Steetley Pier – A Moody Sunrise on the North East Coast

On this particular November morning I found myself standing on the shoreline beside the skeletal remains of Steetley Pier, watching the first light of the day try to break through a heavy blanket of cloud. The forecast suggested thick cloud and fairly uninspiring conditions, but sometimes those are the mornings worth getting out for. Broken cloud on the horizon can often create fleeting moments of light, and when that happens you need to be ready.

Steetley Pier has been photographed countless times over the years and, like many popular locations, there are a few well-known compositions that tend to appear again and again. Before visiting I had taken a quick look at some images online to get a feel for the location, but none of the typical viewpoints particularly appealed to me. Instead, I decided to wander along the shoreline and look for something slightly different. Not far from the main viewpoint I came across the remains of an old broken fence partially buried in the sand. Immediately it caught my eye as a potential foreground element.

By positioning the broken fence in the foreground, I was able to line it up with the gap in the pier’s structure out towards the sea.  A couple of other photographers had also arrived on the beach and were standing further down the shoreline. Rather than waiting for them to move, I included them in the scene, as they give a good sense of scale against the background pier reaching into the distance. One thing to not here is the photographers really did stand still, the exsposure was about 8 secs in order to capture enough light to record the scene.

• Finding Compositions
• Pentax K-1 Camera used:
• Pentax DFA 28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens used:
• 40mm Focal length:
• f/16 Aperture:
• 8 Sec Exposure time:
• 1600 ISO:

Moving Down to the Beach

After capturing a few frames from that viewpoint I moved down onto the open beach. By now the sunrise had improved beyond what I expected and there was some beautiful colour beginning to develop in the sky. What really caught my attention though was the wet sand. The incoming tide had left a thin reflective layer across the beach which was picking up the colour of the sky perfectly. These kinds of reflections can add a wonderful sense of depth to a photograph if you frame them carefully.

• Teasing Sunrise Light
• Pentax K-1 Camera used:
• Pentax DFA 28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens used:
• 28mm Focal length:
• f/16 Aperture:
• 0.8 Exposure time:
• 100 ISO:

Slowing Down the Sea

From the beach I switched to my perspective in order to capture the pier stretching out across the frame. For this composition I used a standard telephoto lens to include some of the pier structure while still keeping the reflections in the foreground.  

Quickly the sun disappeared back behind the cloud and the golden light quickly faded. It’s a familiar story with coastal photography — sometimes the best light only lasts a few minutes. At first I wondered if the conditions might become a little flat, but looking out across the sea I could see there was still plenty of texture in the cloud. 

The waves were also beginning to build as the tide pushed in. That suggested a different approach. I felt the scene now suited a slightly darker, moodier treatment. The steel blue tones in the cloud and sea gave the whole scene a cold November atmosphere that felt true to the morning. 

I set up a circular polariser and a 10-stop neutral density filter to dramatically slow down the shutter speed. With an exposure of around thirty seconds the movement of the sea softened into a smooth mist while the pier remained sharp against the horizon. Long exposures work particularly well in these kinds of conditions. The movement in the water adds a sense of energy to the frame while simplifying the chaos of the waves, whilst also retaining any reflections in the wet sand.

• November Colours
• Pentax K-1 Camera used:
• Pentax DFA 28-105mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens used:
• 58mm Focal length:
• f/f8 Aperture:
• 30 Exposure time:
• 100 ISO:

A Quiet End to the Morning

As the tide continued to rise and the clouds thickened, the morning slowly settled into a softer, more subdued mood. Although the dramatic sunrise had been brief, the changing conditions offered a variety of opportunities — from silhouettes and reflections to long-exposure seascapes. It was one of those mornings where adapting to the light made all the difference.

Steetley Pier remains a fascinating structure to photograph, and despite its popularity there are always new compositions to be found if you take the time to explore the area. After a few final frames it was time to pack the gear away and move on to the next stop along the North East coast. The adventure, after all, was only just beginning.