Gorleston Beach At Sunrise

It’s been a while since I did a sunrise shoot. When I first started out in landscape photography I did them regularly, always chasing the amazing skies that we are sometimes blessed with. I’m not really a morning person, so it was easy to fall out of love with the early starts that sunrise shoots demanded, but the reality is if the conditions are right they can be truly amazing. I have been planning to do a few more before summer comes along, but as the past year has shown plans have a habit of being stopped in its tracks with another lockdown beginning in January. Thankfully restrictions were relaxed on 29th March, but the more socially timed sunrises had passed, instead I would have to get up earlier to get my sunrise shoot completed.


Whilst waiting for the sun to appear, I thought I'd capture some wave shots. I always find them very calming to look at.

WHAT’S IN A PLAN?
To avoid disappointment and wasted time it is important to plan any landscape shoot, and ones at sunrise are no exception. There are obvious aspects like checking the time of sunrise and twilight so you can arrive in plenty of time to set up and be ready. It’s also very important to check the weather forecast for cloud cover as well as general weather conditions. Medium to high cloud is your friend, low cloud isn’t. As this was a seascape shoot, then tide times are vital too, there’s no point in getting up early and arriving to find the tide is so high you can’t get on the beach or so low that your foreground interest is high and dry. Another reason for checking the tides is that I like working on a receding tide as it leaves the sand and beach cleaned of distracting footprints. Then there is the position of the sun as it rises. Luckily on the east coast the sun always comes up over the sea, but knowing just where will help remove any guesswork!


This wide shot of the locally famous crooked groyne marker shows the beautiful colours beginning to appear as the sun rises

UP WITH THE PLOVER
With this in mind, along with the fact the shoot needed to be on a weekend, I chose Sunday. I headed out and arrived at Gorleston Beach in time for first light at 5.09am. The beach was deserted and very cold, with a lovely light clouded sky above me….unfortunately a thin bank of low cloud was parked on the horizon. This meant the big dramatic colours often seen at dawn weren’t going to show on the high cloud which was above me on the beach, instead I did expect to see something more subtle. The advantage of the cloud cover out to sea meant it would diffuse and soften any direct sunlight, meaning I could work longer than I originally planned.


The sunlight on the water was starting become quite harsh, this is the final shot looking out to sea capturing two pairs of groyne posts in the surf.

The conditions and light were beautiful, the sea was fairly calm, with only a slight breeze blowing. On my last few visits to Gorleston the conditions were certainly more dramatic due to the higher winds, so not having to deal with sea spray and being sand-blasted was a welcome change.
As mentioned earlier, there was no-one around (that I could see) when I arrived, and I was kept company by a small group of Plovers that decided the section of the beach I was working would be good for them too. It was lovely to watch them as they darted in and out of the surf.

SUNRISE VS SUNSET
Those that follow me will have seen that much of my recent work is taken around sunset. Although the light can be very special, working at this time of the day can be limiting, especially if you are shooting into the setting sun as the best colours and skies will only last a few minutes. In these cases I will settle on one composition and wait for the optimal moment. Sunrises provide a few more opportunities, as with this shoot, the offshore cloud helped prolong the session to include several compositions. I could have easily stayed longer, the low sun although bright, provided a beautiful side light when looking either up or down the coast.


Looking south towards Hopton, catching the beautifully coloured clouds.

FINAL WORD
I’m not sure I will be out for another sunrise before summer comes along, it depends on whether the conditions align with a weekend, but this shoot certainly did reawaken my love of an early morning trip out. Beautiful views, and a very calm, placid location, what’s not to love?

I’d love to hear what you think of the images from this shoot. I’m certainly very happy with them, they are definitely my best work of the past few months.


A closer view of the crooked groyne, the sun is beginning to reach the top of the cloud bank in this image.


Final shot of the session, I composed the groyne posts to eliminate the over-bright portion of the sea from the shot.

STAY IN TOUCH
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LIMITED EDITION PRINTS
I have a selection of images available for purchase as fine art limited edition prints, This blog post gives further information. The gallery will be updated regularly, but if you see an image you like on a blog or Facebook and it's not in the gallery, please drop me a line and we'll see if I can offer it as a print.


Old crooked groyne post again, taken from the north looking south towards Hopton.