On my first evening on Ouvéa this week I took my photo equipment and went to the beach to take pictures of the sunset. Well, not the sunset as such, but rather the lagoon and the beach after the sun had gone. I thought it looked rather beautiful.
However, the more interesting stuff was yet to come. You see, right behind the narrow beach there is an equally narrow strip of bushes and trees, with a road (the main route of Ouvéa, actually) running parallel to it. And in this particular spot there is a gas station (formerly TOTAL) and a grocery store. Both establishments had closed at 7pm, but the lights were still on and some staff were still there doing some work.
The more the sunlight vanished, the brighter the artificial lighting from the station and the shop appeared to be. Add to that the lights of a passing car every now and then. I don’t know if it’s (too) far-fetched, but somehow this whole scenery reminded me of an Edward Hopper painting.
Had you asked me beforehand if I wanted to photograph artificially (and unintentionally) illuminated palm trees, my answer would have been no for sure. But I just had no idea!
I’m just glad I stayed. By the way, it is evident on the images that it was also rather windy that evening. So it was good I had my sturdy tripod (bloody heavy!).
Then finally, when it had turned really dark, I went back to the beach to get a better view of the night sky. I’m not sure, though, if the stars will come out the way they should…
So that was day 1 for me on the island of Ouvéa. Not the worst possible start!
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