Marloes Evening
The first weekend in May is a three-day public holiday. Mainland England and Wales were basking in strong sunshine under blue, cloudless skies – Not the sort of light that normally inspires me. However, the coast in Pembrokeshire was forecast to have a few clouds. That sounded more interesting and had the potential for some nice evening light. :-)
Marloes Sands by Andy Gawthrope Photography
During the drive from home the temperature was consistently about 24 degrees Celsius; I was wearing shorts and a tee-shirt... I arrived, to find the coast covered in sea fog! Moments after arriving I was wearing trousers a shirt and fleece top! It was 12 degrees :-)
Marloes Sands is a long sandy beach with rocky outcrops on the Southern side of the Pembrokeshire coastline. Its a lovely spot with large rocks that protrude through the sand and have the potential to look great in soft evening light… I knew it was late in the season, but the tide was about right so worth a punt! Nothing ventured – nothing gained and all that. As it turned out, it was a little late as the sun set a little too far to the North so the rocks that are grey/black in colour dropped into shade earlier than I’d have liked.
But the fog, now that was a problem :-( It wasn’t the thin sort through which the sun would shine; this was thick and totally obscured the sun. A couple of hours before sunset I headed over to the beach and was relived to find that whilst the North facing coast was under thick fog the Southern side was starting to clear. But it was still cold and I wished I'd brought more clothing. The first image was captured soon after it started to clear. By the time the sun set, the sky was almost completely clear and the residual cloud/fog resulted in a soft orange glow in the Eastern sky.
Marloes Sands by Andy Gawthrope Photography
Not long after the sun set I returned to the camp site on the Northern coast where I was staying. It was still completely encased in fog! Marloes Sands faces South and is a location for late afternoon/evening light depending on the time of year. Its not a morning location. The following morning dawned still in thick fog and cold. The weather was forecast to deteriorate by evening so I returned to Bristol in search of fairer weather. A mile inland the flog broke and I returned to blue-sky, sunshine and warm temperatures :-)
Andy