I visited Ainsdale Beach again this evening in the hope of capturing sunset from the wonderful Dunes here. I love these dunes, they hold a special place in my heart from a previous happy time and I guess visiting them brings back happy memories. I’ve tried to make images from here previously that remind me of these Dunes and that happy time, the closest of those being this one below.
I recently posted this image to my Instagram with the caption “Every photograph tells an amazing story to at least one person” I believe that to be true. This particular photograph is exactly that for me. Nobody else on this earth will relate to the context of this image and what drove me to make it. It’s unique to me. A lone experience that I’ll carry with me forever. Sometimes moments and memories are shared with others, sometimes they are forgotten as insignificant, but sometimes they are remembered forever and this photograph is that for me. It’s a reminder of a wonderful time that was all too short but this photograph, as with all my images, will live forever and it will always be a significant image to me for the emotions and feelings it arises within me. Anyway, back to this evening and while the conditions today haven’t been great, a break in the rain left me with a dilemma, sit at home doing nothing or make the effort to go out and create something…
As I arrived at Ainsdale Beach I wasn’t expecting it to be busy, after all it has just poured down with torrential rain for a few hours, that didn’t seem to deter a few folk though, as there were quite a few families and kids about.
A new sign
The conditions were looking quite promising which can often be the case after a storm. Especially if you can catch the transition of it just passing by as seen below in these iPhone photos.
Looking up to Blackpool
Dark clouds over Liverpool and North Wales.
I made my way along the beach to my preferred location on the dunes where I’d made my previous images. I noticed the sand wasn’t as smooth as usual this evening. Punctured by the heavy rainfall and quite wet still, it made for hard going.
Sunset over the Irish Sea from Ainsdale Dunes
This is the kind of image I love from here. Marram Grass, a clearing in the sand to sit and watch the sun set over the horizon. It is scenes like this that really touch me and remind me of feeling happy and being complete. I took in the view for a while and explored more parts of the Dunes, looking for a nice clearing where I could setup my big camera and make an image. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to find anywhere suitable and perhaps that’s down to my new camera setup which takes a while to setup so I’m perhaps less inclined to just snap away. That’s what my iPhone is for in these moments. Simply making snaps to evaluate the composition prior to committing, I like the fact my new camera setup slows me down, I want to be more considered with my image making. Take less but more considered.
Looking north to Blackpool
The best of the light was definitely over towards Blackpool. I knew I needed to head that way and should have followed my instinct upon arrival and headed into the dunes north of the entrance when the light was more dramatic. It appears to be fading a bit now.
South to Liverpool and North Wales
The dunes appear too messy tonight, kids footprints everywhere. Rain marks and litter. It’s not how I remember this place or how I want to capture it. I’m not going to better my previous attempt and so I decide to move on. To accept that the image I shot previously is the shot that satisfies me most from here. It captures my thoughts and feelings perfectly and tonight I can let go of trying to relive that moment and recapture it. It’s gone. It’s time to look for something new. An alternative composition that will lead to a new direction. But first I’m going to revisit the lifeguard station down on the beach. If you follow my vlogs you’ll have seen my attempts to shoot that last year. I’ll include the vlogs from those shoot below in my Sefton Coast vlog series.
Lifeguard station on Ainsdale Beach
Well that’s a shame. Whoever put that no dogs sign up clearly has no appreciation for symmetry, I’ll leave it and head over to the northern dunes and hope I can find a spot there with the dramatic light over Blackpool.
Ainsdale Beach with Blackpool in the distance
That’s a lot better. The light is much more pleasing. Shame about the trailer in the foreground. I need to get past that to clean up my potential image
The dunes seem to fall away to nothing at this point so I decided to head down to the little steam in the foreground and see if that offered a composition worthy of getting out my big camera.
Sunset from Ainsdale Beach
Yes that’s better. I find having water in the foreground of a sunset shot always gives pleasant results as it helps reflect the colour of the sky above. This could work. I’ll get setup with my big camera and see what I can make of this scene.
This is the composition I decided upon using my iPhone as a mobile viewfinder. Using the edge of the stream to cut through the image on an angle which should help lead our eyes through the image and to the sunset beyond. Below are images from my Hasselblad X1D and Cambo Actus XCD with my Hasselblad CFE IF 40mm V lens. I used about 10mm of fall to compose the shot which helps me include more of the foreground as that seems to be my preferred style of image, especially in portrait orientation. I used a circular polariser and a 3 stop hard edged graduated filter to hold back the sky as I exposed for the foreground.
I intentionally wanted to include the log in the foreground, I liked the way it was perpendicular to the edge of the sand and felt it added to the overall image.
This shot is why I love Tilt Shift.
We could be in for a soaking before the nights out.
Moving on from the stream I noticed this collection of Grasses where I made a couple of exposures that included a couple walking towards me with Blackpool Tower and the “Big One’ Rollercoaster in the distance. Heres a crop below showing that in detail.
My final image from this Evening, a slightly different composition looking out to see to capture more of the colour in the sky.
All in all a good shoot. Initially frustrating as what I hoped to find I couldn’t but I think the positive there is I already have the perfect shot for me. It would have been nice to better it but to be honest I don’t think I will. Maybe the time I made that image was the right time for it and now a year later it’s lost a little bit of its emotion. Maybe that’s what happens in time, we forget. The memories fade and become lost. I’ve tried so hard to keep that time and image alive in my mind and perhaps that’s all I need. A visual prompt from the image to unlock memories in my mind that can’t be reproduced in a photograph. Maybe the photograph is always secondary to the memory and we use photographs to remind ourselves. Maybe if you don’t have the memory you can then imagine what the photograph is trying to show you and that is better as you’re free to fill in the blanks so to speak, whereas taking a photo after an event to recapture it will never be as good as the memory. I’ve promised myself when I move house I’m going to have that print made up large to display on my wall and be a permanent reminder of a good time in my life.
You can see my current range of Framed Landscape Photography prints form Ainsdale Beach here in my gallery.
