10:52 am
Interesting, beautiful effect!
Have a nice day!
November 9, 2014 at 12:26 pm
Thank you very much.
November 9, 2014 at 4:18 pm
The light is exceptional Adrian, and you found a really nice foreground too.
November 10, 2014 at 8:50 am
Thank you Andy! It was pretty special.
November 10, 2014 at 9:14 am
I´ve eben there when I was a child. I was deeply impressed then. So am I now – great Picture!
November 13, 2014 at 9:19 am
Thank you Ewalina. Much appreciated! :-)
November 13, 2014 at 10:47 am