Misty Morning Over Atlantic Wharf

Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago, we’d slept in. It hadn’t been a crazy wild Saturday night. I’d stayed up later than anticipated after Match Of The Day, tweaking and trying to understand the system for my new website. (This new website, here. Take a look around).

It was hard to get a sense of the midmorning weather through the bedroom blinds, but opening the living room curtains I was surprised to be greeted by that most ethereal and mysterious of weather types: thick mist. It creates an atmosphere like no other weather: something sinister, dangerous, unknowable, deceptive, artistic, pretentious. It evokes Sherlock Holmes type mystery. I love it for all of this and couldn’t resist taking a quick stroll up to Atlantic Wharf, camera in hand.

I’ve photoblogged fairly extensively about this unique space of Cardiff, and still take regular circuits, testing techniques and new pieces of equipment. The coots and mallards and swans are common subjects. It’s filthy dirty with miscellaneous litter, weed-smoking fishermen and bored kids, but having lived here five years I’m strangely attached to it. It was disappointing to learn recently that our local pub The Wharf – which sits on the waterside and is the only pub for a surprising distance, has been put up for sale by owner SA Brains.

I digress.

What surprised most about the mist was that it had stayed around so long, lain as lazily as I had in my Sunday morning pit. By now it was around 10.30am, yet still it appeared to stubbornly lie, as immovable as my girlfriend.

A thin layer of ice could be seen across the surface of the water.

But over the course of my stroll, the mist and haze was burned away by a slow rising, late winter sun. Adding to the effect were the plumes of factory smoke, commingling and confusing itself amongst the mist. It was undeniably magical. I love trying to evoke moody atmosphere where possible, but this mist did it all for me.

Still though, you couldn’t see that far ahead, and certainly not across the Wharf, giving a gorgeous sense of infinity, stillness and oblivion.  This spot of Cardiff is a favourite for runners, a mid-point between the city centre and Cardiff Bay. I was grateful to this gent for passing by when he did, giving me various senses of perspective and scale.

And this woman – note the apparently unfazed pigeon a couple of strides ahead.

I lingered around as the mist rose from the water, before heading back to base, more excited about these images than I’d been about any set of images for a long while. As a photographer in Cardiff you always try to serve and please others, and often hang on their thoughts. It can be immensely subjective. There’s little greater thrill than capturing images which on a really basic level, simply please you.

Thanks to cult Cardiff brand ‘iLovesthediff’ for giving my work significantly extended reach last week. It was great to see the shots appreciated by others.

Eerie Cardiff… We loves this. RT @MHphotos_: Even the pub looked serene and magical. @TheWharfCardiff pic.twitter.com/8DRIz1vJRf

— I Loves The ‘Diff (@ILovesTheDiff) February 19, 2015