Needles

 Here are two views of the Needles seen from Hurst Castle.

I have some happy memories of the Isle of Wight, as a child I had an aunt who had a gift shop on the island and we would often have day trips to visit her. I remember the ferry to Ryde then walking along the pier and then bus rides across the island. Sadly I haven't been back to the island since I was small and I imagine that it is a very different place 50 years on.

I have always been fascinated by the Needles rocks and lighthouse, because you can see how the power of the sea, its tides and currents, have eroded the chalk cliffs and shaped the landscape.

From the top of Hurst Castle you can see the powerful currents at work through the solent.

Although they are similar views I have given them slightly different treatments. In the first I think the boat in the foreground adds interest and gives a sense of scale. I have adjusted the exposure slightly to enhance the colours in the sky but apart from that all I have done is crop the image to give it a better balance. In the second image I have cropped it and applied the auto white balance setting which gives an overall warmer tone. 

If you look closely you can see three small vessels near the lighthouse which do give a sense of scale but you do have to look really closely.

Down to the Horizon

So I know that all of the above pictures are very similar but I wanted to show the sequence of the sun going down over the Irish Sea. I was sat on a rock on the beach at Gyrn Goch just watching as the golden orb of the sun slowly set and disappeared from view.

I love the colour in the sky and the patterns of the clouds.

If you look really closely you will just make out the very last glimpse of the sun in the final picture in the series. It is just below the "C" of Chipster63.

These are the last of my pictures from that evening on the beach, tomorrow and over the coming few days I will be posting pictures from the next morning in Caernafon and Anglesey so come back for those...