There was nothing special about Friday 1st March 2019. I was in Brighton early, ahead of a meeting in Hove and decided to try and catch the sunrise at West Pier. The pier has been a subject for artists and photographers for as long as I can remember and it was my turn to capture it. I was hoping for deep reds and oranges in the sky to contrast against the urban decay represented by the derelict structure.
As is normally the way mother nature had other ideas and I was presented with an overcast sky, little breeze to push the clouds along and a fairly uninspiring sea. Yet the calmness made the scene a little ethereal. The contrast of the stark vertical pillars against the softness of the sky struck a chord with me.
I wanted to smooth out the texture in the sea to enhance the contrast and so a long exposure was called for. When creating an image like this a tripod and neutral density filter are essential. The tripod ensures the camera doesn't move and the neutral density filter blocks light from entering meaning the shutter can remain open for much longer than normally required without over-exposing the image.
The image hasn't been heavily edited. The original RAW file was converted to black and white and some minor adjustments to brightness and contrast were all that were required.
I am incredibly pleased with the result. Hopefully you are too.
Relic - West Pier, Brighton
Nikon D5300
Nikkor 18-300mm @ 18mm
201 seconds @ f8 ISO 100
Comments