You can’t always get what you want…according to the Rolling Stones, and I think they’re older than everybody else on the planet so they must know what they’re talking about.

A few days ago I took a trip down to a spot between Seamill & Ardrossan to try to take a photo of the remains of an old shipwreck on the beach there at sunset.  I’ve seen plenty of great photos by other people taken there so I wanted to have a go myself.  I didn’t even know exactly where I was going as I’ve been up & down the coast road hundreds of times and never actually noticed it before.  I found the spot easily enough this time.  Amazing what a difference it makes when you’re paying attention to your surroundings!

I parked the car a few hundred metres to the North and walked the short distance down the beach to the wreck.  I was already set up & taking photos when another photographer arrived from the opposite direction.  We had a good chat as we snapped away, but ultimately after the sun had gone down & most of the light had faded I don’t think either of us were overly happy with the shots we’d got.  For me the sunset and the light in the sky was happening too far to the North for it to work harmoniously with the shape of the wreck.  Probably a location that works better in early Spring or late Autumn, and the water level up around the base of the wreck would help too.  Oh well…some other time.

This was the best result I got at the location I set out to shoot.

My companion for the evening turned out to be Ian Robertson, the host of a weekly photography show “In The Picture” on community radio station Camglen Radio.  After we’d finished shooting and packing up our gear we headed off in opposite directions back to our cars.  I was about halfway back to my car when the reflection of the late evening sky in a curving pool of water caught my eye.  I couldn’t resist the urge to unpack again and take a few photos as the light in the water contrasted well with the darkness of the sand forming a wonderful leading line towards the Isle of Arran with the last of the sunset’s afterglow.  I was very pleased with the way the evening turned out after making this photograph.

You can’t always get what you want, 

But if you try sometimes well you just might find,

You get what you need.

After I’d posted the image above on Facebook, Ian contacted me to ask if he could feature my photo on his radio programme.  (Yeah I know…photos on the radio…? - well the pic gets posted on the station’s facebook page for listeners to view as it’s being discussed).

Of course I said yes, and you can hear what Ian and his guest photographer Jamie Simpson had to say about the photo by clicking here.

If you’d like this image to hang on your wall, please go to my Prints For Sale page from the menu or click here.