In January 2023, I joined a workshop on the northern Spanish coast. The beaches along the north coast of Spain, from Galicia in the west to the Basque country in the east, are an amazing area to photograph seascape, and in particularly sea stacks of all sizes and shapes.
Although these beaches can be quite crowded in the summer, going there in January meant that access was somewhat more difficult due to the erosion the beaches suffer in winter, but we also had the beaches almost entirely to ourselves.
Access to the beaches along this coast is generally difficult, with a large number of stairs to go down to the beach (and up when returning to the car) in some of them and quite steep paths in some others, as is the case in Ballota. This is another reason winter is the perfect season to visit, as you can drive as far as possible instead of leaving the car very far from the beach.
Of course, the risk of going in winter is that the weather can be pretty bad. Not this time, though. We had excellent weather—not too cold and dry enough to spend many hours on the beaches with no rain. And, as the clouds were ever-present, we had beautiful skies and great light on many occasions.
Using a relatively long exposure, with ND filters when necessary, allowed me to get a feeling of calm that I think reflects very well the emptiness of the area and taking this photo shortly after sunrise was perfect to get a good contrast between the sunlit sea stack and the rocks on the beach, still in the shade, but with beautiful textures.
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Dimitri Vasileiou • Editor