15 Photos, 1 Location EP.7 - Alnmouth
Alnmouth is known for its idyllic location between the River Aln and the North Sea. Pastel-colored fishermen's cottages line the riverbank. Once a thriving port town, Alnmouth's fortunes changed in 1806 when a powerful storm transformed the River Aln's course and stranded the harbour. This made it difficult for Alnmouth to compete with bigger ports along the Northumberland coastline, and it eventually fell into disuse. Despite this and its long history of territory wars, the friendly village high street still offers a delightful mix of pubs, restaurants, and shops. And, to no surprise, the beach remains as beautiful as ever.
EP7 - ALNMOUTH
I've spent a handful of days at Alnmouth over the years, dog-walking, sunbathing, and taking coffee trips. However, I had never taken any "proper" photos there prior to my visit for the 15 photos, 1 location series. On the drive up the A1, I was already getting pretty excited as I could see the east coast covered in fog. I started the morning on the banks of the River Aln, capturing various angles of the landlocked boats instead of heading straight towards the seafront. The fog in the distance meant whichever boat I chose as my subject, it was easy to isolate.
Heading in the direction of the beach now, after probably taking too many photos of boats (but no regrets!), there was one shot I did have in mind prior to arriving. I'm not sure what it is about wooden walkways that run down onto a beach, but I have a soft spot for them. It looked great as a minimal shot alone, but I stuck around to catch someone walking past on the beach to really complete the frame.
I was busy framing up this selection of rocks sitting in an area of leftover ocean water when a dog wandered into my frame, which made me smile upon capturing it. Of course, I had to wait for the dog and its owners to move further away and reposition themselves perfectly for a second shot.
By this point, the morning had already become one of my favorite photography outings in a while. The foggy conditions definitely had a big effect on that, but the fact that I'd never really visited Alnmouth with my camera before also helped. I decided to grab one more scene on the beach before heading back towards the idle river boats (not just because I wanted to photograph more boats). I was also parked back in that direction and was on a strict time schedule on this occasion.
As always the video version of this episode containing all the behind the scenes footage (and a ramble about two photography approaches) can be found below.
