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| Walking in the Air, Traeth Coch © Glyn Davies 2010 |
Following a specific location request from one of my customers, I found myself (almost) lost outside Llangoed on a warm late summer's afternoon. The sunshine back-lit the leaves of lush overgrown lanes as Cara Dillon sang to me in the front of the van. The hedgerows literally brushed past me as I ventured into narrower and narrower pathways, crows giving buzzards a temporary reprieve as they laughed at my black VW squeezing it's way out towards the bay.
And then I was free! Blue sky flooded in all directions above me and intense, direct sunshine pierced right through the bug covered windscreen leaving me nearly blinded as I dropped down the steep lane from the radio mast towards Traeth Coch. Within a short distance you can see the full vista of the sweeping bay towards Pentraeth and Porthllongdy in the distance. Although I've never been a fan of this coast as it loses the sun before the West Coast, this afternoon it was clearly apparent that this little section tastes almost the last drops of sun before it fizzles beyond Mynydd Bodafon.
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| Textile Beach, Traeth Coch - © Glyn Davies 2010 |
The shallow beach at extreme low tide creates huge cusps of sand and water, resembling textile designs from the 1960s! The vicious and burning intensity of the light on the retina was not from the sun itself but from it's reflection on the wet sand. Although I tried to compose using peripheral vision I still was left temporarily blinded after shooting some frames.
Of course the contrast between the sunlit sand and the dry areas surrounding, meant the contrast was of the scale. To me, this was wonderful though, for just as looking towards the light blinded me, I found the fake shadows to be a beautiful and textural contrast, absolutely stunning.
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| In Perfect Contrast © Glyn Davies 2010 |
After the summer we've had, it was no surprise that the blue skies failed, and I noticed a huge weather from moving in. Within half an hour it was upon me and just the occassional shaft of light punctured the now dark grey skyscape. I left the hillside and the pungent long grass of the fields and drove down through the little hamlet to the beach itself. I walked out across the sands to the now incoming tide and waded into the sea, clothed! I enjoyed the feeling of the warm water soaking my trousers and my leather Crocs were just perfect for keeping the jellyfish from stinging :-) As I stood there I noticed three ships at anchor on the horizon, awaiting a pilot to Liverpool port. My Dad has often mentioned seeing an almost identical view as a child, and his imagination about where these ships were coming from and going to featured in many of his early drawings and paintings. It is strange that these three ships represent places and people I will never likely meet, yet they sit there just a mile off our shore.
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| I Saw Three Ships - Irish Sea © Glyn Davies 2010 |
I just hope that the customer enjoys what I have shot with him in mind, and can get a sense of the feelings I experienced at this magnificent and changeable bay.
These images are all now available as fine-art edition prints in the following sizes:
A1 edition of 5 (from £ 550)
A2 edition of 20 (from £ 380)
Please ring to reserve first editions. 01248 715511
All words and images on this post are strictly copyrighted to © Glyn Davies 2010
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