The weather recently has been very very variable with frequent changes in a single day.  It has been quite frustrating from a photographic perspective.  Every time I’ve gone out I’ve picked the wrong part of the day and/or the wrong place.  However the contrast between the last two days seemed worth blogging.

I was watching forecasts for the opportunity to get out and get some photos walking somewhere.  On Friday the forecast was for sun early in the day on Dartmoor so I was out before 9am walking in the vicinity of Haytor.  The photograph above is taken from Rippon Tor and looks towards the estuary and mouth of the River Teign.  As can be seen there is some sun on the coast but not where I was standing.

I walked down from the tor heading east towards Saddle Tor and Haytor.  It was cold in the wind and there was little sun to be found.  The sun remained towards the coast though rather weakly.  Dartmoor tors have fascinated me for years and Haytor is one of the iconic ones seen by many.  The photograph on the left shows the detail of part of one of the main outcrops.  The image on the right is the view looking north showing the wide variety of weather.  Clouds, rain, sun and a rainbow – a “snapshot” of the weather I had really.

Looking back west towards the car I realised I was going to get wet.  The image on the left is what I saw, I put the camera away then and put the rucksack’s waterproof cover over it.  The rain came moments later and I got quite wet walking back.  There was some sleet too so I guess the temperature was quite low.  Back at the car the rain had stopped however the image on the right shows what was to come.  I’ve removed most of the colour but, frankly, there was much there anyway.  I enjoyed the walk mostly and headed home.

On the next day the forecast was for a good early morning again so I was out walking in the Bay before 9am.  This time I got it right!  The tide was just going out and the exposed sand had had no one on it yet.  Few people around and plenty of sun.  The contrast from the previous day was remarkable.

There was little swell and the canoeist in the left hand image was moving slowly in a calm sea.  The peace and simplicity of the scene at that time of the day was lovely.  Not a long walk but worth doing and, as I headed home, I could see that there was rain on the moors again so there was a sense of satisfaction in having headed in the right direction at the right time.

This is really part two of the blog I started here.  While we did walk some coast path, the beach at Charmouth was great to just wander along and relax.  The fact that we were staying very close to it meant we could be there first thing in the morning and last thing at night when few others were around – early or late with few people around is about as good as it gets for me!  The above image taken in the evening light has, for me, that lovely evening quality in the light on the deserted coastline.

Wandering the beach here there is enough to see and photograph to keep me happy.  There are photos of fossils for example on the previous blog however it is an area where people like to have a go at balancing rocks.  It sounds quite simple though some of the works look quite impossible and, having tried it a few times, it is not all that easy.  The above is not my work but one of the best I saw while there.

Taken in the afternoon the above image shows that the beach was not that crowded even in the daytime.  This photograph looks east towards Golden Cap (the highest point on the south Coast of England).  The cliffs on the left hand side have been the source of many fossil finds over many years and we found fossils quite easily as we walked the beach.  The people closest to the cliff are mostly looking for fossils.

Taken in mid morning the above photograph has been edited to remove almost all the colour from it.  The mistiness that morning meant that, while there was reasonable light there was little colour in the scene anyway and so it seemed to lend itself to this treatment.

While I do love early light I guess my favourite time of day will usually be the half hours before and after sunset.  I took quite a few images similar to the ones above but these are two of my favourites.  It was a great break and we will return here sometime.

A short ish break at Charmouth in some lovely weather allowed me to get a few more photographs than I have done in the past few months and so this is part one of the blog really and focusses on walking from Charmouth over Golden Cap mostly.  The image above is taken from Charmouth looking towards Golden Cap (the  highest point on the coast of southern England) in the early morning light.  Other than the artist painting on the beach few folk were around when we set off.

This is one of the sections of the South West Coast Path where there are a number of alternative routes.  Having walked this area before we decided to head towards Golden Cap on the direct route.  While the sun was out it was not too hot for walking and we made good time although the final climb up Golden Cap left us happy to take a break at the top!  The images above are the views from the top – sadly there was a haze around and the visibility was not as good as it might have been so we were unable to see Portland Bill for example.

The walk down from Golden Cap to Seatown is probably steeper than the climb as the distance travelled is quite a bit shorter.  There is little to see at Seatown however we stopped at the pub for a drink before heading down to the beach.  The view above is looking back at Golden Cap from the beach at Seatown.  The image shows why Golden Cap is so named as you can see the golden coloured strata near the summit quite well.  While we had not decided before we set off we were aware that it is possible to walk back to Charmouth along the beach.  I must stress this can only be done when the tide is out and it should not be attempted by those not familiar with the area as there are no easy ways to get off the beach if caught be the tide coming in.  Equally it is not easy walking on the rocks and beach, however it does have the benefit of being able to see an important area for fossils at close range and we decided to return this way.

