Stormy New Brighton

Yesterday was a good day. For the past few years I’ve missed the really big winter storms here due to having the sniffles. So I’m glad that nature was bored and decided to give us one in the middle of summer. I went down to New Brighton knowing it would be good and I had a list of shots to get. This was one of them. Now most people would probably use a tele-photo lens at maybe 200mm and stand clear of the waves. Where’s the fun in that? 10mm, right in there.

I re-watched ‘War Photographer’ the other week with James Natchway. The one key important lesson I took away from it was to just go for it. You’ve got to be in the action to photograph it. Now I know this, and have done for a while. But as they say in the Matrix, “Theres knowing the path and walking the path.” There are times, when doing street photography, that I feel too self-conscious and I walk away. I don’t get the shot. This time though I got wet, my camera got wet but most importantly I got the shot. It wouldn’t look the same at 200mm from the safety of my car either. I spent over 2 hours down there and got completely battered by the wind, sea, random foam and sand. My god though, the weather was awesome. Oh and there are 4 kids in this photo, not that you can see them for the water.

Stormy New Brighton | Posted at 7am on 23/06/08 | Filed Under: Black-and-White, Canon-30D, Faves, Street, Wirral |


  1. Bernhard 23.06.08 / 8am

    Real great capture… perfect shot. I love this picture.

    Greetings from Austria
    Bernhard

  2. onewayphotoblog / Mark 23.06.08 / 8am

    Superb action shot… caught at exactly the right moment

  3. Northshore 23.06.08 / 8am

    Thought it was you wandering around - I’d recognise that hat anywhere! Awesome shot

  4. The Northshore » The tide is high 23.06.08 / 10am

    [...] shots as they come over the sea wall. If you really want to see how cool it was - take a look at Pete Carr’s shot 23. June 2008, 08:50 Tagged with: New Brighton, Sea, Storm, Waves, Wirral The [...]

  5. FRANK 23.06.08 / 3pm

    Thanks for your advise :-)

  6. Ben 23.06.08 / 7pm

    Best post on Vanilla Days?. I think so. Jolly good show :).

  7. Stephen Phillips 23.06.08 / 7pm

    Thank you for a memorable and thrilling image. I, too, am a storm and surf chaser and love this stuff. I can’t imagine a better capture than this one. Splendid.

  8. Mark 23.06.08 / 11pm

    Absolutely perfect; a true ‘decisive moment’, and I think the best shot you’ve posted on here. The quote that sums up the ‘get in there’ approach for me is from Oliver Stone’s “Salvador” - “You’ve got to get close to get the truth”.

  9. Pete 23.06.08 / 11pm

    Thanks everyone :)

  10. Ryan R. 24.06.08 / 3am

    You’re right - the 10mm really does the trick! I love the contrast, yet great dynamic range. Great action too!

  11. Claus 24.06.08 / 9am

    Now this looks fun!! Great shot!

  12. David H-W 24.06.08 / 5pm

    Absolutely stunning shot! Well worth the soaking! As you say, really comes alive as you were right in the action.

  13. Graham G 25.06.08 / 11pm

    Would it be wrong of me to say that I think this is the best shot of yours that I’ve seen in a long time?

    So well constructed, so well captured and so well, just bloody good and powerful.

    Did any of the local papers take it? It’s surely a front page image.

  14. Enrique Vidal Vijande 07.07.08 / 12pm

    Great image, has lots of movement and feeling to it. Being in close to the action definitely makes a difference. The BW works great.

  15. Fotografia slubna 05.08.08 / 8am

    This is an awesome shot! So nice!

  16. Vanilla Days : Looking down Bold St 19.08.08 / 4pm

    [...] out and looking down Bold Street on a random Thursday afternoon. In other news the photo of the kids being attacked by a giant wave at New Brighton has been chosen by the Tate to be in a new book of theirs. 100 street or studio photos from Flickr. [...]

  17. Sara 03.10.08 / 6am

    What a great moment to capture! Amazing timing, and black and white is perfect.

  18. elaine 06.10.08 / 10pm

    do u know how brilliant this shot is? Bravo!!!

  19. Adam Patterson 15.10.08 / 4pm

    Stunning. Great detail in the wave, the expression on the kid in the front is also great.

  20. h.c. 13.01.09 / 2pm

    wonderful picture !!!!!!!!!

  21. Claus 27.05.09 / 9pm

    Fun for some, and a very surprising experience for others ;-)

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