Sunrise at Portizuelo Sea Arch in Northern Spain
Every time while doing photography along the coastline of Northern Spain we are in awe and fascinated by its incredible diversity ranging from towering epic cliffs to tall waterfalls or fabulously shaped sea arches on secluded beaches to tiny colorful tide pools. And we are always amazed how the Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia preserved a certain kind of remoteness and a tranquility that you'll hardly find at any other scenic place in Western Europe! This part of the Bay of Biscayne is not only largely spared by mass tourism, some of the most beautiful coves and beaches are even rarely frequented and unknown by most local people. Especially during low season from October until April/May you are likely to be there all by yourself.
So if you love exploring new places and finding seldom seen compositions, Northern Spain is a perfect destination! But quite a lot of research needs to be done in advance. At most locations you will not have any signs indicating scenic overlooks and the access roads and coastal trails might not be easy to follow either. On many occasions we spent quite a while looking for the right paths and found ourselves climbing steep cliffs with the help of a rope. And although some photogenic spots are pretty easy to get to - such as Playa de Portizuelo - the Atlantic Ocean might be the biggest obstacle in your way. For instance when shooting this sea arch from its back side the water needs to be unusually calm and you have to be well aware of the tides. Many beaches require an extremely low tide to access and can turn into a deadly trap if you can't read the tide tables (for this place the nearby Luarca charts work well).
Our new image of the month was taken this year on Christmas Day. Santa Claus totally forgot to fill the stockings on our fireplace, but I guess we'll forgive him, since he brought us a terrific sunrise instead! ;-)
Image data: 1 s at f/16, ISO 200; Canon EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16 mm, Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Related Links: More images we took along the Coastline in Northern Spain