The Jurassic coast as a whole is a great place to explore however this area is particularly good for looking for fossils.  The above image is an example of a landslip which is very common indeed to this area and which frequently reveals fresh fossils.  These vary extensively from large dinosaur remains to far smaller items.

As can be seen above we did find fossils quite easily.  The above are both ammonites and are around 180 million years old.  It really is quite an odd feeling to have something in your hand that is that old.  The one embedded in the rock is one of many that can be seen in this part of the coast by those with a little time to spare.  We also found a number of belemnitida however that are not that photogenic!  Walking the beach slowly and looking carefully at rocks should mean that you see a few examples of some very ancient fossils.

We got back to Charmouth by mid afternoon but we returned to the beach there as the sun was going down – it really was a lovely setting.  The next part of this blog in this area is here.

This blog dates from a few weeks back as I have been rather busy with other stuff of late.  We had a brief break on the North Devon coast near Westward Ho! and the weather started off looking quite good.  However the nearer we got to the coast the foggier it became and it stayed like that for most of the three days we were there.  This meant that the photography was not that easy.

The above photograph is a view into the mist looking towards Clovelly area from around 2/3 miles south of Westward Ho!  Although the visibility was not good I did rather like the combination of mist and sunlight looking along the coast.

One of the days we walked from where we were staying through Westward Ho! and headed on around Northam Burrows towards Appledore.  While looking out for landscape images generally I am often surprised by the other things I see to photograph and the two above are examples of that.  There is a large pebble bank along Northam Burrows where it faces Bideford Bay and the simplicity of the pebbles was striking.  The sign in the other image speaks for itself I think!  There is a golf course on the Burrows but I am not a fan.

Once again on Northam Burrows this piece of driftwood/flotsam “art” really did appeal – someone had taken some time over creating this.

While not exciting from a photographic perspective we had a good break and enjoyed walking the coast path in the area.  While there was no great clarity when the sun made its presence felt, the combination of mist and light – in this case in the evening – had a tranquillity and calm that I loved

I have been quite busy of late though less so with photography sadly so this walk is from a few weeks back.

We headed over to the River Plym area of the moors in the south west quadrant quite early in the morning.  It was misty but with glimpses of the sun around.  Before we parked we had a lovely view of Sheepstor in the early morning mist and had hopes that the mist would soon burn off.

After parking we walked towards Ditsworthy Warren.  These warrens were used as a source of supply for fresh meat for the tin miners who works extensive areas of Dartmoor in the past.  Mounds were built and populated with rabbits who bred happily there.  While the mist had not lifted but become much thicker at this stage, one of the mounds can be seen very clearly.

Other than the fact I had not walked the area for a while these was another motive for walking this part of the moors.  Ditsworthy Warren was used as a location in the recent Spielberg film Warhorse which I saw shortly after it came out.  The image on the left is the family home in the film and those who have seen the film will realise just how much work went into it to make it look “nice”!  Equally the picture on the right is the field which was ploughed by the “warhorse” quite early on in the film and has become unploughed now!

In the corners of the field attached to Ditsworthy Warren house we found this small store shown above.  I can’t say I have noticed them in the past (there were at least three in the field) however they have obviously been there a long time and must have been used as storage a long time ago.  It seems quite possible that harvested crops might have been kept there or possibly feed for livestock.

Walking up the Plym from Ditsworthy takes you through Drizzlecombe.  Much of Dartmoor has Bronze Age remains if you know where to look but in this area it would be hard not to spot the remains.  The combination of cairns, stone rows and menhirs make it a rewarding area for anyone with an interest in antiquity.  The above image shows one of the cairns, a stone row and one of the larger menhirs with a little sun coming through the mist which seems to add to the “feel”.  The area also has extensive tin workings all around both in the valley of the Plym and higher on the slopes of Eylesbarrow.

We now headed up towards Eylesbarrow via Hartor tor and away from the valley of the Plym.  From the top (rather misty still) we walked rather west of north towards the Down Tor stone row which I posted about here a year ago.  We walked past the row, circles and cairns (more bronze age remains) to Down Tor itself.  The weather was improving so we sat and had a break looking over Burrator reservoir and I took the picture that can be seen above.

