Guiding Light

My last outing with my camera had been to a local woodland where I photographed fungi, which was very relaxing. A week later I found myself on the beach at New Brighton photographing the lighthouse and sea defences, which was also fun and relaxing. I didn't have a lot of time but fortunately despite a couple of light showers the weather and the light was very kind to me so I was able to get some nice shots.

I have photographed this lighthouse a few times in stormy weather and it really looks magnificent with waves crashing around it. However, this was the first time I had been down to see it with the tide at its lowest and on such a nice day. Whatever the weather I think it must be a welcome beacon to the shipping that comes into the River Mersey.

I experimented a little with a variable ND filter and longer exposures for some of these shots to  get the most out of the reflections and the sky. I have also mixed up some colour and black and white images for contrast.

Walking on the beach was pretty safe, but I often like to make things difficult for myself; (in the past I have waded into the middle of streams to get a better angle on a waterfall, or set up close to the edge of a cliff for a particular view), so why should this outing be any different. I wanted to get some shots of the sea defences which involved a bit of scrambling over some slippery rocks and it was a bit fiddly setting up my tripod and finding a safe foothold at the same time. I think the effort paid off. I have shot these in black and white because I think it creates a better image. In colour images the green seaweed coating on the concrete groynes is a bit too much and doesn't give as much definition or depth. I think the shot of the groynes which includes the lighthouse (the penultimate image) would have been better using my 17 - 40mm lens instead of the 24-105mm because 24mm just wasn't wide enough to get it all in as I had wanted. However, swapping lenses at that point was a risk too far. There is always next time...

Enjoy, and feel free to comment.

On My Doorstep

 In my last post I mentioned how there are some places and subjects that I would never tire of photographing and I shared some images from my travels around Europe. Without a doubt I would be more than happy to spend days or even weeks photographing puffins or street scenes in Venice, Florence, Vienna or a host of other wonderful places. I also long to visit new locations, inspired by my own travels and by images shared online I know I would get so much pleasure exploring new places with my camera. However I have to be realistic, while there will be lots of opportunities to do this in future there will also long periods where I will have to stick to what is local or familiar.

I am privileged to live in a beautiful place, by the sea but close to varied landscapes, urban landscapes and  lots of wildlife. However when I look through my many files of photographs I realise that I have relatively few from my locality and I am missing opportunities to develop my skills and fulfil my passion here on my doorstep. Perhaps it is familiarity that means I sometimes fail to see the interest in what I see every day and that is a big error because the beauty  and interest is there and for people that I share those images with they will largely be new or unfamiliar so it must be worth me spending more time where I live. It doesn't matter if I go back several time to the same lake, lighthouse or park/reserve there will always be another angle or different light etc. So while I will dream of and look forward to travelling to new places I will also take more time to see what is on my doorstep.

Here are a few images of some of the wonderful places near me.

 

Liverpool waterfront and Albert Dock

West Kirby Marine Lake

Red Rocks

Meols shore

New Brighton Lighthouse

Wading Birds

 Today I had my first proper outing of the year. The sun was out, the temperature was in double digits and the top came down on the car as i headed off to Dunham Massey where there is a fabulous garden and deer park, maintained by the National Trust. It is 2 years since my last visit so it was nice to get back. I was able to photograph some spring flowers, some water fowl and of course some of the deer that live wild in the park.

I was really pleased when I got home to upload the pictures and start to work on them when I realised I also had a few pictures from last week when I had been for a walk along the waterfront near my home.

So before I get into the pictures from Dunham Massey here are a few shots of some of the waders that grace our shores.

The first two pictures show a couple of Black Tailed Godwit. I am not very good at recognising some of our waders because from a distance I find it difficult to differentiate, however these I was quite confident in my identification.

Pictures in most  of my guide books show these birds in their breeding plumage which is a bit richer than these two however it can be differentiated from the bar tailed godwit because it is larger in size, has longer legs and has a long, slightly upturned bill which is black at the end.

