The Menai Straits is a fascinating, beautiful and constantly changing narrow stretch of sea seperating the Isle of Anglesey from the North Wales coast.
With active weather, a huge tidal range and a sunset position that swings though 90° over the course of the year, you never see the same scene twice here.
Which is great for me as an outdoor photographer, as I can come here to one of my favourite spots time and time again and it's always fresh.
For me, the absoloute best time of year is mid-winter, as the Straits point to the southwest which is the direction of the sunset at this time of year.
So with the turn of the tide coinciding with sunset on an evening in December it was game on for filming this time lapse video, taking in sunset, dusk, twilight and on into night as the waters rose, covering over the sandbanks and shoreline features exposed at low tide.
It was a wonderful experience, just being there watching, listening and smelling as the waters took on the appearance of glowing glass under the falt calm conditions.
You don't see scenes like this every day, and I consider myself blessed to have been there on that wonderful night.
Filename - menai straits timelapse 16.mp4
Camera - Canon 6D
Lens (1st sequence) - 17-40mm zoom @ 17mm
Lens (2nd sequence) - 17-40mm zoom @ 17mm
Lens (3rd sequence) - 17-40mm zoom @ 40mm
Exposure (start of shoot) - 1/30 sec @ f4, ISO100
Exposure (end of shoot) - 4 secs @ f4, ISO1600
Filters - 2 stop neutral density graduated filter used to balance the exposure between the sky and foreground.
Shooting interval - 6 seconds
Location - Menai Straits, Anglesey, North Wales
This clip - HD 720p 30fps (1080p and 4K versions also available from Pond5)
Clip duration - 40 secs
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2024 unless otherwise stated.