Contemplation

Huntington beach, California, USA.

It was 05:30 when I walked out of the Car Park onto Olive Avenue. Walking past the man in his Trilby hat smoking a cigarette on the corner of Main Street, I once again made my way into Starbucks for the morning coffee. Down Main Street and past the sounds of conversation emanating from the Irish Bar. I stopped to briefly admire the diligence of the man setting up shop on the far side of the road. I made my way onto the beach in the dark expecting to find a pile of clothes. These were where I expected, neatly folded in their usual spot. 50 yards further along the beach and I was at my destination. The clothes belonged to an individual who had headed out into the warm pacific waters long before I arrived. There would be a runner along shortly. He would head down the beach from the north and finishing his morning jog at the pier, he would then disappear, only to return shortly afterwards with his coffee in hand before heading off home. I had spoken to him the day before. For a week, I had inserted myself into the daily routine of complete strangers. The photography brief was simple. I wanted to capture one great image of the Huntington beach pier. This week was for the family and not photography. As such, sunsets were missed in favour of wonderful meals and precious time with friends and family. Opportunity is at every door though and as at home, the mornings were ones of minimal activity. I had a car, jet lag, a camera and now, a coffee!

Huntington beach as seen from the pier.

Huntington Beach holds a special place in my timeline as a photographer. It was at this location many years ago that I took the decision to focus on landscape photography as a genre and learn everything that I could about it. It was many years later that I decided to make it my primary and only focus but that story is for another time. The family home in California is adorned with images that both myself and my partner have taken in Huntington over the years. They all hold memories as does every photograph a photographer takes. If I could produce something to add to the collection then that would be more than enough. If not, then I would enjoy the time spent drinking coffee, walking the sands and being curious.

It has been a long while since I last attempted to match artificial and natural light during blue hour.

It is safe to say that I spend a lot of time on my own. Solitude and silence is both the nature of my job and the nature of my passions. My ability to undertake long car journeys without the need to play music is a source of irritation for those closest to me. Yet, I never get bored. Observation is the key element to all of this. Wherever I go and whatever it is that I witness, there are a thousand questions. Huntington Beach pier as a subject is far removed from anything that I would voluntarily photograph back home and yet there was intrigue . The massive machinery lumbering about in the dark literally combing the beach was head scratching. The Avocets and Sand Pipers in contrast frantically following the waves in and out with a grace that seemed disconnected from their movement. Surfers, I think, were only outnumbered by Tiktokers and influencers. Cameras seemed to be everywhere and yet unlike mine, they were all aimed at the owner who was often oblivious to those around them. Despite the many familiarities to the environment, it was an alien world I found myself in and I was enjoying it.

From an aesthetic consideration, the panoramic format was a no brainer. With the pier facing a south easterly direction, I had two choices regarding the light, I either went to the north easterly side and photographed towards the rising sun or went to the south westerly side of the pier and photographed with the sun off my back. Now, I like colour in my images and to get the most colour out of a landscape you really need the sun off your back. My instinct was to head to the south westerly side and catch the first rays of sunlight hitting the pier. An issue quickly arose in that aesthetically, it was not the strongest side. The background was congested with land mass, oil platforms and container ships. In the blue hour light these glowed bright yellow and in the day time they just added an element of chaos. I did manage one picture that I liked. The early morning mist on this occasion, was in, which diffused the light massively and hid the background. A female surfer walked out in front of me and stood there for a while visualising the surf. Not being constrained by my own personal landscape limitations, I used photoshop to remove half a dozen surfers from the scene to clean it up a little. The only other image that I liked from the south westerly side was a blue hour shot of the pier which I captured on day two. It is one of those images that I would not choose but I wanted to offer up a selection of images to our valued hosts as after all, It is not my house that the print is going to be showcased in.

My favourite image from the week and one that best represents me as a photographer.

The north easterly side was to be the focus of my attention for the remaining mornings focussing purely on the pre sunrise light. If I had an opportunity, I would definitely get down for sunset as this is when the light would be best. I had resigned myself to not managing this but a change in our itinerary meant that the opportunity arrived on day five. We all made our way to the beach to enjoy the sunset as a family. Not long before the image above was captured, my daughter had been running in and out of the sea just in front of me. I tried to capture an image of her but she disappeared before the light happened. She is too young to appreciate the subtleties of good light. If she ever wants to learn then I will be a willing teacher. That aside, the resulting image from that evening was a great result for me personally and mirrors perfectly everything that I would want from my own photography. There is often a disconnect between our own predilections and those of the viewer. When photographing for ourself then we have full license, when working for clients then we have to produce work that they like.

The only morning with any genuine colour in the sky

Despite the success of achieving something that I was happy with, I continued to head down to the beach over the remaining mornings. Parking up at the same location, walking the same route and positioning myself at the same place on the beach, I was enjoying being part of the pattern of life. There was something comforting about watching the same faces go through their own individual routines. Anyone who has ever had a daily routine of any sort will attest to this. I was fortunate enough to manage a walk down in the day as well to take a few images with a small handheld camera. The noise and busyness of the place was not for me though. Every third person was blaring music out of a speaker, people were shouting about their wares, protestations and/or beliefs. It was a bustling beachside environment full of laughter, fun and sunshine. It was a complete juxtaposition to a few hours previous and I was soon longing for the stillness of life to envelope me once more.

The lesson from the week was so much a new revelation but an affirmation of one previously learned. As with the natural world, built up urban areas are also in a state of flux. Instead of trees, mountains and muddy tracks, there are piers, multi lane roads and buildings. To most people, they look the same today as they did yesterday and the week before. To those of us that observe though, there are the subtlest of changes. Once you break this layer then it is impossible to get bored wherever you may be.

Mark