Winter Woodland

I was going to post some pictures of spiders and bugs for Halloween but then I recalled a winter walk and taking a video of one of my boys as a zombie and so just for fun I have posted a link to the video (which I hope you watch, it works best with the sound turned up) and I have posted some pictures to create the right atmosphere.

Happy Halloween!!!

Sundown at the beach

The late afternoon sun on the beach was perfect for these atmospheric shots looking towards the North Wales coast in the far distance.  I love living so close to the sea and I am happy to share these lovely images to show what a beautiful place I live in.

Wonderful Wirral.

Barnacled Break Water

As promised here are a few more shots of the sea defences which I started with yesterday.

I like all of these pictures but I think the third and fourth shots are my favourite.

I really like the shapes, colours and textures and the variations in light and shade.

Do you have a favourite image from this selection?  If so what do you like about it?  Do you think the pictures work better in colour or black and white?

Coastal Defences

Here are four views of the sea defences near Derby Pool. These incredible barnacle encrusted concrete structures are a really interesting feature, breaking up the shore line at low tide and breaking up the waves when the tide comes in.

Although three of the pictures offer a similar view the different lighting and slightly different viewpoint show off this magnificent structure.  Tomorrow I will post a few more shots of the break water which will add a new perspective so do come back tomorrow.

Seaweed and Sand

As well as spending some time watching and photographing the kite surfers on Saturday I also took a number of nice shots on the beach.

Today's post then is a selection of random images from the day, a couple of landscape images of the lifeguard station with dramatic skies and a distant view of North Wales.

The second image is all about colour and texture and I really like it.

The third picture is a bit of fun and represents a day at the beach really well.  This little dog was having such fun running around with his ball.  However when he realised that I was taking pictures of him he dropped the ball and ran over to bark at me, ignoring the pleas of his owner until I spoke to him saying he should fetch the ball, then he ran off. I am not that keen on dogs but this little fella made me smile.

Let's Go Kite Surfing...

Here's a few more kite surfing shots from Saturday, looking back at all of the pictures I got I know that I need to use a faster shutter speed next time.  These were taken using aperture priority and in AI Servo mode.  Next time I will use shutter priority with a much quicker shutter speed so hopefully will get much crisper images.

As well as the kite surfing I did take some landscape shots and some other candid pictures on the beach so over the next few days I will share some of them, so do come back and take a peek...

Making a Splash

Here is another selection of shots of the kite surfers at Derby Pool from yesterday showing some of the skill and drama of this exciting sport. I will post more tomorrow so make sure you come back to check them out...

Kite Surfing is Awesome

The watery theme continues although when I started out today I had no idea what I would be posting. The weather this morning was dreadful and I didn't think I would get a chance to get any new pictures at all.  After lunch though things started looking up and I set out with my camera and as I was driving along near New Brighton I caught a glimpse of these kite surfers on Derby Pool. The wind was pretty strong and these guys were getting some high speeds and literally flying at times, it was really impressive and I will be keeping my eyes open for more opportunities like this. 

I have never tried taking shots like these before  but I think I have managed to get a few decent pictures and I will share a few more over the next few days along with some of the other shots from my afternoon on the beach. 

Watery Fowls

The theme for my posts recently has been watery to say the least with boats and ripples and reflections and today it continues with a couple of water birds and a reference to a famous comedy show from the 1970's, if you spot the reference leave a comment...

The first picture is a Redshank, captured down on the Dee Estuary.

If you saw my blog yesterday you might recognise the second picture as the big reveal of the mystery reflection.  Yes it's a Mallard Drake its not the sharpest picture but when I took it I was more interested in the motion and reflection.

Reflections and Ripples Too

I really love the colours in these pictures particularly the final shot of the autumn leaves reflected in the canal.  

The second picture is a mystery, well not for me I guess since I took it.  Can you tell what it is?  If you can leave a comment below...

Reflections and Ripples

The two previous posts have quite unintentionally referenced old TV programs.  Today however there's no such memory attached, other than a return to a theme of reflections and the abstract patterns in water which seems to draw me back time and again.

Tales of the Riverbank

Many years ago I used to watch a program on TV called Tales of the Riverbank, the stars of the show being Hammy the hamster, Roderick Rat and GP the Guinea Pig and each episode told some story of the "adventures" of these three animal friends, narrated by Johnny Morris an icon of 1960's and '70's children's TV.

For some reason bull rushes as in the pictures above always make me think of that program and they also make nice subjects for a photo.

Looking for Rosie & Jim

There are so many reasons why I enjoyed my walk by the canal, for one I find it really tranquil and I can picture myself relaxing as I cruise along the waterways. I like the boats they're so colourful (but they also look good in the black and white pictures too) and they remind me of a children's TV program called Rosie and Jim that I used to watch with my daughter many years ago.

The people here at the marina on their boats were also very friendly, even the manager who initially was going to tell me to get off the car park but when he realised I was there to take photos he was very encouraging and chatty.

Walking along the canal I saw what seemed like an abandoned boat, it was definitely a fixer upper and I considered how cool it would be to restore it and use it as weekend get away.

Anyway I really like these pictures and I hope you do too.

P.S. I probably wont be posting anything tomorrow but I will definitely be back with some more pictures on Sunday so do come back!