Photographer's Location Guide: Capturing the Beauty of Wheal Coates and the Cornish Coastline

Cornwall's rugged coastline is a dream for photographers, offering everything from dramatic cliff views to hidden coves and unique historic sites. Among its many treasures, the Wheal Coates Mine near St. Agnes stands out as an exceptional location for landscape photography. As a place where industrial heritage meets coastal beauty, it offers numerous opportunities for stunning shots throughout the day. In this guide, I'll take you through my recent photography session at this iconic spot, sharing tips on when to visit, composing your shots, and the gear you'll need to capture its raw beauty.

The Location: Wheal Coates Towanroath Mine

Wheal Coates is a former tin mine perched above the striking North Cornish coast. The mine's most iconic feature is the tall, picturesque mine stack that stands proudly against the vast expanse of the sea. The structure, with its weathered bricks and industrial charm, contrasts beautifully with its vibrant natural landscape. The views of the surrounding coastline, with rugged cliffs, wildflowers, and an endless horizon, create a perfect setting for landscape photographers looking to capture both nature and history.

The Best Time to Visit

For photographers, timing is everything. The best time to capture Wheal Coates in full glory is during the golden hour, just before sunrise or sunset. This is when the soft, warm light creates dramatic contrasts, highlighting the landscape's textures and the weathered details of the mine stack. If you aim for more atmospheric shots, visiting during blue hour (just after sunset) can give you deeper blues in the sky and smoother water, especially when using long exposures.

While wildflowers like Heather can be a bonus, their bloom varies throughout the seasons. In the summer, around late spring to early autumn, you'll likely encounter Heather in bloom, which can make a stunning foreground subject. However, some wildflowers may not always be in full bloom, so timing your visit when the flowers are at their peak will add vibrance and colour to your shots.

Photographic Composition and Techniques

One of the keys to capturing the essence of Wheal Coates is focusing on foreground and background elements. While the mine stack is a primary subject, the wildflowers, Heather, and the coastline provide a beautiful frame around it.

• Low Angle & Wide Composition: Get as low as possible with your camera to emphasize the wildflowers and Heather in the foreground. A wide-angle lens (between 16mm and 35mm) will help you capture the expansive sky and the details in the foreground. A wide-angle lens will also allow you to include the dramatic cliffs and the sea in your shots, creating depth and perspective.
• Focus Stacking for Sharpness: When shooting at such a low angle, you must ensure both your foreground wildflowers and the distant mine stack are sharp. This is where focus stacking comes in handy. By taking multiple shots at different focus points (e.g., one focusing on the wildflowers and another on the mine stack), you can combine them in post-processing to create an image that's sharp from front to back. Keep your aperture at f10 to ensure you have plenty of depth of field for sharpness throughout the scene.
• Shooting Tight for Details: If you're focusing on the wildflowers, don't be afraid to shoot tight compositions to highlight the textures and colours of the flowers. A macro lens (e.g., 90mm to 105mm) works beautifully for isolating individual flowers and capturing their intricate details. For this, a shallow depth of field (f-stop between f/4 and f/5.6) will help blur the background and make your subject pop.
• Polarizer for Sky Contrast: The Cornish coast can often have bright, hazy skies, which can dull the contrast of the clouds. A polarizing filter can help enhance the clouds, making them stand out against the sky. It will also help saturate the colours of the wildflowers and provide rich, contrasty skies, which are particularly important when shooting at sunrise or sunset.
• Long Exposure for Drama: As the light fades, switch to long exposure photography to capture the movement of the clouds and the smooth, reflective surface of the sea. Using long exposure techniques around blue hour will allow you to capture moody skies, smooth out the ocean, and create a sense of motion in the clouds. A tripod is essential for these longer exposures (up to 30 seconds or more), and a neutral density filter may be useful for reducing the light, especially during twilight.

Best Lens Choices

• Wide-Angle Lens (16mm-35mm): Perfect for capturing the vastness of the coastline and the mine stack in context with the surrounding scenery.
• Standard Zoom Lens (24mm-70mm): Versatile for general landscape shots and when you want to include more of the scene without moving too much.
• Macro Lens (90mm-105mm): Ideal for detailed close-ups of the wildflowers in the foreground, emphasizing their textures and colours.
• Telephoto Lens (70mm-200mm): If you want to isolate parts of the mine or capture distant details along the coastline, a telephoto lens will help compress the scene and bring distant elements closer.

Dealing with Lighting and Conditions

The lighting at Wheal Coates can change rapidly, especially with the unpredictable Cornish weather. Even if the forecast predicts clear skies, clouds can quickly move in, creating opportunities for dramatic, moody shots. Keep an eye on the horizon and be ready to adjust your settings for changing light conditions.

When shooting during sunset, the light can be quite low, so be prepared to increase your ISO (I shot at 3200 ISO in the darker hours) or use slower shutter speeds. If you're shooting in low light and need more time for your exposures, a fast lens (with a wide aperture, such as f/2.8 or f/4) can help gather more light.

After Sunset: Embracing Blue Hour

Although the golden hour may not last long, blue hour—the time just after sunset—is one of the best times for dramatic landscape shots. The sky often deepens into rich blues, and the first stars may even begin to show. Blue hour is a great time for long exposure shots, as the fading light creates a soft, ethereal quality in the sky and the water. The mine stack, still illuminated by the fading light, creates a striking silhouette against the darkening sky, adding a touch of mystery to your images.

The Beauty of Wildflowers in Landscape Photography

Final Thoughts

Wheal Coates uniquely blends coastal beauty, wildflowers, and industrial heritage. Whether you're photographing the towering mine stack against the dramatic skies, focusing on the delicate wildflowers, or capturing the ever-changing light conditions, this location has something for every photographer. The variety of compositions, from wide landscapes to tight details, makes it a rewarding spot for any landscape photographer, whether you're shooting in the soft light of dawn or the moody skies of evening.

By timing your visit right, preparing with the proper gear, and experimenting with different compositions, you can create stunning images that capture the essence of Cornwall's rugged coastline and rich history

 

Meet the Author:

I am a Devon based photographer, who enjoys travel, hiking, rugby and photographing the beautiful world in which we live in, I see photography as a creative expression upon visiting beautiful places. Each picture often tells a story.

Thank you for reading this article, please feel to share it with your friends and please check out all my photography - Wall Art and Framed Prints and our Cornish Seascapes

Thanks

Sebastien Coell Photography