Pardon the pun on the title of Baden-Powell’s classic of 1908, but this is all about the importance of familiarising yourself with a new photographic location. All the more important if it’s somewhere you are unlikely to revisit any time soon.
Of course, one might be lucky (and one often is), but failing to make the most of a long-anticipated trip is disappointing. I have wanted to visit the sea pool at Bude in Cornwall for a couple of years now, and had a good look at maps, tide and sunrise times. The photo visit was planned to coincide with a high morning tide just after sunrise so I could take some long-exposure shots of the water breaking over the sides, and the day before, we’d reconnoitred on foot at low tide. What I failed to take into account (and for which I could kick myself) was that with a big swell and onshore wind, I was unable safely to get very close to the water, and of course, I’d left my telephoto lens at home. So, rather than get the camera soaked with saltwater, or even worse being swept into the sea, I had to make do with a high viewpoint and distant landmarks.
I hope to go back one day…
Bude Sea Pool, Cornwall