"Surrounded" - Story of a Six Year Old Sunset at Layou

This is another installation in my series of articles which give insight and stories about my work. Today we'll be talking about this image, Surrounded.

It's 'throwback Thursday' so it I think it's fitting to revisit one of my older images. Six years ago (April 20, 2014 to be exact), I spent the afternoon on a beach near Layou (a village on Dominica's west coast).

The beach wasn't widely known for bathing so it was pristine and had panoramic views of the Caribbean Sea.

One of the pieces of driftwood I captured that afternoon.

An afternoon well spent

I got to the beach around 4:00 PM, which gave me more than enough time to scout for good locations to shoot. A few large pieces of driftwood caught my eyes though, and I made those the focus of the visit.

Bonus: Get access to my exclusive Insiders' Newsletter to receive free monthly wallpapers straight to your email, just like the photos in this blog post!

The Layou River empties out into the ocean via this beach, and frequently deposited the old tree trunks onto the beach. 

As a 'green' photographer in a new location, there's a potent mix of excitement and fear. Obviously, I'm excited to be doing what I love... but... What if I miss the good light? What if the sunset isn't spectacular? What if...

Over the years I have learned to discard the "what ifs" and instead choose to take my time and enjoy the experience. That's exactly what I did that afternoon, and came away with two images that I've kept as a part of my portfolio.

 

 

 

My favorite of the two is Surrounded because this vibrant sunset was completely unexpected. In fact, I had already begun packing up my gear when I noticed the colors coming in, and decided to spend a few more minutes.

The image featured prominently in my photography book, Majestic and Magical, and in fact, I recently received a customized order for a local customer who wanted a panoramic version of the image (see below).

Thank you for reading and as always, I appreciate your support. Is there any location in Dominica that you would like to see in print? Tell me with a comment below. And use the buttons to share with someone on social media!