The Campfire

There’s always been something I loved about this image. I remember spending considerably more time digging into the details of the edit on this photo than the others from this trip, and when I saw it printed for the first time, it all made sense. The flames of the campfire practically leap off the print, and the detail of the little balls of flame and deep, rich embers in the pit, and colourful, sun-coated sand act as a feast for the eyes.

The Campfire

It was a breezy yet balmy summer’s day, and my joints were aching. Just like every other singleton with a bio on an online dating app, I’d like to believe I’m an avid hiker. I hiked quite a lot in the scouts growing up, but opportunities for “hiking” in London are pretty slim to none. Outside of London though is a different story. I had arrived at Nash Point, Wales with my friend Kim on a trip put on by the Welsh tourism board to hike part of the Wales Coast Path. Starting at a massive lighthouse, we trekked our way up and down the beautiful cliffs peppered with endless, windswept meadows and serene, pebbled beaches.

Up, down, over, and across. I could already feel the effects of having to hop over yet another path-dividing, wooden gate with my hefty, 2 camera setup. As with every long hike, I carried on over each brook and up every naturally-carved-step with the thought of the reward of the “finish line” becoming closer and closer in sight. If we timed this right and I didn’t delay too much, by the time we neared our 10th kilometer, we would have had just enough time to drop off our stuff at the hotel, grab a much-needed refill of our water supplies, and catch the golden hour in Ogmore-by-Sea.

Luckily for us, my habit of stopping the hike every 2 seconds to line up a photo didn’t impede our schedule too much as we managed to finish the length of the hike just in time. Wow. The air felt perfect. A nice, fine mist of salty, sea air hung in the breeze. By this point my legs were practically begging me to stop forcing them forward. Avid hiker indeed! But our host had one last surprise in store for us. As a reward for successfully completing the hike, she had brought a fire pit and prepared a campfire for us to warm up with as we watched the sun kiss the sea.

My eyes were so taken in my the breathtaking array of colours all around me that I just could not give my legs the break they deserved and instead began eyeing up the perfect composition. I settled quite early on using my 24mm prime lens as the fast aperture would allow the sun’s reflections to melt across the wet stones in the background. My absolute favourite thing to do at any campfire is roast marshmallows, so I got a newly-made friend to hold up her stick so that it just crosses the horizon at the focal point and adds that much-needed human element to the photo. With a fast shutter of 1/2500th of a second I managed to capture the plumes of smoke from the fire being lit up by the sun in exceptional detail. Reviewing the photo back I was overjoyed. I managed to capture that late summer feeling I was looking for. The perfect photo to encapsulate the perfect end to a perfect day.

Sony A7III | 24mm | f2.0 | 1/2500 sec | ISO 50