Portreath Fire Ball
‘Portreath Fire Ball’ is an early photo from a series I took in the seaside village of Portreath on the north coast of Cornwall. I had originally found my way out onto the cliffs shouldering the harbour to capture some panoramic landscapes of the coastline. However, an aggravated sea state had turned the harbour into a cauldron of activity, with burgeoning waves crashing over the harbour and pier. A particular focal point was the village’s iconic monkey hut. Once used as a lookout by local pilots stationed at Portreath to watch out for vessels and guide them safely into the harbour, it now sits empty on the end of the harbour wall and is often the subject of local photographers – and storms.
For this shot, the hut served as the subject of both the sea’s might and the focus of my lens. To create this particular image, I chose a position horizontal to the harbour and used a neutral density filter along with a long exposure to capture a slowed perspective of the waves hitting the wall. Making it even more special is the sunlight bathing the water in the top right corner, radiating an almost fireball-esque quality. Formed from a fleeting break in the clouds, the beautiful illumination was only a momentary treat, adding beautiful golden tones to the scene and highlighting bright flecks within the sea’s wild spray. To me, it is a picture that is both chaotic and balanced, turbulent and smooth.
‘Portreath Fire Ball’ is an early photo from a series I took in the seaside village of Portreath on the north coast of Cornwall. I had originally found my way out onto the cliffs shouldering the harbour to capture some panoramic landscapes of the coastline. However, an aggravated sea state had turned the harbour into a cauldron of activity, with burgeoning waves crashing over the harbour and pier. A particular focal point was the village’s iconic monkey hut. Once used as a lookout by local pilots stationed at Portreath to watch out for vessels and guide them safely into the harbour, it now sits empty on the end of the harbour wall and is often the subject of local photographers – and storms.
For this shot, the hut served as the subject of both the sea’s might and the focus of my lens. To create this particular image, I chose a position horizontal to the harbour and used a neutral density filter along with a long exposure to capture a slowed perspective of the waves hitting the wall. Making it even more special is the sunlight bathing the water in the top right corner, radiating an almost fireball-esque quality. Formed from a fleeting break in the clouds, the beautiful illumination was only a momentary treat, adding beautiful golden tones to the scene and highlighting bright flecks within the sea’s wild spray. To me, it is a picture that is both chaotic and balanced, turbulent and smooth.
‘Portreath Fire Ball’ is an early photo from a series I took in the seaside village of Portreath on the north coast of Cornwall. I had originally found my way out onto the cliffs shouldering the harbour to capture some panoramic landscapes of the coastline. However, an aggravated sea state had turned the harbour into a cauldron of activity, with burgeoning waves crashing over the harbour and pier. A particular focal point was the village’s iconic monkey hut. Once used as a lookout by local pilots stationed at Portreath to watch out for vessels and guide them safely into the harbour, it now sits empty on the end of the harbour wall and is often the subject of local photographers – and storms.
For this shot, the hut served as the subject of both the sea’s might and the focus of my lens. To create this particular image, I chose a position horizontal to the harbour and used a neutral density filter along with a long exposure to capture a slowed perspective of the waves hitting the wall. Making it even more special is the sunlight bathing the water in the top right corner, radiating an almost fireball-esque quality. Formed from a fleeting break in the clouds, the beautiful illumination was only a momentary treat, adding beautiful golden tones to the scene and highlighting bright flecks within the sea’s wild spray. To me, it is a picture that is both chaotic and balanced, turbulent and smooth.