Hills way to the lighthouse
- 📍 Location: Pointe du Raz, Plogoff, Brittany, France
- 📅 Date: 2024
The moor comes to an end here in a series of rock steps, each one a little lower than the last, until there is nothing left but the sea and one light standing in it. I framed upright so the descent occupies most of the picture and the horizon is pushed high.
The slope is the composition. Grey rock, low tough vegetation and a few rust-coloured patches run diagonally from the top left down to the point, and the eye follows that slope out to the tower whether it means to or not. There is no other route through the frame.
The light was thin and cool, the sea a pale metallic grey, and I kept it that way. Pointe du Raz is usually shown in gold at sunset; on most days it is exactly this colour, and the austerity suits a place whose entire character is exposure.
There is a great deal of wind here and very little shelter, and the last headland of a continent is a strange place to stand. Photographing it, I mostly wanted to keep the sense that the land does not stop suddenly: it runs out gradually, and someone put a light at the end of it.
Limited-edition fine-art print from the Skywaven Studios collection, available in several sizes, papers and framing options.
