Emerge

Boxing Day morning found me at Cuckmere Haven, that beautiful stretch of coastline where the Seven Sisters cliffs meet the sea. I'd spotted this weathered breakwater on previous visits—a wooden structure worn smooth by decades of tides and storms. On this December morning, with gentle waves rolling in and soft morning light beginning to fill the sky, it felt like the perfect subject for a long exposure study.

I used a 30-second exposure to capture the motion of the water, transforming the waves into a soft, flowing mist that wraps around the breakwater like silk. The wooden structure emerges from this ethereal water, solid and enduring despite its weathered appearance. What strikes me about this image is the contrast between permanence and impermanence—the breakwater stands firm while the water constantly flows and changes around it.

Cuckmere Haven is one of those special places on the South Downs coast where you feel completely removed from the modern world. The beach stretches out in both directions, the chalk cliffs rise majestically in the background, and structures like this breakwater serve as quiet reminders of the constant relationship between land and sea. It's a photographer's paradise, especially during those soft morning hours when everything feels peaceful and timeless.

When you look at this photograph, I want you to feel that sense of emergence—of something solid and enduring rising from the fluid, ever-changing nature of the sea along the Sussex coastline.