Cold wave in the Bay of the Somme
Near Saint-Valery-sur-Somme
In February 2021, a cold spell hit the Baie de Somme region and last more than a week. This is the opportunity to take some pictures! After several days of dreariness the light finally arrives with the good weather. And as happiness never comes alone, the low tide takes place in the middle of the night. Therefore, in the early morning, the bay is empty and the ice has settled a little bit everywhere along the chanels and on the sandbanks. Around Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, the usual landscapes are transformed, and each relief is underlined with white. The meanders of the chanels take on a whole new dimension, and each rib in the sandbanks becomes visible from the sky thanks to the drone. Cape Hornu in particular offers magnificent views with its immense sandbanks, while the sky becomes colored thanks to the sunrise. On the other hand, by -8°C, and with the headwind, the batteries are exhausted very quickly and getting back the drone proves to be perilous... After one or two frights, I nevertheless manage to repatriate it and get back in the car, completely refrigerated!
On Le Crotoy beach
The next day, it is in Le Crotoy, on the other side of the Baie de Somme, that my steps guide me. At dawn, the polders are superb under the glowing red sky.
On the beach of Le Crotoy also the rising sun tints the sky with pink and I take advantage of this moment to make images with the drone. The temptation is strong to send it far away to explore these landscapes dressed in white... This time the drone lands 300 meters away from me in emergency, battery flat because of the cold. Fortunately, I had time to bring it back above the dry land and I could locate its landing point, I get out of it without breaking...
On the beach, the tide deposited a thick layer of ice over a few meters wide ... It is our "ice pack" to us! This time it is with the camera that I capture the scene, while a beautiful golden light floods the landscape. In the tufts of Townsend's Spartine, the piled up blocks of ice offer pretty compositions for the images. A little further on the beach, a few joggers are arrive, but they are not numerous in this cold!
At the Crotoy marsh
I continue my road towards the Crotoy marsh where the ponds are covered with ice. The ducks, coots and swans crowd on the few stretches still in water. The gait of the swans on the ice is cautious, one can see that it is not their element. On the other hand they are not shy to take a nap on the ice... The beautiful morning light highlights them well on the photos...
With the birds in the nature reserve
At the Plages de la Maye, in the Baie de Somme Nature Reserve, I observe in the distance the big bird gatherings! The Tadornes de Belon, emblematic birds of the Baie de Somme, perform their usual aerial ballets despite the cold. To my great surprise, they are accompanied by a multitude of ducks. I would later learn that heavy snowfalls in Scandinavia forced them to retreat to our home, further south, to our great pleasure!
A bit of macrophotography
On the way back, my eye is attracted by the shells and algae caught in the ice. Here, these are rare images, and I take the opportunity to take a few more pictures.
In the end, I get caught up in the game and spend long moments on the ice on my knees, looking for micro landscapes with interesting graphics. During post-processing in front of the computer, it appeared to me that the reliefs and materials of some of these images lent themselves well to black and white. So here is a small series of photographs that are perhaps more abstract art than documentary!
