Sunderland (Point) Whammel.

Sunderland Whammel, originally uploaded by Bay Photographic.

Back to Sunderland (the village rather than the Point, which is a bit of a hike up the beach) to photograph the boats. The sun had been obscured by heavy grey clouds for several days so I did not have particularly high hopes for the day, but as I parked by the sea wall it made an appearance and bathed the scene in a gentle warm glow that was more like late evening than half past ten in the morning.
I heaved my bag and the large Velbon tripod that I use for multiple exposure shots out of the car and set up as quickly as possible, using my 12-24mm zoom and a PL filter.
Even though this was shot into the sun, the combination of the filter and Photomatix has allowed me to bring out the detail in the boat without blowing the highlights.
The relatively short shadow is the only giveaway that this was not shot in the 'Golden Hour', but if I had waited until later in the day I could have been marooned at Sunderland, cut off by the tide that floods the causeway at high water.
And while I might be prepared to make some sacrifices for my art, I draw the line at three things;
Getting up early, walking up mountains and hanging around in a village without a pub for six hours.