The Surprise View - a photo on Flickriver

The Surprise View

            It was only as I planted my tripod on the rocks, facing directly north out towards the sea stacks that I noticed.  Behind the rock wall to the right and to my enduring surprise, half of the lighthouse was poking out.  There was plenty of scope to move further down and across.  I left the tripod and the bag where they were, and dropped down until I came to a sheer precipice where the lighthouse was now in full view; a scene I’d never witnessed before, neither with my own eyes nor through anyone else’s lens.  There was plenty of room to set up safely on a pleasingly flat platform - it hadn’t rained for well over a week by now and the rocks weren’t at all slippery - and so I returned to retrieve my gear and try this totally unexpected new composition.    

What I particularly liked was that there was another cauldron here, that was small enough to churn the benign sea into something interesting.  I do like a good cauldron.  When the swell is a bit more lively, the one that sits beneath the classic view of the lighthouse is quite magnificent.  I’ve often returned home with well over a hundred shots of exactly the same view and then had to pore through them for the ones I like best.  It’s much the same at Botallack.  People often comment that the sea looks wild and stormy when they see an image I’ve shared from there, but it very often wasn’t wild at all.  It’s just the way the water moves in and out of the bowl, the outgoing waves smashing into the arrivals and creating drama that I never tire of, and that always entrances me at my chosen shutter speed.  And while the ocean was completely flat, bringing nothing of interest to the more famous view of the lighthouse, here in this intimate spot, out of view from everyone except for the sea anglers on the rocks below it, there was more than enough action to have me reaching for the six stop filter and the polariser.  

It was the end of another of a series of clear, blue sky days in which barely a cloud appeared to add drama or texture to this surprise view, but there was plenty enough of that in both the rocks and the water that swirled and eddied below.  With the remote shutter cable attached, I shot in bursts as groups of small waves raced in and washed across the base of the cliffs, trying to imagine what it would look like here with a big swell.  Too dangerous to stand in this spot for starters I’d say.  There’s a big buttress of rock to your immediate left, blocking much of the incoming sea, but just to the other side of that sits a gap in the rocks from where a nice big wave could easily catch the visitor unawares in rough weather.  Today it was fine, but I don’t think I’ll be visiting in anything other than quiet, dry conditions.  Not the sort of place you want to have an accident, because even if somebody was there with you to raise the alarm I’m not sure what your chances would be.  But when those days return, the classic view is an easy win.  I know of people who’ve taken pictures from there in biblical weather that have come away unscathed.  Here, I reckon they’d have been swept away in an instant.

As exploratory adventures go, this one had turned out to be an unexpected success.  I’d discovered new compositions that I was very happy with, and after an afternoon spent entertaining my two year old grandson at his home in Wadebridge while his parents were both working, it was a fine way to wind down and enjoy the golden hour at the coast.  I’d also discovered a headland that I’d been to plenty of times before, yet hadn’t fully exploited because I’d never really got past the blindingly obvious shot of the lighthouse that we’ve all seen plenty of times before.  Of course that’s a fantastic view, but isn’t it fun to realise that there are other shots to be had from here too?   

Finally, some of you know that I had some serious issues with my account this week.  Well for six days, and after almost eleven years here, I didn’t have an account at all.  It was a mistake and that was ultimately acknowledged with an apology, but only after some of you had stepped in and spoken on my behalf.  You know who you are and there aren’t words to express my gratitude and enormous relief that everything is back to normal.  We’re members of an amazing community here on Flickr, and I’m truly humbled that people, one of whom I’ve never even met, would go to such lengths to help me.  You made the difference.  Once again, many thanks to those of you who sent messages of support.  I’m just delighted to be able to share another story from the Cornish coast with you here this morning.  Have a good weekend!

Taken in: UK / England / St. Merryn (show map)

Taken on: April 10, 2025

Tags:

Trevose

Lighthouse

Coast

coastal

ukcoast

British Coast

cornish coast

South West Coast Path

Farol

Faro

Phare

Lichtturm

Sea

seascape

sea shore

cliff

long exposure

Kernow

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Great Britain

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England

Atlantic

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Canon

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Sets appears in: • Trevose

Groups appears in: • Cornwall • Cornwall Flickr Users more » • Cornish Coast « less

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, f/11.0, 1.6 sec, 35mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens:	EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM
Aperture:	f/11.0
Exposure Time:	1.6
Focal Length:	35mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	+1/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 14.2 (Windows)
Show full info

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