Seascape photography is highly addictive, in my opinion. The water is dynamic, the power unpredictable, and the tides change everything. That last part was front of my mind when I arrived at the location for this week’s photo adventure.

I’m in Waterford this week for one of my group workshops — more specifically, I’m based along the Copper Coast.
The Copper Coast is a UNESCO Global Geopark located between Tramore and Dungarvan in County Waterford. It’s known for its rugged cliffs, sea stacks, coves, and rock formations, shaped over millions of years and constantly reshaped by the Atlantic Ocean.

As usual, I arrived the evening before to assess the conditions and scout the area before my clients arrived at sunrise. When I got there, the clouds had good structure and texture, and I felt quietly optimistic that sunset might deliver.

Now, here’s the thing — to the untrained eye, you’d probably look at this beach and think there’s no real photo opportunity here. And to be fair, you wouldn’t be completely wrong. The tide was out, and without water movement, the sea stacks looked like scattered rocks. But I knew the tide had already turned and was on its way in. That would change everything.

This week’s video is all about how dramatically the incoming tide transforms a seascape — and why being aware of tidal movement is critical. I was confident that by the time the tide reached its peak, I’d already have wrapped up the shoot and be packed away.

The beach I chose was Benvoy Beach, one of my favourites in the area. It features some excellent sea stacks close to the cliffs, and from about three-quarters tide onwards, they start to come to life. At low tide, they’re fairly flat visually, but once the water rises and begins to swirl around them, the whole scene transforms.

Luckily for me — or maybe by good planning — I arrived at just the right time.

I began filming to show how unimpressive the stacks can look at low tide. Then, as the water advanced, it started to lap against the bases of the stacks. Not long after, the water was swirling around them, each moment creating a new photo opportunity. I shot a variety of compositions at this stage. If you're curious to see just how fast it all changed, I’d encourage you to watch the video.

But I wasn’t there just to shoot the stacks generally. I had a specific shot in mind: waves breaking over a one-metre high rock, framed by two sea stacks on either side. I didn’t have to wait long. First, the tide reached the rock, then it started to flow around it, and finally — boom — the first strong wave arrived and spilt over the top. This was the exact moment I was waiting for.

I timed the shot just as the wave hit the rock and used a 0.5-second shutter speed to capture the motion and energy. It worked.

The sky also added to the scene — there were great shapes and textures in the cloud cover, and as the sun dropped toward the horizon on the right of the frame, it began to illuminate the clouds beautifully.

I changed approach briefly, dropping to f/16 to prepare for a potential sunstar. I knew the sun might break through a gap in the clouds, and sure enough, it did. I managed to time a crashing wave with the burst of light and came away with one of the best frames of the evening.

As the sun continued its descent, the tide finally reached my position. I didn’t want to get completely soaked — even with wellies — so I moved back up the beach and looked westward for some final shots, this time using the sea stacks and the waves as backlit subjects.

The shoot was complete, and it was a success. I got the image I came for, scouted the location for the next morning’s group, and clearly demonstrated how important tidal movement is for seascape photography.

You can see the images I captured during this shoot, and you can also watch the video below.