Light The Way

 

In the first of today's images you can see the lighthouse which stands at the end of Stanley Road in Hoylake, it overlooks Liverpool Bay, the Dee Estuary and the Royal Liverpool Golf Course. It is not an active lighthouse but is a replica of one of the four lighthouses that were built along the Wirral coastline to guide shipping into Liverpool (two were in Hoylake and two in Leasowe) none of which are  now active.

There is a small slipway onto the beach near Red Rocks which on a summer day (or any day for that matter) is a nice spot for a walk or to relax and enjoy the scenery. It is also a good spot on a clear night to observe, or even photograph the night sky, looking west out into the Irish Sea or south along the Dee estuary (although that direction does suffer with light pollution from the towns along the river's edge) there are so many stars to be seen..

The second image shows Hilbre Island, there is a small,  functioning lighthouse on the island but it is a simple white tower with a red LED beacon that can be seen up to 5 miles away.

The island has an interesting history and as a nature reserve it is designated a  Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Cut off by the high tide it is possible to walk across to the island when the tide goes out, to explore rock pools, observe the flocks of wading birds and watch the grey seals that live on a nearby sand bank and swim around the island. 

The island has been occupied on and off since the stone age, it has been a site of pilgrimage with a monastic cell established there between 1080 and 1550. The monks were responsible for maintaining a beacon for shipping and on the island in the late 1600's rock salt was produced on the island.

The two images were taken on the same day. The shot of Hilbre island was taken first and then a short while later as the weather conditions improved the second shot of the lighthouse and the reflections on the beach things appear so much brighter because of the low winter sun.

Gold Crest

 A few weeks ago I saw a pair of Goldcrests while I was out for a walk, I managed to get a few photos on my phone's camera because they had flown onto a bush right next to me and stayed around for a little while. I wanted to go back and capture some more images using my DSLR so I went back to the same spot and waited.

Although it was a sunny day the light in the woodland was not that great and also the large number of dog walkers on my chosen day meant there was a lot more traffic than on my previous visit. The birds did appear after a short while but they were more skittish and wary than the last time so I was pushing my equipment to get these shots. They were all taken at 560mm F8.0 1/1000 sec and 10,000 ISO. Due to the high ISO there is a lot of noise in the RAW images so I have removed some of that in lightroom resulting in some loss of detail. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to see these beautiful birds again and I am fairly pleased with the above images. I am sure to go back again in the hope of getting some more, and better, shots of these stunning little beauties.

Gateway

This gate was at the end of the path leading into the village of Beddgelert. I love the sculptured wood, the elongated shadow and the sun glowing through the tree. Although it was a very cold day there is a warmth to this image with the soft light.

I wanted to see how the image worked in black and white and I think it works really well, possibly even better than the colour version... 

What do you think?

Sunrise over Ullswater

I think yesterday's image was pretty special but I think today's morning view is even better.

At the far end of the lake there is a light covering of mist and on the side of the fells you can see frost and ice.

I love how calm and still the water is, almost glass like and reflecting the sun perfectly. I call this a sunrise but actually it was almost 11a.m. but the winter sun remains low in the sky throughout the day.

A few minutes before I took this shot I met a couple who were also enjoying the lake, the woman went in for a swim but the water was too cold for her to stay in more than a few minutes. I asked her partner if she was doing it as a punishment or if she had lost a bet. He replied that actually it is good for you, leaving me to wonder if it is so good for you why didn't he join her.  Of course I know why he didn't, it was too flipping cold.

In The Cold Light of Morning

It certainly was cold on this particular morning but with the light glowing through the trees it gives this scene a warm quality that draws you in and makes you forget about the cold.

I love combination of the rich green and velvety moss, the warm brown tones of the ferns and the milky sunlight. I also love the twisted forms of the trees and fallen branches.

Winter Glow

I always enjoy a woodland walk. An early start on a cold and frosty morning with the winter sun glowing through the trees are just some of the ingredients for a perfect day out.

I think these two images really capture the atmosphere of calm that I enjoyed on Saturday. I had been looking forward to getting out with my camera for a few weeks but work commitments and lousy weekend weather had put paid to any hopes I had so when the forecast showed perfect conditions on Saturday I had to go... I think these and the other shots I captured on that day were ample reward for the early start and extreme cold.

On The Grand Canal

This is an iconic view from Venice. Early evening with the winter sun setting off to the left and a lone Gondolier plying his trade along the Grand Canal.

In February Venice is not as busy as during the summer months and on previous visits I have seen this stretch of the canal literally heaving with Gondolas weaving between the Vaporetto, pleasure boats and traders. 

Sunburst

This is the last of the pictures I will be sharing from my recent trip to North Wales when I visited the Syngun Copper Mine near Beddgelert and then the beach at Black Rock Sands near Porthmadog. I really didn't think I would get so many usable images from that day because the conditions were so mixed but I have been pleasantly surprised. 

As you can see it was a beautiful day although if you have followed my posts over the last two weeks you will be aware that it was actually bitterly cold and although the sun was high in the sky behind me a snow storm was blowing in.

I took this shot in landscape mode and again as here in portrait mode and while you might expect a beach scene to look better as a landscape image I think that with the position of the sun it looks much better in portrait mode. 

Shooting into the sun can often lead to washed out or over exposed images but I think I managed to get the settings just right for this one and I love the flare on the sun which was achieved in camera without the use of a filter.

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!

Striking A Pose

These Bush Dogs really are so cute and catching them out running around making the most of the winter sun was such a treat. 

They are almost constantly on the move though and they rarely seem to stop so when these two paused momentarily I was lucky enough to capture the moment. Reviewing these images I thought how they were striking a model pose, especially the second one where he was looking directly at the camera.

Whose Shadow?

You may have noticed that I haven't posted anything for a week, what with Christmas and various other things on my mind I just haven't got round to it.  So I thought that I would start up again with a little puzzle. 

Can you work out whose shadows you are looking at in this picture?

Scroll down for the full image...

Of course, it's a couple of meerkats soaking up the last of the days' sunshine. It really was very cold out there today so you can hardly blame them. They're just so cute. I have a few more pictures of them to share among some of the other creatures I snapped this afternoon so come back and have a look over the coming days.

Caldy Village #1

Caldy Village lies next to West Kirby and overlooks the Dee Estuary and the Flintshire coast.  Although the area known as Caldy has become spread out and boasts many sumptuous houses, the village centre itself is very small.  It dates back hundreds of years, the house in the first two pictures having been built in 1702 and the house in the final image was built in 1683.

One of my preferred cycle routes takes me through the village and along the nearby coastal path.  I have often admired the houses here and today during a bright spell as a storm approached from the Irish Sea I took the opportunity to take a few photographs to post here.

I hope you agree with me that the rich colour of the stone feels warm even though it was actually bitterly cold.  The winter sun as seen in the third picture although very bright, did nothing to warm me up.

Tomorrow I will share a few more pictures of the village and then over the next few days I will post some photos taken along the shoreline.