West Pier

A Brighton favourite, and one of the south’s most photographed landmarks. Living in Brighton, and just a short walk from the sea, the opportunity to wander down and photograph this icon is often hard to pass up.

West Pier

A sunset in February 2015, during a particularly low tide.

West Pier

Twilight Pier

A windy twilight down by the West Pier in February 2018.

Twilight Pier

Classic shot

To get the classic shot, it’s best to position yourself between the last of the remaining supports, with the tide just about touching your toes. If the tide goes out beyond that you’ll start to get some ugly low-lying wreckage in your shot, too high and you’ll need to include the supports – and you’ll notice they don’t quite line up with the centre of the pier.

Dreamy Pier

A sea calm enough to capture a rare reflection.

Dreamy Pier

Eerie Pier

A long exposure at dawn on Halloween. The skies were a beautiful pink, and my 3-stop Hitech filter, which has a slight purple cast, amplified the effect.

Eerie Pier

West Pier

A tighter crop of the pier, on a cold winter’s morning.

West Pier

When the tide is higher, a popular alternative is to include the concrete groin to the pier’s left.

Hot and Cold

I like the cyan-orange juxtaposition in this shot. Soon after the sunset the heaven’s opened and the beach emptied.

Hot and Cold

Seagulls

On an early morning photography trip to the beach with my wife Samantha, we focused on the seagulls and their behaviour during low tide. They were diving in to the shallow sea to pluck out the starfish. This led to an alternative take on the classic landmark.

Rusty pier

A rusty close-up of the decaying frame and its latest seagull inhabitants.

Rusty pier

Starlings

From November through March, and peaking in March, Brighton’s roosting starlings flock around Palace Pier (or Brighton Pier, if you prefer). From this vantage, in the evening, you can set their murmurations against the west pier.

Purple Murmuration

A starling murmuration with the West Pier visible behind.

Purple Murmuration