Selsey Sunset

Having taken quite a few sunsets on Littlehampton beaches recently, I opted for a change of scenery for this evening. We headed to Selsey and parked at the West Beach car park (free after 6pm). As we drove there, the sun slipped behind a darker cloud that was just above the horizon and I feared that we would get nothing worth taking. Upon arriving at the car park, it was obvious that the sunset was going to be a fairly thin strip of colour.

I hurriedly got the camera and tripod ready, along with the reverse grad ND filter that assists in my sunset photos. My initial spot on the beach was not yielding anything inspiring, but then I noticed that the sun glow was reflecting in the water as the waves washed ashore. Due to the distance and small interest area, I actually needed my 100-400mm zoom to zoom in sufficiently and set up a vertical . The amount of reflection depended on the waves and the subsequent calm water.

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After a while of this and with the tide gradually making it's way out, I needed to swap back to my 17-40mm lens. With the filter attached and using the 40mm end of the range, I was able to see the red/orange glow of the sunset reflected in the water particularly after the waves had washed ashore. Trying to capture the best moment was a little tricky with my 2secs timer on, but quite a few shots were very pleasing, with the reddish glow complimented by the motion of the waves as they flowed and then ebbed.

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I gradually shifted my position to try to best capture the motion and reflection, as the sky became a little more red. The one below I really like.

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