The Wild Coast is just that - a remote, unspoilt and undeveloped strip of the South African east coast.
A favourite destination of ours is Coffee Bay, some four and a half hour's drive from our hometown Underberg.
Besides enjoying clear water and pristine beaches, one of our regular activities is beachcombing - particularly at low tide when the chances of finding "something special" are usually good!
On our last trip a few weeks ago that "something special" turned out to be a dead sea bird. It was early evening and the light was soft and fading. The pinhole gods had smiled upon me and I lost no time in setting up.
The camera was placed about 30cm from the bird and the shutter opened. My initial calculation was 15 minutes but, as the light rapidly faded, I kept adjusting the exposure and finally ended up at 35 minutes.
The resulting image is all that I could have hoped for, and stirred many emotions - poignancy, sadness. the continuous circle of life and death and the relentless and restless moods of the sea!
6x6 Pinhole camera with 38mm f/l.
Fuji Acros rated at 160 ISO.
35 Minute exposure.
Developed in Caffenol for 55 minutes.
Regards,
Lawrie.
