Porthmeor, deep winter , February 2021
I was on my usual walk along the coastal path and onto Porthmeor when I saw boilers was pumping, one of those unexpectedly good days. I got my camera dropped down to me and got shooting right away. Usually I shoot from the water line but it was mizzling and I didn’t want to break my camera So I hid under the surf school. The beach was lovely and quiet, everyone was sheltering from the rain so it gave me an empty landscape to shoot. I had been experimenting with slow shutter speed for a while and was starting to get the hang of it. I never use a tripod as i find it is too big to carry around and you never know when the waves will be worth shooting. For a good slow shutter photo you have to hold your camera really still to stop any motion blur, on this day it was very tricky as it was so cold and I had been shooting for hours my hands were very shaky, but I saw this wave coming in and someone had the perfect position so I panned across the wave the same time the surfer got under the lip which created this perfect speed blur. This photo managed to get me my first a4 page spread in carve mag which was super exciting!
The photo was taken at boilers on Porthmeor, the east end of the beach which produces pumping barrels at low tide. This year the sand banks were just right, usually it closes out and not many people make it out of the barrel. But this day after a big storm the banks were perfect, there were people having amazing rides- like this unknown rider.
Looking back at this photo I realise how perfect the moment was, it is very rare I manage to get a well focused slow shutter image. The ocean is constantly reminding me of it insane power, especially on a day like this. I’m in awe of the surfers that brave surfing the cold winters when it’s massive like this.
By Tallulah Bull