I witnessed the most amazing sunset through a little window on our landing overlooking Kingholm Quay. Intense reds and oranges lit up the distant skies over the river Nith – and here I was, at home – letting this amazing winter sunset photography opportunity slip through my fingers.

For the few past days I had been staring at the heavy rainfall and listening to strong winds battering our rubbish bin against the wall. Cuddling up with a cup of tea and my cosiest blanket I listened to the extreme weather reports about the Whitesands flooding, home across Dumfries and Galloway evacuated and the suspension of hundreds of train services as storm Desmond raged over the region. John who went to visit his parents in Newcastle that weekend was stranded as the Carlisle devastating flood affected the railway.

Storm Desmond was quickly followed by storm Eve, then storm Frank that brought even more floods and damage. But right after the first storm there were some dry afternoons followed by a few glorious sunsets. So after missing the first sun set I made sure my batteries were freshly charged and walked down to the harbour the next day.

The tricky thing about winter sunset photography is that you only have about half an hour of beautiful light before the dusk sets in, so you must check the sunset times and arrive well in advance. I’ve also learned to be patient and linger a bit longer after the sun drops below the horizon to photograph some enchanting afterlight effects.

It was just the start of the golden hour and the tall ship La Malouine docked at Kingholm Quay bathed in warm sunlight. A few large puddles were left behind after storm Desmond and I snapped the rig of the ship reflected in the water. I watched a flock of birds in the clouds and the sun fading into lilac shadows over the river.

Life was good (or the photo therapy worked!).

Tall ship La Malouine bathed in winter sunset light at Kingholm Quay
Tall ship La Malouine bathed in winter sunset light at Kingholm Quay
La Malouine's rig reflected in the puddle left by storm Desmond
La Malouine’s rig reflected in the puddle left by storm Desmond
Intense colours of winter sunset photography - sunset over the river Nith
Intense colours of winter sunset photography – sunset over the river Nith
A flock of birds in the sunset clouds
A flock of birds in the clouds
Lilac dusk afterlight at Kingholm Quay Dumfries
Lingering for lilac dusk afterlight

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