In August I visited the beautiful Channel Islands for the very first time. We stayed in Guernsey, and took a ferry ride across to Herm Island for a day. It was a magical experience – I came away lighter, unburdened yet bewitched and determined to return and explore further. I spent hours and hours just standing next to the ocean, hypnotised. I listened to the waves crash, the sea roar, I watched sea birds fly and feed, I watched tides rise and fall, I studied rock pools and rock formations, scrambled and climbed and came close to getting cut off at one point! I spent much of my time there taking images of the ocean and surrounding landscape – 3,000 images to be precise.
I would like to visit the Channel Islands again in 2016, during the Puffin breeding season.
Here are a few of the images taken. I primarily focused on the thing that completely captured and held my attention – the ocean. I was trying to experiment a bit with fast and slow shutter speeds, but without the aid of an ND filter at that time (now rectified). I learnt quite a bit, made many mistakes, but still somehow felt utterly fulfilled and satisfied by the experience. These are all edited to some degree. I was not shooting in RAW at the time so there is some grain and reduction in quality here and there. I now shoot in RAW (which is an experience in itself). Hopefully, these images convey the magic I saw and felt of the ocean.
Clare Lusher Photography 