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.

Buoy on the Beach

 I know this is a pretty mundane object and most of the time I would just walk past without a second glance however on this particular day it caught my eye and I took a couple of experimental shots. 

I think the lighting and reflection combine to create an interesting image. The bold yellow against the layers of blue work really well together.

Evening On The Shore

I am a little closer to posting road trip photos since I have organised them into categories by day/city but I am not yet totally ready so I have gone back to an evening in early May when I went down to the shore at Meols and took some pictures of the boats at low tide and at sunset. 

I haven't made a note of the settings but I was using my 24 - 105mm lens and with my camera mounted on a tripod I used a fairly long exposure and a small aperture to get this shot. There were a couple of other photographers out and they were using ND filters to get even longer exposures maybe next time I will try that although using my tripod in the mud did make me cringe a bit so I might not rush back.

Lulworth Cove

Here are 5 different views of Lulworth Cove.  I know that landscape photos can sometimes look like holiday snaps, and when visiting a place such as this which is a very popular spot I am sure that the cove has been photographed countless times.  But the changing sea and sky conditions and the various different vantage points can present new and different images every time.  I hope you agree that this is a beautiful spot and worth the effort to capture these lovely shots.

Jurassic Coast

The Dorset coast is known as the Jurassic Coast due the the large number of fossils discovered there.  These shots are from Lulworth Cove which is a really popular spot. I didn't find any fossils but I spent some time getting some good photos. 

As you can see the water in the cove was really calm but outside it was a bit more choppy. The tide had turned and was on its way out so i think the waves crashing on the rocks were not as spectacular as they could be when the tide is coming in. 

Low Tide #3

For today, here are a few more shots from Caldy beach.  I found these posts really interesting as you can probably tell and so I have taken a number of pictures from various angles.  I hope you enjoy them.

I was lucky with the last photo because as I turned around the sun burst through and illuminated Hilbre Island which previously had been barely visible on the horizon, demonstrating that it helps to be in the right place at the right time.

Low Tide #2

Three more pictures from the beach at low tide.  I have more to share over the next couple of days.

These are more of the posts exposed by the receding waters with a view across the Dee to North Wales.  You can also see the weather front approaching from the right bringing sleet and rain.

I think these pictures work well in either colour or black and white but I think picture two is more atmospheric.  Let me know what you think...

At low tide...

I have lived in this area for over 20 years and in that time I think I have visited this part of the coast just once before. It is a really interesting stretch of beach with some stunning views across the Dee and into Liverpool Bay.

Although it was cold and a wintry storm was approaching I was able to get some great shots down on the beach.  

I really like each of todays pictures for the colours, the shadows and the ripples.  I also like the blurred background and shallow depth of field.  

Dingle Harbour

So having driven across Brandon Mountain via Conor Pass I drove into Dingle.  It's a quaint town and there was a nice market going on I remember buying some nice cakes and other tasty treats for lunch.  In the town itself I bought some little gifts for friends.  

The area is famous for a dolphin called Funghi that often can be seen in the harbour and there are boat trips to see dolphins and whales along the coast but I didn't go as conditions out at sea were fairly poor although it looked nice and calm in the bay.

After a tour of the town I walked around the harbour so I have chosen a few pictures of the boats and the town from across the harbour.  I have chosen some black and white pictures for today because under the grey skies they look best. I think the third picture is my favourite, let me know which is yours...