Ethereal (Explored) - a photo on Flickriver

            It's oh so quiet
Shh shh
It's oh so still
Shh shh
You're all alone
Shh shh
And so peaceful until..............
Bjork

Selsey Lifeboat Station. 49 seconds at f11

Sometimes photography is an outlet for our artistic soul, a way of expressing ourselves through our images. A way of sharing our own unique view of the world with others.  And sometimes, it's an escape from whatever it is we think we need to escape from. A distraction, if you like. Having endured a delightful week of paperwork with my insurance company after finding only  empty space and a faint smell of diesel where my car should have been one morning, I was in need of a diversion. Particularly as my fatigued mind had somehow seen fit to end my final conversation with the nice lady at Direct Line with the phrase “night, night… I love you” . It’s not easy to backtrack from that. 

And so what could be more therapeutic on a sunny afternoon than a 4 hour drive to photograph a lifeboat station on the south coast, in the company of an old friend and with the prospect of meeting one of my long standing Flickr contacts for the first time on the beach.
And you know, for a while, it was perfect. The rusting metal stanchions stood proudly in the calm waters and the complete absence of any breeze as the sun made its journey below the horizon gave the scene an almost ethereal feel. The gentle lap of the incoming tide rapidly soothed away the stresses of the week as I attempted to capture the stark beauty of this place in the gathering dusk and my Flickr friend, with whom I have spoken and shared photographic ideas on many occasions over the past few years, appeared to be wearing trousers and carrying a tripod rather than an axe. Which was a relief.

And as the three of us finally  traipsed off the beach after darkness, our laughter echoing in the night air, I really felt that my photographic luck had changed. My feet were dry, I hadn’t dropped or lost anything and even my companions had commented on the uneventfulness of the shoot.

As we looked up, a comet blazed it's fiery path across the night sky, fizzing and exploding into dozens of tiny pieces, it's sheer energy stopping us in our tracks. 
This was simply perfect.

And when the light settled, I was able to admire the new styling features down one side of the car. Styling features that were not present when I parked and which  were  unlikely to contribute to the overall look of the vehicle. Or to closing the door.

Have you ever had a week where you’ve had to ring an insurance company twice to register separate claims? To a woman that you’ve inadvertently declared your love to? 

At least the image came out as I'd hoped.

Thanks to Amy and Barry for your good natured banter and supportive comments. And to the lady at Direct Line...thank you for reminding me that all calls are monitored for "training purposes". 

Technical: Nikon D810, ISO 64, Nikkor 16-35mm VR, 49 seconds at 16mm, f11. 6 stop ND  grad with 0.9 hard grad pulled to just above the horizon line. Gitzo GT3523LS tripod with FLM ballhead.

Note: this lifeboat station is being in the process of being pulled down and part of the walkway from the beach has already been disconnected.  I have no idea how long it will remain standing but I hope the developers see the beauty in this structure and spare it for the next generation.

   

Taken on: October 2, 2016

Tags:

SELSEY

LIFEBOAT

SUSSEX

SEASCAPE

LONG

EXPOSURE

MOONLIGHT

SEA

CALM

BLUE

WATER

REFLECTIONS

PIER

BOAT

NEW

COLOUR

NIKON

D810

LEE

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Groups appears in: • Unhuman

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