A Trip for Inspiration
We all know artists have to suffer for their craft right? On warm summery days it’s so appealing to grab my camera, saddle up our golden retriever and head into nature to find somewhere that stirs my soul. But in the beginning of spring when it’s still raining more often than not and the temperatures have yet to scrape out of single digits, it isn’t such an attractive prospect. Which is why when we arrived at a beach by Port Talbot, my other half happily stayed in the warm car watching with a bemused grin as I clambered over shingle, lay next to rocks and got really close and personal with a good looking puddle.
Why you might ask? Well because this was the golden hour, a perfect window of opportunity to take photos of all my favourite contrasting beach textures. The perfectly smooth and crystal clear puddle, that only served to highlight how harsh and granular the ground it had gathered upon was. Weathering sand dunes, with their softened cascading sandy faces, and bristly grass ridges. Rocks that have been battered by the sea and the air, eroded and scoured until eventually they join the very sand they sit upon. Driftwood, bleached and smooth, amongst sharp sticks and shells.
It’s all such a maelstrom of contradiction when you really look closely, but this beach more so than most, because at this beach in Port Talbot, South Wales, man has built something. Something that doesn’t really belong in nature, but then, does anything we build? A hulking great steel plant stretches as far as the eye can see. There’s no particular noise from it, so when you face towards the ocean, you wouldn’t know it was there at all. It’s such a dichotomy, to encounter natural beauty and huge industry side by side like this and made me sad we live in a world where it is necessary.
One view in Port Talbot was a breathtaking seascape etched in the golden hues of the setting sun.
The other view in Port Talbot, is equally stunning, as you take in the contrast of a huge industrial plant striking across nature.
