the Mumbles

No, it's not an affliction: "oh my God, he's had an attack of the mumbles", it's a place at the western end of Swansea Bay.

It's famous (some say infamous) for any number of reasons but I want to write a bit about it because it's one of my favourite places to photograph.

It's an iconic location and has been pictured hundreds of thousands of times.  Its rocky beaches made up of jagged deposits along with a mixture of large rocks and small pebbles create a backdrop of scale and beauty, leading to dramatic landscapes often with the famous lighthouse at their focal point.  It's difficult not to take a nice photograph there.

My favourite time of day to visit is the hour just before sunrise when, particularly in the late Spring time you can capture the first light of day rising from behind the lighthouse.  I've taken dozens of these pictures as have other local photographers.  I've never been happy with any of the ones I've taken.

My personal favourite (and I think my best) picture was taken very early on a very stormy Saturday morning 4 days before Christmas last year.  I'd checked the weather forecast and tide times, and the conditions were perfect for the picture I had in my mind.  The stars had indeed aligned!

Believe it or not, the picture is in colour.  It's the weather conditions that render it almost monochrome.  I also used a technique to add a grain to the image giving it a more film like quality.

Aside from the slow shutter speed helping to capture the power of the storm, I love the picture because the small area of light in the sky along with that glowing faintly from the lighthouse lamp afford the scene an air of hope.  A safe haven for Christmas if you like.  And then the shadows lend that element of danger.

This wasn't an easy image to take.  Apart from the tricky conditions there were so many elements I needed to combine to make it work the way I wanted it to.

I hope the effort was worth it and you enjoy the picture as much as I do every time I look at it.