Multiply Exposing Crosby Beach..
Ahhhh Crosby beach. I took a trip with many other Sheclickers (if you are female and you haven’t discovered sheclicks yet then do click here ) up to north of Liverpool to visit the amazing ‘Another Place’ art installation by Anthony Crosby which is located at Crosby beach. This consists of around 100 sculptures of men looking out to sea, all life size and all dotted around this amazing beach to be viewed when the tide goes out. The image above is one that I actually created in snapseed using images from my phone - It is an excellent example of how accessible multiple exposure can be - you don’t need any fancy pieces of equipment or any paid for editing software - if you haven’t already you must try this out - then when you become addicted (and it won’t take long) you can browse my courses and start exploring further!
The tide was in when we arrived at the beach and so you couldn’t see the figures at all. I had borrowed a canon R5 for the weekend from a preloved camera giant MPB and this was my opportunity to try out the R5 and compare against the R6 mark II that I had tried out the previous week - see that blog post here. So, back to my story, the tide was right in but I had a new camera so I started playing to see what could be done in camera and how the autofocus worked, where all the settings were, where the settings for the multiple exposure were. I came away with these images that actually I am really pleased with…..
So above we have from left to right
an out of camera multiple exposure of 3 layers of seagulls all put through the vivid blend mode
The gorgeous windfarm with a high tide and a layer of texture
A silhouetted Sheclicker showing the mood of the day - and light, we were very lucky it was gorgeous!
Below is how the sculptures looked as they were being uncovered by the retreating tide - it was actually a truly magical experience, you were only with these cast iron figures whilst the tide was out, and you felt very privileged to be there.
Naturally I wanted to play with both in and out of camera multiple exposure and so here’s what I did with these four….
Top left: This is an in camera multiple of 4 layers that I wanted to make the main feature so I cropped them and added a layer of texture
Top right: This is an out of camera creation from an in focus and out of focus image blended together in photoshop
Bottom left: This is a double exposure of the beach and the sculpture
Bottom right: Again this is 4 layers in camera with a texture layer on the top but the different perspective, shape and texture gives it a very different feel.
It was so much fun to play with the reflections that were made by these enigmatic shapes, so here is one below that did just that - it does have a layer of texture over the top as well, just to pull the image all together.
All in all the morning went far too fast and although I had finished with some images that I was sure would be successful I will definitely be returning. I really enjoyed this coastal photography with the added interest of men sculptures. It is an amazing location for any type of photography but it works so well with multiple exposure that I would be foolish not to return!! Please do let me know if you have been and how you found it….
