Tethered

A late evening trip to West Kirby was on the cards for this particular shot.

After discussions during my working week with a guy who had strong connections to Westkirby sailing club, I had been asked to try and create an image with this particular vessel in mind. Vega is part of Westkirby’s Star class yatchs and the guy in question was the brother of a former owner who wanted to present this image as a gift for an upcoming birthday.

After a few weeks of meticulous planning (Weather/tide wise) and a few failed attempts (Non-existent sunset) it was time to go again for take three.

A lovely summers afternoon had promised a high chance of a decent sunset with hopefully some lovely lasting colours to try and create the perfect picture. With these yatchs being about a twenty five minute walk out onto the Dee estuary it’s ALWAYS advisable to check the tide times before proceeding onto the mud. With everything in my favour it was wellies on and off I went. Due to the nature of this walk through some quite treacherous mud at times I always like to travel light only carrying the necessary kit for the shots in mind. The weather this evening was fantastic and after arriving at these yatchs with plenty of time spare until sunset, it was time to just stand and take in the everlasting surrounding beauty that Wirral and Westkirby in particular has to offer.

There is no finer place to be in my humble opinion, than alone, surrounded by wildlife as mother nature starts to perform the tricks that we all love most.

With music playing and my creativity flowing I had began to capture a lovely selection of shots from a few of the different boats that lay on the mud. As time went by and the sun began to drop I had already planned this shot in my mind so it was now time to get into position as the sky started to light up and change colour.

Composition ideas arnt always straight forward in these conditions but with Vega leaning beautifully towards a shallow pool of water then it was a reflection perfection kind of idea that entered my mind. The gaps in the clouds near the horizon had performed perfectly projecting some of the fantastic oranges and pinks that appeared as the sun descended and the wet nature of the mud from the outgoing tide had acted as a huge natural mirror reflecting the light and really bringing the image to life.

After returning home I was really pleased with the outcome of these images and couldn’t wait to get them to the desired owner so they could be presented as a unique birthday gift. All in all a great evening and a great experience to be part of.

(Please remember if you are to venture out onto the Dee for photography purposes then ALWAYS check the tide times first, only take on this route if you are EXTREMELY confident and VERY fit as it does require a considerable walk through some tricky conditions)