Care Free

 I had gone out for a few hours at the weekend with the intention to get some shots for a photo quiz I am doing but I got a little distracted at New Brighton because of the stormy sea and the lighthouse. I was also watching some of the massive ships coming into the Mersey from Liverpool Bay (more of that in my next post I think).

I think this lighthouse looks cool whether the tide is in or out but with the waves and the rope blowing out from the balcony you can see how it needs to stand up to the elements.

This is one of my favourite shots from the day because as I was lining everything up the little girl ran across. I pressed the shutter not knowing for sure whether I had timed it right but I think it is spot on. I love the way she is skipping just along the edge of the water, totally care free

Storm The Beach

This is a lovely stretch of beach on the North Wales coast near to Porthmadog. In the summer months it is a very popular spot for picnics, sand yachting and other water sports but in the winter it is much quieter as you can see from the pictures above. 

Although the sun was out and the sky was blue out to the horizon it was actually bitterly cold, with the wind chill it was around -11 degrees and the wind blew a snow storm from Snowdonia making this a really bracing walk. It was great.

I have lots of memories of visits to this beach where all of my kids have practiced driving at one time or another. I can also remember  along with a group of friends being asked to leave by the police after we were reported for racing. Happy days!

More Than A Pile Of Rocks

The last of my stacking photos, two different views of one and a third which is a combined stack and balance.

I recently read an article complaining about stone stacking and arguing that photographers should leave no trace and while I agree that in some locations it may have got out of hand and in sensitive locations it may be irresponsible and damaging to the ecology however on a rocky beach I don't see that it does any harm and they won't stand for long before returning to the natural chaos of the beach.

I really like the form of the first stack, it has a birdlike quality and it looks good looking right or left.

The final stack/balance was the most challenging even though it is not very tall, the challenge being to get the two uprights to remain upright and balance the top two stones. It was a relief to have it remain standing.

Making A Splash in Middlebrun Bay

Capturing these images wasn't easy and required the help of two willing volunteers (who shall remain nameless but they know who they are) who gathered the rocks and threw them as best as possible to the predetermined spot. Judging distance was not easy and more often than not either they, or I missed the target but when we managed to get it right I think the result was pretty good.

I think the first of these shots is a little blurred, suggesting a fast shutter speed was required but even so I like the overall composition with the splash and the reflection in the smooth surface water.

I like the second image which is more abstract and was taken from immediately above the splash zone. I like the way the water droplets are rising towards the lens and the small ripples as the droplets fall back to the lake surface.