Squaw Bay

Today's picture is taken in the shadow of Mount McKay looking out across Squaw Bay towards Pie Island. Beyond the island is the border with the USA.

This land is part of the Fort William First Nation Reservation.

As you can see it was overcast on this particular day and there were a few spots of rain. The clouds were really low and the tops of the hills were enveloped in mist. I used a slow shutter speed to soften the motion in the water and I chose to take this shot in black and white because I felt it would add a little more atmosphere. I really like this picture and hope you do too.

On The Quayside

The first of today's pictures is a view of Runswick Bay, I took this shot because I liked the way the village is reflected in the wet sand in the foreground. I had originally intended to get down onto the beach a little further along the coast at Kettleness. I was looking for a path down the cliffs and was told by a local fisherman that the path was very poor and quite dangerous in places and that the final 100 feet was via a rope. I did not fancy that loaded up with my camera gear so I was directed to Runswick Bay which fortunately has easy access to the beach and the shoreline beneath the cliffs.

Further north from this spot is Staithes a quaint little fishing village and location for (Captain) James Cook's first job in a merchants office. In the summer season the place is a hive of activity with lots of tourists but on a cold February day it was anything but. Most of the shops were closed and the few people brave enough to face the steep streets down to the harbour and then the arduous climb back up didn't stay very long.

The second shot is of a few of the small fishing boats at anchor in the small harbour taking shelter from the incoming tide and heavy seas. All of the boats were very colourful but look quite sad.

The last two shots are by far my favourite. I think they are really evocative and full of character. The lobster pots were, like the boats, quite colourful with brightly coloured tags and floats but having taken both colour and black and white shots I think the black and white are the stronger images.

While taking these pictures I spotted a local lobsterman, checking on his pots and making sure everything was in order. He took some time to answer my questions too which was really nice.  He explained that these pots/traps are for both lobsters and crabs depending on the time of year and that they set them up to three miles offshore and would go out everyday in order to make a living. He was frustrated because the weather and sea conditions had not allowed him to get out to sea and so he was not making any money for that day.

Pebbles

A couple more shots from the beach at Runswick Bay. They're just simple images of pebbles and sea coal glistening in the morning sun, and footprints in the sand. As you can see in the second image the sand is mixed with fine grains of coal

On The Beach

This beautiful beach was at the halfway point on my evening walk. It is called White Rock Beach and it looks out onto the Duddon Channel and beyond to the Irish Sea.

It was deserted and such a peaceful spot to enjoy the evening.  The tide was on its way out and in the shallows close to the beach there were fish rising and actually leaping out of the water.  They were huge and I think they were Salmon.

I like the way the colours of the sky are reflected in the sand in the first picture and I like to colours and patterns in the clouds in the third image.

My favourite picture though is the final one, looking up the beach with the footprints leading down towards the sea.

By the Solent

Today's selection were taken from the beach at Milford on Sea, the first two are looking across the Solent towards the Isle of Wight, more specifically the Needles rocks and lighthouse.  As you can see it was a little overcast, a storm front was moving across the channel and so the beach was deserted but it was really refreshing crunching across the stones.

The beach huts were as you can see really colourful and I can imagine that on a sunny day they would all be open and in use.

I like the final picture because of the different colours and the contours of the beach.  We enjoyed collecting pebbles from the beach to add to our collection of stony mementos...

Messing about in boats

Today I have a few more pictures from Anglesey, these were taken at Red Wharf Bay which as you can see is a peaceful setting in a sheltered bay. On Saturday afternoon there were several people busy at work readying their boats for sea.  They caught my eye and I thought they were good subjects for my blog .

The third picture is a little abstract, the sea was really very calm but a couple of people came into the bay on jet skis, clearly having a blast and kicking up quite a swell. I have tried to capture the motion of the waves, let me know in the comments below if you think it works for you...

Coast and City

After Monaco we moved on to Juan les Pins and today's pictures show a few of the boats at the marina and then some views of Grasse a small town to the north which is famous for perfume.

The narrow streets in the old town are characteristic of towns in Provence which appear to cling to the hillsides. It was fun exploring these back streets and getting a sense of the old town, especially given how great the weather was.

Enjoy these pictures and come back for more road trip pictures over the next few days...

Erosion

More photos from Hilbre Island, today the theme is erosion and the pictures speak for themselves. Let me know which you like best...