I saw a dolphin!

I’ve spotted a few amazing things on my yearly trips – otters and red squirrels to name two, but this was my first dolphin.

After the chaos of my journey from the previous day, Amble pier should have been an easy sunrise location. Not too far from the hotel, parking was easy and the pier was just a short walk around the harbour. As I approached the lighthouse, I spotted an elderly gentleman with his little dog and we got chatting. He was a lovely man. 79 years old and after driving buses around London for twenty years, he had moved up to Northumberland for the peace and quiet. I got the impression he was sometimes confused by strangers. At one point he thought I was a photographer he had spoken to recently, returning to the pier with a tripod. Then, he thought he knew me from Facebook. I really wished that I had more time because I would have taken his details and sent him a friend request once I got home.

Sadly, there were only a few minutes left before the sun rose and I had to get into position and set up my gear. I carried on talking as I climbed through the barriers and my new friend was kind enough to pass my tripod over the top. After that, I had to concentrate on settings for a long exposure and my companion was last spotted striking up a conversation with an early morning jogger. The image I took is featured above using a 6-stop filter and an exposure of 25 seconds. Below is one taken fifteen minutes later after the sun rose.

Clambering back through the barrier, I moved just a few feet to set up facing the lighthouse and it was there that I caught a glimpse of the dolphin.