Blog
A Grand Day Out?
So, the weather has not been too good over the last week or so and despite my own advice about making the best of it, I was finding it difficult to seek out inspiration. Today the light looked like it would offer something new, with the low sun peeping under a wide cloud sheet. So I set off for the South Coast - of Fife that is. By the time I reached Leven it was very overcast and chuffing cold into the bargain. I stopped for a quick re-plan in a very depressing seafront car park in Methil.
What I needed was somewhere that could give potential ideas that did not require great light. I decided to push on towards West Wemyss, somewhere I had never visited before and what a delightful place it is. It is more in character with the East Neuk villages than its neighbours East Wemyss and Coaltown of Wemyss, both of which have never really recovered from the demise of the Fife Coalfield. Because there is a single road into the village it is quite quiet and I soon found myself walking the Fife Coast Way towards a wide stone covered beach. The sun started to break through and the view across the Forth to Edinburgh was already worth the journey. I decided to walk the half mile or so along the shore to Blair Point where I was rewarded with some fantastic rock formations to work on. After about half an hour I decided to pack up and head back to the car, well pleased with what I hoped I had managed to capture. However, the real gold was still to be discovered.
About half way back to the village I noticed a small group of Grey Seals resting on rocks just off the shore. They spotted me quite quickly but using tips I had read, such as keep low/small and move slowly I managed to work my way into some rocks just 20m or so from them. Although they kept a close eye on me the seals continued sunbathing and I was able to take a good number of images. It was also fantastic just to sit and watch. The group eventually numbered 7, with a couple diving in and out of the water just in front of me. When I started to move back I checked my watch and discovered I had been there over an hour.
I’ll get some of the images onto the site or my Facebook page soon so you can see what I experienced. A day that didn’t look to be working out too well delivered in fine style. West Wemyss is well worth a look if you are in the area.
What I needed was somewhere that could give potential ideas that did not require great light. I decided to push on towards West Wemyss, somewhere I had never visited before and what a delightful place it is. It is more in character with the East Neuk villages than its neighbours East Wemyss and Coaltown of Wemyss, both of which have never really recovered from the demise of the Fife Coalfield. Because there is a single road into the village it is quite quiet and I soon found myself walking the Fife Coast Way towards a wide stone covered beach. The sun started to break through and the view across the Forth to Edinburgh was already worth the journey. I decided to walk the half mile or so along the shore to Blair Point where I was rewarded with some fantastic rock formations to work on. After about half an hour I decided to pack up and head back to the car, well pleased with what I hoped I had managed to capture. However, the real gold was still to be discovered.
About half way back to the village I noticed a small group of Grey Seals resting on rocks just off the shore. They spotted me quite quickly but using tips I had read, such as keep low/small and move slowly I managed to work my way into some rocks just 20m or so from them. Although they kept a close eye on me the seals continued sunbathing and I was able to take a good number of images. It was also fantastic just to sit and watch. The group eventually numbered 7, with a couple diving in and out of the water just in front of me. When I started to move back I checked my watch and discovered I had been there over an hour.
I’ll get some of the images onto the site or my Facebook page soon so you can see what I experienced. A day that didn’t look to be working out too well delivered in fine style. West Wemyss is well worth a look if you are in the area.
05/02/2013