Menai and Britannia bridges | North Wales

LongLensPhotography

LongLensPhotography

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I was supposed to be en route to France but some unfortunate circumstances held me up for a few days. I haven't specifically planned to shoot these bridges; I rather hoped for a calm colourful evening in Snowdownia. This didn't materialise and there wasn't quite enough time for plan B in Anglesea. Rather pleasingly the light was gorgeous at the Menai bridge. It was low tide and water was a little choppy so these could be bettered with some great luck.

1. Golden hour from the layby


2. Underneath the bridge. High tide would have been so nice


3. Getting very muddy. No reflections :(


4. Last evening light from the layby up the road


5. Britannia bridge. I got properly muddy wading through the seaweed and mud but luckily the water was very still at that stretch and there was just enough light to pull a reasonable 3 min exposure. I haven't 100% decided on the crop yet. There is a huge temptation to crop out the pylon and clone the wires.


P.S. You can see Menai bridge in the distance. The bridges are only a few minutes away from each other and can just about be done in one go.

Next time hopefully I'll get something from Snowdownia and Anglesea with Conwy castle blue hour as icing on the cake.
 
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For me, your #5 is the only convincing picture in the set… by far, very far!
 
5 is good although I can see the wires in the sky and but not in the reflection.

1 is fine. Don't like 2, there's some wacky distortion going on. Just get a tilt shift

3 is ok but I'd take the composition of one with the light of 3

4. I'd have stuck about a bit longer and let light trails appear and the artificial lighting stand out stronger
 
ST4 said:
… although I can see the wires in the sky and but not in the reflection.
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Steve, the wires are hardly seen because…
1, these very fine lines are lost in the not mirror like water surface, see the very poor fidelity of the bridge reflection and
2, most likely hidden by the bridge itself considering the angle of incidence of the same reflection, IMO.
 
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ST4 said:
5 is good although I can see the wires in the sky and but not in the reflection.

1 is fine. Don't like 2, there's some wacky distortion going on. Just get a tilt shift

3 is ok but I'd take the composition of one with the light of 3

4. I'd have stuck about a bit longer and let light trails appear and the artificial lighting stand out stronger
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The water never got still at Menai bridge. Thus I moved on to do 5 and I don't regret that all. The bridges may be just a mile apart but the water conditions could not be more different, not sure why?

So do what do you think about cloning out the wires in 5? They are hidden in the water due to low light and very slight movement.

I'll get that TS-E one day. I just need a couple more sales to pay for one :)
 
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daugirdas said:
The water never got still at Menai bridge. Thus I moved on to do 5 and I don't regret that all. The bridges may be just a mile apart but the water conditions could not be more different, not sure why?

So do what do you think about cloning out the wires in 5? They are hidden in the water due to low light and very slight movement.

I'll get that TS-E one day. I just need a couple more sales to pay for one :)
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Clone them. The lack of wires in the reflection and but in the sky jars, but you'll need to lose the pylons too. Hadn't twigged on the slight movement in the water, I tend not to do exposures of still water as long as that.

Rivers/water are funny things. I was on the union canal last night at the Falkirk wheel and the part I needed still wasn't so it was the Kelpies...again...

IIRC thats a tidal river so tides will effect water as would the winds and position of land to block them off. You've just been unlucky.
 
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daugirdas said:
The water never got still at Menai bridge. Thus I moved on to do 5 and I don't regret that all. The bridges may be just a mile apart but the water conditions could not be more different, not sure why?
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The area of the Menai Straits just to the west of the suspension bridge is known as the Swellies. It can be quite tricky to navigate by boat because of large rocks under the surface. Combined with the fast tidal flow through the 'Straits, these cause a lot of disturbance on the water's surface.
 
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ZoneV said:
The area of the Menai Straits just to the west of the suspension bridge is known as the Swellies. It can be quite tricky to navigate by boat because of large rocks under the surface. Combined with the fast tidal flow through the 'Straits, these cause a lot of disturbance on the water's surface.
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I take it the water rarely if ever gets still over there?
 
Lovely set.
The Menai Straight is never truly still.
Even between tides it has some of the strongest (and dangerous) currents in the UK.
 
viv1969 said:
Lovely set.
The Menai Straight is never truly still.
Even between tides it has some of the strongest (and dangerous) currents in the UK.
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Lovely isn't it. My father had a fishing boat moored on the Straits. He fished there for 30-40 years. As a kid I used to go out on it all the time with him. He knew it like the back of his hand. :)

My friend's father had a yacht moored there too. We won the SSA (Siliwen Sailing Association) regatta one year (when I was about 10 - his Dad was in charge, we were frantically pulling ropes and ducking the boom)! :D
 
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I agree with the first poster's comment. Only No 5 is at all special. And it would be almost ridiculous to clone the transmission wires (and pylons) out. You just have to live with them here, unfortunately.

The Britannia Bridge looks good from the near the suspension bridge. There's a kind of promenade there, and an ancient church on an (almost) island. Worth searching out on your next visit!
 
jerry12953 said:
I agree with the first poster's comment. Only No 5 is at all special. And it would be almost ridiculous to clone the transmission wires (and pylons) out. You just have to live with them here, unfortunately.

The Britannia Bridge looks good from the near the suspension bridge. There's a kind of promenade there, and an ancient church on an (almost) island. Worth searching out on your next visit!
Click to expand...

Fun fact: that's the Belgian promenade, built by Belgian evacuees during WW1 as a "thank you" to the people of Menai Bridge (town). A lovely spot, as you say, and Church Island too (St Tysilio Church, which is mentioned in the name of that town with the long name -
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch). :)
 
ZoneV said:
Fun fact: that's the Belgian promenade, built by Belgian evacuees during WW1 as a "thank you" to the people of Menai Bridge (town). A lovely spot, as you say, and Church Island too (St Tysilio Church, which is mentioned in the name of that town with the long name -
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch). :)
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Thanks for reminding me about the names. I was thinking Italian..........

Interesting to hear that the church name features in Llanfair PG.
 
Got to agree with most - imho no5 much better than the others,If ok with the OP could anyone explain why it is so much better or different
 
nog said:
Got to agree with most - imho no5 much better than the others,If ok with the OP could anyone explain why it is so much better or different
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I suspect it is to do with water and mud looking horrible in the first 4? It could be photoshopped :p :)
 
Thanks but think its a bit more than the mud and water, imo I could get a pic similar to the first 4, only live an hour away, but not no5 maybe time to look at 3 min exposures:)
 
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