Night time photography is what really captivates me.
There is something about long exposures which represent the world in a new and sometimes alien way. The human eye sees something very different at night. Colours are muted, details are hidden in the darkness. Exposing an image over long seconds and sometimes minutes reveals nuances that we could never otherwise see. Shadows and light. They are my tools of trade.
And I like to be different. Saltburn Pier is one of the most photographed man made structures in the north east. I have been down here at sunset when more than a dozen landscape photographs are peppered across the beach, all searching for the ideal spot, the perfect exposure, jockeying for position while trying to keep out of each others frame.
Often I go for a low perspective. Laying down across the floor, or boardwalk in this case, letting the finer details lead the eye in, the wooden floor emphasising the aged Victorian design, with the railings working to pull the eye deeper through the scene.
We have the lights on the building, and the fainter neon of the cliff lifts behind. But the eye rests on the solitary figure in the middle distance. Someone taking a late night walk perhaps. Pondering life. Looking for solitude? Or a local, heading to the end of the pier where night fishing is a popular pastime.
This can be bought as a print and in a variety of other formats here.