The bird in the other pictures is a Common Redshank, easily distinguishable by its bright red legs (hence the name) and its straight red bill, although in these images its bill is covered in mud as it has been searching for worms, molluscs and crustaceans. These are quite nervous birds generally so it was nice that this one did not fly away.

The Rock...

...Perch Rock to be exact.

This is the fort and lighthouse at New Brighton on a very wild and windy Saturday

Ferry Terminal

I was trying to think of a catchy title for today's post but the ones I came up with didn't really fit so I have just called it what it is. This is one side of the ferry terminal at Seacombe on the Wirral side of the Mersey. It is also home of the Spaceport museum.

I really like this structure with its futuristic design. Would it surprise you to know that this actually overlooks the carpark. 

After The Rain

Yesterday I went to Ness Botanic Gardens. I have lived in this area for almost 25 years and have never visited the gardens before so in hope that the weather would stay favourable and that there would lots of flowers to see I headed out with my camera and my 100mm macro lens (in truth I had all my gear but only used the one lens) and went wild...

Although it was quite cloudy and cold it was a nice day. It having rained heavily the night before everything was fresh and green, if a little squishy under foot. 

At first I couldn't decide which pictures to start with but thought that as I had posted pictures of water splashes for the past two days I would lead into my selection from Ness with these beautiful water droplets on succulent leaves. 

I like the first image with the tiny bubbles glittering in the large droplet but my favourite shot is the second one with the smooth round droplet and with the bokeh the droplets in the background appear like fairy lights.

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...

Hoylake Sunset

First of all, I didn't realise I was quite so tall, ha ha.

Here are a few shots of the sunset across Liverpool Bay, taken this evening from Red Rocks on the Wirral coast between Hoylake and West Kirby.  It's a really lovely spot and at this time of evening it's really peaceful too.  These pictures were taken using the camera on my phone, so very basic and no post production of any kind.

A retrospective...

The eagle eyed among you will probably realise that the pictures I have chosen today are ones that I have posted previously.  Why when I have so many pictures to share have I done this?  you might ask, good question I would reply...

I recently submitted these two pictures for entry to the Williamson Art Gallery Open Exhibition, they were accepted and this evening I have been to see them hanging in the gallery.  This is the first time I have entered my pictures into anything and so it gave me a real buzz to see them well presented with the work of other keen photographers around Wirral.

The exhibition is open until 10th May so hopefully lots of visitors will get to see the pictures, I think they look great and so I wanted to share them with you again.

Tomorrow I will be back with more of my road trip pictures.

In A Walled Garden

Today, and over the next few days I am going to be posting images from the Walled Garden at Royden Park with the theme of signs of spring.

The bench in the first picture is set under a wooden arbour just inside the garden, in the summer it will be a mass of colour when the Wisteria is in full bloom, but for now it is just a peaceful spot to sit and listen to the birds which are becoming more active and vocal as spring approaches.

The Robin in the second picture is a case in point, it sat there singing at the top of it's voice, probably as a warning to the other birds in the garden that I was there.

The final two pictures today feature a rockery which has been planted with Daffodils one of which is already fully open giving promise of a burst of golden flowers in the weeks to come.

I hope you enjoy these pictures and feel a little lift in the knowledge that spring is definitely on it's way...

Hoylake Past

Hoylake is a small seaside town on the Wirral Peninsula with a population of around 6,000 people (13,000 in the council ward which includes Meols).  The town has a long history including being the place where in 1690 King William 3rd set sail for Ireland with an army of 10,000 men.  More recently the town has hosted the British Open Golf Championship at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club.

The pictures I have posted in today's offering show scenes of Hoylake's past.  The Town Hall Clock remains the only indicator of the local council office which is now a job centre. The chocolate shop has long since ceased trading and the lifeboat has now moved to a spanking new boathouse further along the promenade. The fire house which in this picture was a mortgage brokers and antique centre is now a gym.  

Hoylake like most other towns is constantly changing and evolving so when I stumbled across these pictures which I had taken over 10 years ago I thought it was good to share them with you.

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