In Camera... Winter light, the Last Days of 2017

The last light of 2017 lingers on, reflected in the pool of water surrounding an iron man on Crosby beach. Out to the west leaden grey storm clouds gather over the Welsh hills.

The last days of 2017 were days of sunlight and storm, producing a good variety of lighting effects down on Crosby beach. The image above  (AG786) was taken at what should have been sunset on the last day of the year but the thick storm clouds out to the west obscured the sun. The only light was from a small patch of clear sky above the beach which this pool reflected.

A little earlier the same light had reflected off the sea, a shimmer of silver light in an otherwise grey scene.

A couple of days earlier swathes of snow and sleet had swept across the Wirral peninsula late in the afternoon, falling from a high, heavy cloud mass and producing a veiled grey curtain between the beach and the sunset over the distant hills of North Wales.

Here the setting sun managed to burst through the storm clouds in one glorious burst of yellow light

before the rain and sleet swept in to obliterate the light.