‘From a photography point of view, the most interesting thing to photograph here was the buoy. Having taken the full brunt of the storm for the last few days, it was now washed in a golden glow of light beneath a peaceful pale blue sky, with the sound of its now muted bell ringing steadily on a calm wind.’
I drove about an hour or so west from Cardiff to a popular cliff top Cafe near Nash Point lighthouse along the Glamorganshire coast. I hoped to see the tail end of what’s been a pretty savage storm, Ciara. Away from the coast you would’ve thought that the storm had completely past, the wind had died down and the sky had patches of blue with bursts of sunlight throughout most of the day. That was until I drove up a small hill and onto the cliff top at Nash Point and first saw the size and ferocity of the waves that were pounding the limestone cliffs below me. Water was being blown up and sideways across the road at a frightening speed as I parked facing south, out to sea. I had around an hour or so of light left,and I was hoping that as the tail end of the storm was passing there would be a chance for some sun to break through to illuminate the tumultuous Severn. As it turned out the storm worsened a few minutes after I left the car. After walking about 50 meters, I decided to turn back towards a small cafe building, using it as a shelter from the insanely powerful and erratic gusts of wind blowing in from the sea.
As I peered cautiously around the corner of the cafe towards the sea, I noticed a buoy just off shore being thrown around with the sound of its bell frantically swinging, filling the cold air. It came in and out of sight as it dipped and rose with the peaks and troughs of the huge heavy Atlantic waves. There’s something amazing about seeing such raw power, it’s scary, and it definitely puts things into perspective. I absolutely love watching pockets of rain and hail sweep in towards you from the sea. I eventually retreated back to the relative safety of my car, and poured myself a green tea. Thankfully after a few more minutes the storm started to calm, and the skies cleared and filled with an amazing orange pastel light just as I had hoped. From a photography point of view, the most interesting thing to photograph here was the buoy. Having taken the full brunt of the storm for the last few days, it was now washed in a golden glow of light beneath a peaceful pale blue sky, with the sound of its now muted bell ringing steadily on a calm wind.
As it happened, the light lasted only for a few minutes, as it often does if you are lucky this winter. The sun dipped below a distant wall of cloud just above the horizon, and I headed home.
