Insider Knowledge – Saltburn-by-the-Sea

Sand and Sky

Need to know

Dennis Bromage

Age 35

Occupation Landscape photographer based in Teesside

Favourite locations Yorkshire coast, Lake District, the Highlands in winter and Cornwall in spring

Favourite photographers Joe Cornish and David Noton

Approach ‘My intention is never merely to create a photographic record of a place but to capture something of its essence and soul, to convey the mood of how it felt to be there at the precise moment the shutter was released’

Website www.dennisbromage.co.uk

• How to get there
  
  From the north or south follow the A19 and then take the A174 signposted to Redcar, Whitby and Tees Port. Once on the A174 follow the signs for Saltburn. When you come into the town, stay on the main road and you will come to a steep hill with ‘S’ bends. Go down the bank and there is a car park on the immediate left as you reach the seafront at the bottom. Park here and the pier is right in front of you.
  
  
• Where to stay
  Saltburn is a seaside resort town, so there are plenty of guest houses and hotels to choose from. For more information visit www.saltburnbysea.com.
  
  
• Where to eat
  Among the array of places to eat in Saltburn are several great fish and chip shops, including one right on the seafront next to the car park.
  
  
• Don’t miss...
  For picturesque walks, visit Saltburn Valley Gardens and Woodland Centre, near Rifts Wood. For information visit www.saltburnbysea.com/html/woodlandcentre.html.
  
  

  Sand and Sky

  Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 17-40mm, 5secs at f/16, ISO 50
  
  At low tide, Saltburn is blessed with huge expanses of wet sand. The beach is like a giant wet canvas waiting to be painted with light. Pools of water are scattered across the sand and reflect the sky to create interesting mirror-like effects. Saltburn is one of the most reliable locations for a beautiful sunset I know, and from spring until autumn the sun sets at the far end of the beach. The sunsets, coupled with the ever-changing sand patterns, make it an irresistible location for landscape photographers. I had been photographing the cliffs when I noticed the dramatic clouds rushing past in the sky behind me. The clouds are reflected in the pools of water, which themselves mimic the shape of the clouds. The pools of water give the image its impact, so I deliberately shot wide to emphasise those in the foreground. I’ve also tried to pick out the catchlights at the edges of the pools, which give definition.
  
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  Pier Perspective
  
  

  Pier Perspective

  Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 17-40mm, 95secs at f/14, ISO 100
  
  The pier can be a great spot to watch passing offshore storms, especially in winter. Saltburn is in the rain shadow of the North Yorkshire Moors and I often find that the town stays dry while dark clouds and heavy downpours brew out in the North Sea. This was one such evening. I was standing on the eerily deserted pier while a huge rainstorm passed out at sea. I didn’t want the pier to be the main focus of the image, so I kept my composition quite minimal. Instead, I framed my shot so the pier could function as a lead-in line, guiding the eye to the wild sky in the distance. As it started to get dark, the pier’s floodlights began to illuminate the underside of the structure. These lighter areas also help to direct the viewer to the storm beyond. The contrast between the warm man-made lights and much colder, natural light emphasises the stark, almost sinister atmosphere of the image.
  
  Golden Cliffs
  
  

  Golden Cliffs

  Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 17-40mm, 15secs at f/16, ISO 100
  
  The cliffs along the North Yorkshire coast are rich in ironstone. It was this ore that fuelled the former shipbuilding industries further along the coast in County Durham and on the Tyne. Huntcliff, at the west end of Saltburn beach, is a great example of these iron-rich rocks. Standing 365ft (111m) above sea level, in summer it catches the full force of the setting sun. When the golden light hits the already rusty-coloured rocks, it sets the cliff on fire, turning it an almost unbelievable luminous orange. I didn’t need to use any colour filtration for this image – the intense colours are as they appeared in the scene. The beach below the cliff is littered with a collection of photogenic rocks, rock pools and golden sand that make for great foreground detail. I tend to stand underneath the cliffs and try to pick out a rock pool with a reflection in it to double the impact.
  
  Pier and Sunset
  
  

  Pier and Sunset

  Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 17-40mm, 10secs at f/16, ISO 50
  
  I took this shot in midsummer as the sun was setting at its furthest northerly point, way out to sea. The position of the sun meant I could frame my shot so I was looking down the length of the pier, while hiding the sun behind one of the pier legs to avoid flare. The entire sunset appeared out of nowhere and was over in a matter of moments. On reflection, I might have composed the shot slightly differently to include more of the wet sand in the foreground, but once I had committed to the composition I had to stick with it or risk missing the scene completely. You can shoot the pier from so many different angles and on this occasion I decided to photograph from the sand looking up at the impressive structure. The pier makes an excellent subject because of the way it has been constructed. You can photograph straight through it and show the scene behind.
  
  Colourful Reflection
  
  

  Colourful Reflection

  Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 24-70mm, 5secs at f/16, ISO 100
  
  In late summer and early autumn, the sun sets at the far end of Saltburn beach or just out to sea, silhouetting the pier. This makes for some great mid-ground interest and reflections in the vast expanses of wet sand. On this particular night, I’d been chasing storm clouds and rainbows across Teesside and had followed the advancing front to Saltburn. To my amazement, it settled right above the pier just as the sun crossed the horizon, and for a few brief moments turned the most amazing shades of red and orange. I ran across the beach and looked for a patch of wet sand to use as a reflection in my shot. I used the pier’s silhouette to break up the sky and ground. If the sand had been dry, this shot would have been impossible – the sky is so bright you need the reflection to balance the composition. The wet sand therefore plays a critical role. Nature and man-made elements are directly juxtaposed.
  
  Monchrome Pier
  
  

  Monochrome Pier

  Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 17-40mm, 3.2secs at f/16, ISO 100
  
  The pier offers endless compositional opportunities. In this case, I opted to shoot from the deck, filling the foreground with the benches and using the rails on either side to lead the eye along the pier and out to the moody sky in the distance. I used the widest lens I had to exaggerate perspective and make the pier look really long, forcing the viewer to look further into the distance. I’ve used this shooting angle – with the pier extending outwards both left and right – on several occasions, and it always creates a strong image. There was hardly any colour in the sky here, and the pier was not colourful, so it made sense to convert the image to monochrome to bring out the moody sky and strong converging lines. Stripping away the colour gives the composition a graphic appeal.
  
  Funicular Railway
  
  

  Funicular Railway

  Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 24-70mm, 15secs at f/11, ISO 200 and a 2sec exposure for the bright face of the building
  
  Above the pier is a water-balanced funicular railway built in the 1880s to transport tourists from the cliff-top hotels to the pier and promenade below. It still operates today and is now illuminated by neon blue floodlights, which make for really interesting, creative night shots. On this occasion there was torrential rain lashing down out at sea, so I used the railway and floodlit pier to lead the eye out to the offshore storm. I needed two exposures to capture the brightly lit foreground and murkier sea and sky behind. My first exposure used an ND grad filter across the sky to capture the scene correctly, with only the lit building overexposed. I then underexposed by 2 stops to get a correct exposure for the building, and blended the two in Photoshop.