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Crosby Beach

Posted by
Ian Bramham (Manchester, United Kingdom) on 25 May 2012 in Landscape & Rural and Portfolio.

One of sculptor Antony Gormley's wonderful life size cast iron statues on the beach at Crosby in NW England.

Photographed last month in the company of our own Ryan Hammond from Aminus3 who travelled over to the UK all the way from Arizona in the USA for a 2 day photo workshop with me along the NW coast of Wales and England.

Ryan took a really great photo of his own of this scene which you can see by clicking on this link

Combine a really great subject like these statues on Crosby Beach together with the wonderful light that afternoon and good company and I'm sure that Ryan will agree that the photography was an absolute joy!

NIKON D700 1/250 second F/16.0 ISO 200 32 mm (35mm equiv.)

Like what you see here and are interested in photographic composition?.....the blog section of my website now has a complete set of 5 articles covering my personal approach to the subject: Ian Bramham Photography - Blog

For purchasing high quality archival prints of any of these photos you can send me an email by clicking here or by going to my website Ian Bramham - Fine Art Photography where prices are listed in the gallery sections under each individual photo.

Marie LC from Entre montagnes et Bretagne, France

The figure and its reflection on the wet sand added much to this beautiful composition

25 May 2012 5:28am

@Marie LC: Thanks Marie!

Mirjam from Kyiv, Ukraine

Lovely composition

25 May 2012 5:40am

@Mirjam: Thanks Mirjam!

Richard from Ellemford, United Kingdom

We're off to Liverpool for a few days in July, definitely visiting!

25 May 2012 6:37am

@Richard: Hi Richard, it's a wonderful place so I'm sure you won't be dissapointed. Generally speaking the best time to visit if you have a choice is around dusk as it's a west facing beach and the sunsets can be magical if you are lucky. Also I'd try to avoid high tide as even the innermost statues can be completely covered by water.

My own preference for photography on any beach, not just Crosby, is to go when the tide is on it's way out as the sand will be much wetter and therefore more reflective of light. There's also a much better chance of finding areas such as the one in this shot where the outgoing water is still finding it's way out to sea from the hollows in the sand.

Oh yes, one last thing - there are patches of the beach with a type of quicksand. It's actually a type of fine mud but it looks like sand and the effect is the same if you are unlucky enough to walk into a patch, as I did a year or so ago. It can be very difficult and messy getting out again. Quite a few people have had to be rescued by the coastguard.

Hans ter Horst from Ruislip, United Kingdom

Excellent composition, fabulous!

25 May 2012 6:48am

@Hans ter Horst: Thanks Hans!

Shaahin Bahremand from Tehran, Iran

wow ! it's a beauty art
well done

25 May 2012 7:19am

@Shaahin Bahremand: Thanks Shaahin!

Paolo Agati from Udine, Italy

it would have been a good shot even without the human presence.... the man along the water path is the definite "icing on the cake" for this image, but we don't expect anything less from you ;-)

bravo

25 May 2012 8:02am

@Paolo Agati: Thanks Paolo!

Aubélia from Kortrijk, Belgium

Gorgeous !!!

25 May 2012 8:55am

@Aubélia: Thanks Aubélia!

omid from mashhad, Iran

wow!
.
Excellent!!!

25 May 2012 8:56am

@omid: Thanks omid!

Jerry from Aberdeen, United States

I like the POV, the DOF is tremendous, and no foot prints through the scene. Lovely textures and tonal ranges. Another nice photo.

25 May 2012 12:15pm

Ian Smith from London, United Kingdom

Great framing Ian! Love that lead-in line too.

25 May 2012 12:34pm

Dimitrios from ATHENS, Greece

well done*

25 May 2012 12:45pm

Indalecio García from Colombia

Beautiful!

25 May 2012 5:55pm

Ryan Hammond from Tucson, United States

Very nice, Ian! I like your picture better than mine. But that's why you're the mentor and I'm the student. :) Good times shooting alongside you in the UK! So happy that I made the trip. Let me know when you're ready to make a trip over here to go shooting in the Sonoran desert. ;)

25 May 2012 7:56pm

Eric C. from Ivry sur Seine, France

So beautiful !!

25 May 2012 9:00pm

Jeff from Honolulu, United States

Ian, I really like this composition with the leading lines taking my eye right into the silhouette as a focal point and then letting my eye follow the winding path/water along the graceful curve to the horizon. Beautifully done.

25 May 2012 9:23pm

hugo poon from hong kong, Hong Kong

Another masterful portraiture that blends drama, mystery and enchantment of Crosby Beach and Another Place! Classic work... both yours and Ryan's!

26 May 2012 3:01am

Richard from Ellemford, United Kingdom

Ian, thank you so much for your fulsome reply, all noted, especially the 'type of quicksand'. I'll hopefully post the results of our visit in a month or so. Cheers Richard

26 May 2012 6:23am

Bron from Canberra, Australia

This is a wonderful photo Ian - perfect. I remember you from a few years back on AM3 - hope you're well! Glad to see you're still photographing :)

26 May 2012 8:45am

Silvia Ganora Photography from Domodossola, Italy

Stunning work and tones!

26 May 2012 12:09pm

DarkElf from Perth, Australia

what a brilliant composition!

27 May 2012 3:22pm

Eric Laforgue from Ivry sur Seine, France

Elle est vraiment superbe.

28 May 2012 2:16pm

Dhaval from Princeton, United States

Nice shot.. Did you use Graduated ND filter Ian? I see lot of details in foreground and thinking that may be without using ND filter this might be difficult..

30 May 2012 9:48pm

@Dhaval: Hi Dhaval, I don't think I did use a grad filter for this particular shot. The light was really excellent which helped bring out the detail and I deliberately used an aperture of f16 for a wide depth of field as I was after sharpness through the whole image.

Richard Geven from Montferland, Netherlands

Ian, i love this composition in B&W!!! The lines and light working perfect together!

2 Jun 2012 8:00am

Ted from South Wales, United Kingdom

I thought Ryan's was good but having seen his honest post, I can now add that the master is still in charge! Quality Ian, top quality!

2 Jun 2012 8:38pm

Dimitrios from ATHENS, Greece

impressive frame and art*

8 Jun 2012 7:26am

Ranita Imposible from Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Superb

8 Jun 2012 8:50am

This image has been featured in 1 Remix collection.

B/W by JDY

NIKON D700
1/250 second
F/16.0
ISO 200
32 mm (35mm equiv.)