Korsør : bridge, wind, frustration, clouds, seal, hope, more wind, sun


This post was written on the way back home, after couple of hours in Korsør, Denmark, the place where the Great Belt bridge starts its journey to Fyn Island. We took an early train in a windy Sunday morning, hoping to get some dramatic seascapes featuring the bridge or its surroundings.

The forecast was looking good: clouds, no rain, wind around 30 km/h, some sun only in the afternoon. Around 4 km of walking between the train station and the wild beach adjacent to the bridge. We arrived there and a very nice scene revealed in front of our eyes: some nets, probably placed by fishermen on some wooden poles and a foggy horizon, covering the island of Fyn. Birds were seating on the wind poles, not bothered by the wind. Some heavy and black clouds on the sky were marching fast in front of us. The water was wild and foamy, hitting with strength the bridge pillars. The wind seems strong but not too strong to be a problem. Ideal condition for long exposure photography.

Quick unpacking and the camera is set on the tripod, with the right filters on, for a 4 minutes exposure. Suddenly, the wind started to blow stronger, and the sturdy Manfrotto tripod became shaky in front of the combination of wind and sand. Shit! I have to push all my weight on the tripod to keep it still.

But after  8 minutes (the exposure itself and the in camera noise reduction), the first shot was a big disappointment: everything is blurry due to some camera shake. The next exposures ended up with the same result, although both Carmen and I where putting all our weight into fixing the tripod on the ground. The wind is more and more disturbing, our faces are hit with each gust. We look like two Eskimo, frozen and with the eyes half closed to avoid getting sand. Two sad Eskimos as the black clouds are gone. Frustration. Having a great scene, perfect clouds but not being able to take advantage of it due to some external reasons, uncontrollable and unpredictable.


We moved couple of meters away and tried to shoot the bridge from a small hill. Not a single chance of keeping the tripod still for even 10 seconds with the wind gusting to probably 60-70 km/h. Carmen was not even able to stand still for a whole minute. More frustration.

We decided to leave and I was hitting the small pebbles on the road with anger. Couple of meters away, a nice minimalist scene with a field and a small bunch of trees partly covered by a hill. It will probably look amazing in the winter but lets shoot it now anyway. At least we will return home with something on the SD card. The wind seems to be a bit less wild, maybe because we are away from the sea. Hmm…lets try again the bridge and the fisherman nets. Maybe with shorter exposures, around a minute and with a lower tripod for more control.

On the way back to the location, we noticed what seemed to be the head of a seal. Too bad she decided not to show up on the beach as Carmen was willing to give her a sandwich. A sandwich in exchange of letting us to photograph and pet her. The beautiful creature disappeared quickly in the sea, letting me think how perfectly is she adapted to the challenging weather condition, while us were struggling that badly.

A guy was fishing couple of meters away, admiring the sun rays breaking through the clouds. The nature is so beautiful. It just worth to admire it from time to time. The frustration is gone and a bit of hope replaced it. And we managed to get some shorter exposures, around a minute, while the clouds were starting to spread, revealing in the end a blue sky and a shiny sun. Haven’t thought we will gonna need sunglasses that day, but my eyes are again half close, now due to strong light. One more attempt to shoot the bridge and its body getting lost into the mist. The wind is still too strong up there on the hill. But that’s fine, we can do it some other time. No more seals, just some people admiring the sea under the winter sun. And another 4 km of walking to the train station, with the promise that we will return in a better day, with less wind and more clouds. And maybe the seals will be there for us.

Ps: the first image appears as one of the 5 covers for Topaz Star Effects on their website as we used this plug-in to enhance the light rays.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Great Wall of China - the modern wonder against the mongol hordes

Image
  The Great Wall of China is one of the most impressive defensive architecture in the world. A bit of History: The Great Wall of China is one of the modern wonders of the world. It consists of a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials. It is built along the east-to-west line across the northern borders of China, from Dandong in the east, to Lop Lake in the west, roughly along the southern border of Inner Mongolia region. The main purpose was to protect the empire against the raids and invasions of the mongols and other nomadic groups that inhabited the Eurasian Steppe. The construction started as early as the 7th century BC with few walls. Later, the isolated pieces are linked together, making it stronger into what now we know and call the Great Wall. Important enhancement of the wall happened during the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, but little of his construction work is still visible. The wall have been enhanced, r
Read more

The Bund - Iconic Waterfront of Shanghai

Image
What is Bund? The Bund or Waitan is a waterfront in central Shanghai and the one of the most famous touristic area of the city. Bund runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River in the eastern part of Huangpu District, from Yan’an Road (formerly Edward VII Avenue) in the south to Waibaidu Bridge (formerly Garden Bridge). Facts: The area along the river faces the modern architecture of Lujiazui in the Pudong District; making it one the most photographed vistas in China. The word “Bund” means an embankment or an embanked quay. The word originated from Persian word band, through Hindustani, having the meaning of embankment, levee or dam. There are various “bunds” in east Asia, probably named after the bunds/levees in Baghdad along the Tigris; the Baghdadi Jews, like the famous Sassoon family, might have given the name. This family immigrated and settled their businesses in Shanghai  and other port cities in east Asia in the 19th century. Lujiazui skyscrapers are the hi
Read more

The giant' path - Northern Ireland

Image
In September we had another interesting photographic trip, that went a bit in the shadow of the long planned trip to China. We spent a week on the coast in Northern Ireland: the Giant’s path.Was it enough? Not really. Northern Ireland is that kind of place that you can visit many times and get totally different feeling and images due to highly volatile weather conditions. Did we follow the Game of Thrones route? Not at all. We are not fans of the famous TV show. Therefore, we were not aware that many of the locations are on the bucket list of die hard GOT fans. Northern Ireland is special due to its glorious history. But we haven’t focused on the history, but more on the landscape in Antrim coast. Antrim is one of the most photogenic area in Northern Ireland and there is a lot for every taste. Rugged coastline, old castle ruins, charming harbors and above all, Giant Causeway, the UNESCO World Heritage site that is making the Irish people so proud. And a weather that
Read more