Silvery Dawn – Low Tide at Hastings Pier

A combination of clear cold winter light and low tide drew me down to the seafront this morning, and to the broad stretch of shimmering tidal sands just east of the old pier at Hastings. It was just before sunrise when the sands were aglow with the ambient light of blue hour and reflecting the silvery-blue of the sky, creating an effect of a surface that was neither land nor water but some magical third state. I loved the clear fragility of the light, and the way the solitary figure of the cyclist – me! – and the spindly legs of the pier in the distance could stand out so sharply. And so I set up my tripod on the damp sands with with a 17-40 wide angle lens on the camera, made a series of self captures. I liked this one the best.