From Down Tor we started back towards where we had left the car going via Combshead Tor and then skirting the edge of Eylesbarrow’s lower slopes and mine workings.  The image on the right looks westwards towards Sheepstor and shows a rather boggy piece section in the foreground, often found in mining areas that have silted up.  The left hand image shows two blocked up adits into a mine.  The openings are very small and adits are not that common on Dartmoor as most of the mining was surface mining.

I am posting this blog in the week we attended the funeral of a very good friend who we have walked with many times over maybe 25 years so we will call this walk one for you Bernie – sadly missed.

“May you always remember
when the shadows fall—
You do not walk alone.“

Last month I had a short break in Bath.  The weather was not really good for photography and so this isn’t one of the usual sort of blogs I do.  However a couple of images appealed enough to make me think about blogging them.  One problem with Bath is that the many lovely and iconic scenes have mostly be photographed enough so this one is more about looking at alternatives in images.

The first of the settings is Royal Crescent Bath which was built in the late 18th century.  It is a wonderful sight and looked good with some winter sunlight on the bath stone.  However I wondered if it might look good with a slight “antique” treatment and so the result is above as well.  The source of both images is the same file.  For a while now I have been using RAW files only for images that I have used anywhere.  The D7000 shoots 14 bit RAW images compared to JPEGs which are 8 bit.  This means that quite a bit more information is available for processing using the RAW file which is the digital equivalent of a negative in film terms roughly.  The images actually used are 8 bit JPEGs but they start off as files with more information in.

The second setting is Pulteney Bridge again built of bath stone and finished in 1773.  It is a wonderful construction and evokes the feel of a time gone by.  It has a good cafe on it and another just below it so it is a good place to go and watch the world go by.  Once again both images are from the same source file although the crop is very slightly different.  I felt that the monochrome treatment gives the bridge an almost Gothic air and the high level of contrast brings out the architectural features and some drama quite strongly.

I’ve been a fan of reflections in images for a long time and so when I read an article recently in Outdoor Photography magazine on a slightly different approach to reflections it caught my eye.  I shamelessly stole this idea from the article written by Tim Mannakee, a professional photographer, who runs photographic courses in many locations from his base in France.

The image above is taken in Totnes on the mill stream which runs into the River Dart.  The effect of the imperfect reflections in water which is not quite still is can be interesting.  I consciously left the bird, a moorhen, in the image as it added to the ripples and gave another dimension.

This image uses the River Dart itself for reflection and I think it works quite well.  The issue is finding a good subject reflected in water that has enough movement but not too much.  It is certainly an approach that I will look at using again when I see any suitable subject and my thanks to Tim for introducing me to this idea.

This blog relates to a recent walk around the Birch Tor/Hameldon area of Dartmoor.  Again there have been numerous hits on the blog regarding snow on the moors, this one shows that there has been some snow fall but not much is now left.

We started off from just below Grimspound and headed out past Headland Warren house going west.  The one above was the view from where we left the car.  It was early and the temperature was around -2/-3 however there were indications that we would get some sun as the day went on.

Looking back from just above Headland Warren farm house the mistiness of the valley in the early morning appealed.  If it were not so misty Grimspound itself would be seen on the far hillside and the area has many remains of tin mining both on the sides of this valley and in the area more generally.

We walked on over the ridge and down through the Vitifer/Golden Dagger mine workings and then headed into the forestry there for a while.  I’ve walked the area a while ago as can be seen in this blog and this one.  When we emerged from the trees we headed back through the mine workings and headed for Birch Tor.  The image above is the view to the west.

My photography has developed over the years and regular readers of this blog (thanks!) will know I am a fan of the work of Ansell Adams.  I feel that the one above captures something of his work illustrating the expanse of a wilder place on a great day in winter.  Taken again from Birch Tor looking roughly south west.

From Birch Tor we headed east to the ridge of Hameldon.  En route we passed evidence of the recent weather.  The frozen pond – one of many we saw – shows just how cold it has been and still was up there.  The ground in many places was rock hard.  The snow was in the lea of the wall on Hameldon and both on the ridge and looking north on the north moor there was evidence of quite a bit of snow in small patches.  From this walk it does seem likely that the higher parts of the moor may have had a few centimetres of snow recently but the lower areas seem to have none at all left.

We walked all the length of Hameldon before returning to the car via Grimspound.  The icicles above were on the stream that runs near the ancient settlement and its presence was one of the reason for the location of the settlement.  We were amazed that in some places there was a film of ice over the running water.

