Local Photography and Low Expectations: South Beach Greystones

This weekend the Greystones Camera Club meetup was in an all too familiar location somewhere between the cove and the north end of the south beach in Greystones, not far from our clubhouse. We’ve shot the cove, the rocky shore that stretches to the south beach and the beach itself on many occasions. My expectations for the morning were to meet up and have a chat and participate in the banter that is a consistent source of enjoyment between club members. The weather was overcast but there had been a tint of red in the sky at sunrise but I was not to know as I turned up after the fact. If we were shooting a new or more anticipated location I may have scolded myself for my lack of punctuality. But not here, not in our backyard. Indeed, familiarity can breed complacency and apathy.

 

When I arrived my camera remained in the bag as I chatted away unconcerned with not using the time to take photographs. Eventually, I ventured down to the rocks,
worked a scene that I did not expect to yield anything of interest. An hour passed and I was lost in the play of water on the smooth, green rocks as I altered the height and angle of the camera, the slop of the the incoming tide wetting my trousers above the height of my wellies.

It’s the day after that I write this short blog and I vividly see the photographed scene and remember the salt air and the sound of the waves. I’ve taken the opportunity to study, to crop and to process a number of images. And it reminds me of why I love nature photography.
And it tells me not to take for granted landscapes that are familiar.