Christmas at Porthgwarra
Christmas Day 2019 and the weather finally turned nice for a while. The wind dropped and the cloud and sea spray disappeared - it was a joy to be out at first light with the camera. :-)
Leaving the truck in the little car park behind the tea shop the sky was still dark but with a few stars twinkling overhead I knew it was at least partly clear. So, with a growing sense of anticipation I stumbled up the narrow track to the top of the cliffs.
A few days before I had walked along this stretch of cliff identifying possible locations, checking sunrise and sunset angles and thought this spot may be good. I recall being concerned about the land being too complicated and spoiling the simplicity I sought. But I also thought that the darker land at sunrise would help mask any complexity. Of course that needed the right light!
Porthgwarra Sunrise
As the sun got closer to the horizon the sky became visible and I could see what looked like a massive triangular space ship hanging in the sky! At that time it was still just grey cloud but as the sun got closer to the horizon it lit it’s underside in beautiful orange/pink/red light which was also reflected down onto the land and ocean. It was fabulous :-)
Porthgwarra Sunrise
My earlier visit had also identified a potential location just off to the right. By the time I moved position most of the dramatic lighting had faded but over the distant horizon there was still plenty of colour and that cloud, although somewhat dispersed, still had a great shape. If anything I thought it now looked more like a Phoenix flying headlong towards the burning sun! Ah what the mind sees in the clouds :-)
Not long after making the above photograph a pod of eight or nine dolphins swam around the rocky point doing a spot of morning fishing I guess. All in, it was a fabulous start to Christmas day :-)
I must admit that the plan when setting out that morning was to walk slightly further around the coast but with a dark sky I couldn’t be sure which location best suited the conditions. I chose to stop at the location that required least walking and wait until I could see the sky. When the sun did provide sufficient lighting I recognised the potential I stayed put. Of course that means I’ve another location awaiting a subsequent trip ;-); something I’d like to address in the not too distant future. Perhaps the weather will be equally gracious. We shall see :-)
Andy