It had been a great walk on a lovely (if very cold) day.  The day before I had been to the funeral of a friend who died too young so I’ll dedicate this walk and the images to your memory Cindy.

“May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face“

As is usual at this time of the year many of the hits on this blog are related to snow on Dartmoor.  There has been very little this year and so far nothing that has been worthwhile photographically speaking.  It looked as though there was a little on the high/northern areas the other day but not much and it has been rather grey for good photography.  This blog relates to a walk ten days ago when the advance forecast looked pretty good.  The night before it had changed to “showers in the afternoon and wintry on high ground” however we decided to try and make the most of it and were out quite early.

We walked in to the south east moors from Reddacleave Kiln area and headed north to go around the back of the Avon dam reservoir.  It was cold but sunny and the moors had that wintry feel which I love.  everything seems somewhat muted and we didn’t see another person all the time we were out.

We headed up the Western Wella brook towards Huntingdon Warren.  This smallholding provided food for the local tin mine and the warrens would have provided a good supply of meat in the form of rabbits.  The enclosed ground seen above is the main part of the farm – the remains of the buildings are just out of sight to the right of the tree.  Some remain of the workings can be seen down the valley with the tip of the reservoir in the distance on the right.

We headed up to the top of the hill behind Huntingdon Warren to the wonderfully named “Heap of sinners” which is a fairly large cairn and decided to stop for an early lunch break.  The above image was our view.  It captures the winter bleakness of the moors quite well for me.  As I am enjoying a little more image manipulation these days I’ve taken quite a bit of the colour out of this really only leaving reduced levels of blue and orange/yellow.  To me that has enhanced that wintry feel a little.

Getting to our feet after eating it must have been just about midday…  This was the view in the direction we were heading.  A brief conversation suggested a change of plan was wise but by the time we had put on a layer or two more the rain was with us, it became very cold and we got quite wet in the following half hour.

Hitting the main track running down the ridge in the direction of the car we looked back.  Rainbows are seen quite frequently however this one was nicely placed on the top of Pupers and all too often the weather is not the best for using the camera.  The weather bot north and west of us suggested that heading on back to the car would be wise.

A few minutes later there was a full rainbow the right hand end of which can be seen here.  Despite the wide angled nature of my lens I couldn’t get the whole rainbow in sadly.  This was the last shot of the day as the next batch of weather hit us immediately after this.  We agreed that the hail that came then was a little painful when it hit!  Overall a good winter walk however also a reminder that even the nice looking days can change quite quickly on Dartmoor.

The past month or so has brought few photographic opportunities for a variety of reasons sadly.  However some of the images have been quite worthwhile – one of my favourites is here on facebook however that day didn’t produce enough for a blog for me.  This set of images were taken on a single afternoon between Preston and Goodrington a week or so back.  I had planned to go on the moors but the weather was very changeable and I was getting over a slight illness so I opted for something closer to home – this is a sample of the results.

The image above – taken on Paignton beach – is one of my recent favourites.  When I took it I was aware of how the colour of the kite in the distance stood out and it was an obvious candidate for desaturation.  I realised that leaving some of the colour other than just the red of the kite enhanced the mistiness of the images too.

The fact that the tide was very low (although not quite a maximum spring tide) made for quite large expanses of beach which were useful to me from a photographic perspective.  The one above of Goodrington  combining crespuscular rays from the sun with great reflections of the clouds and shy in the sand is one of the better images I’ve taken in this part of the Bay.

It wasn’t only me who was making good use of the sands.  Running across both Paignton and Preston beaches a guy was kitesurfing on the sand.  The wind was fairly strong and he was getting some good runs.  His largely red kite could been seen easily and he stood out whether looking into the sun or away.

Out at sea a number of people were making the most of the wind and the waves.  The wind was slightly easterly which is the only direction which brings waves into the Bay.  Not enough surf for surfing itself but it appeared good for both kitesurfers and windsurfers and quite a few were out.

Finally heading back to the car and walking the rather wet sands the light, reflections and colours were exceptional.  This burst of sunlight over the promontory between Paignton and Preston beaches seemed to catch the feeling quite well.

A final look back got what was for me another good shot that caught something of the day well.  Far fewer people around now and the tide was turning however that just enhanced the feeling of space on the beach in the late afternoon winter light.  I’ve enjoyed making the most of the coast at very low tides in the past and blogged that a time or two before but that has been largely looking at what can be found in rockpools and the like.  This sense of exploration of the space created made for another dimension for me and a pleasant walk.