A few weeks ago, on an unusually sunny Saturday morning, Iwas standing on the promenade at Silver Strand, in Galway. The sky was blue and clear, and the low tide meant that a large area of the yellow beach was exposed. There was a solitary figure standing on the sand facing the sea – he appeared to be doing exercises. While I watched, a woman in a swimsuit walked past him and towards the sea. There was something a bit incongrous about the scene – a sharp November morning by the sea, and two tiny figures dwarfed by swathes of sand, sea and sky.
Instinctively, I knew there was an image there but I couldn’t quite figure it out. I had two camera to hand, but rather than use my normal one [a Canon 5D], I used a camera that I bought just a month ago. It’s been adapted to take only digital infrared images [I’ll write more about it in a future post]. The lens fitted to it that day is prone to flare on that camera when pointed at or near the sun, and sure enough, the final image has a set of reflections of the lens internal glass components.
And yet the final image essentially sums up what I found arresting about the scene. The brightness of the sun, the vastness of open space, and two figures lost in their own endevours; one standing and one walking towards the sea. Even if the final shot was by accident. [Larger version here].
“I used a camera that I bought just a month ago” – Did you indeed?
The link to the larger version image is broken.
It’s beautiful! The quality of the lens flares reminds me of celestial orbits, which is sort of fitting with the subject matter. We’re all traveling in our own lonely orbits.