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.

Now back from a break after the recent exhibition, this is the first blog from the trip and is based on images from along the Dorset (Jurassic) coast.  At the start of the break the weather was ok but not particularly sunny.  However the weather did make for some stunning sunsets.  The above was taken close to Bridport on the coast just west of West Bay.

The days were also interesting for photography initially too with mixed weather giving some interesting subjects.  The setting for both of the above images is close to Eype & West Bay.  The left hand one looks west towards the setting sun and the cloud while the right hand image taken early one day looks towards Portland Bill, not quite visible in the distance, through the early morning haze.

I always enjoy walking the coast for the changing scenery and the light however sometimes you catch something different.  These days paragliders are not that rare but when they drift by they still tend to take you by surprise.  I have paraglided myself in the past and loved it but I’m not sure how happy I’d be to be out over the sea.

Among other places on the Dorset coast we visited Swanage and spent some time walking in that area too.  This was taken on the seafront at Swanage – the colour and lines appealed I guess.  It is a pleasant town and well placed for exploring the south eastern end of the South West Coast Path.

We walked from Swanage out to Old Harry’s Rocks which are close to the start of the South West Coast Path (or finish depending on your choice of direction!).  I’ve passed the rocks from the seaward side a number of times but have never walked that particular part of the coast before.  They were a great sight and the area of white cliffs around there were very impressive.  Because they are relatively easy to get to it does seem that there are likely to be quite a few people around the area but a short distance to the west we saw very few people.

Coastal areas are prone to rather different climatic conditions and this was the scene that faced us after walking in to Swanage for a meal one night.  The atmosphere with the coastal fog rolling in was quite eerie.  I took quite a few walking back and was quite pleased with the effect.

Finally – another sunset from early on on the coastal section of the break – we saw quite a few good ones but I restricted myself to offering just two here!  Another blog will follow soon about the next part of the trip.

This track is one we have taken many times over the years and it still gives me pleasure.  It leads to a series of old tin mine workings but the variations on which way to actually go are many and we came off the track at this point and headed for higher ground.

The sun was going down (& it still seems too early for that) but there was enough light at the stage to take a picture looking north east more towards the centre of the moors.  There is gorse out at present as well as heather and I’d like to get out to try and catch some shots of the heather before it is over.

I guess there will be less photography from my evening walks now as even in the fairly early evening the light is getting quite poor for photography and maybe not so good for walking either though it usually does not stop us.  However the effects of the last light on the clouds is lovely.

I usually realise that I should have taken a tripod after I needed it and this was no exception.  In the end I am unlikely to roam far on the moors carrying a tripod I think but this wonderful moon deserved a better shot that I was able to get hand held.  That said I think it catches the mood quite nicely.  It was stunning and with us for at least the last third of our walk back to the car.

I’ve not been out much with the camera for a while now.  The dry weather I referred to here broke straight after that blog and there has been quite a bit of rain since.  Good for the gardens and farmers but it made for less predictable photography.  However other issues in life have settled a bit too so I wandered out last night as the late sunlight looked good.  I didn’t have time to go far so I headed to one of my more usual spots to see if there was anything interesting to point the camera at.  The advantage with such an approach is that you never quite know what might catch the eye.

From the first image’s colours you might think that the barley was nearly ripe given the yellow colour.  However from the close up you can see that the plants are still fairly green and it is mostly the effect of the sunlight.  I loved the delicacy of the individual plants and the way that they combine to make the overall effect of both golden and moving (there was quite a strong breeze).

Depending on the angle of the shot and the sun, the yellow effect was even more pronounced.  However the green can be clearly seen still.  I guess a trip back in a few weeks time should give much some truly ripe golden shots.

The tranquillity of the farming landscape in this area is lovely and, fortunately for a photographer, there is usually something different to look at throughout the agricultural year.

Wandering out for an evening walk we headed over towards the Avon reservoir on southern Dartmoor.  The UK generally has been fairly dry this year with the southern parts particularly so.  Walking the area back in March the reservoir was overflowing as can be seen in this blog.  As can be seen above, the water level is now much lower (these images were taken on the evening of the 1st June 2011).  We estimated that the level might be around 3 metres lower than normal.

The image above shows one of the ancient hut circles which are normally submerged.  Around the promontory at the western side of the reservoir there are a number of  remains including the outer walls of pounds as well as hut circles.  The outer walls of the pound enclosing this circle is partly on dry land and partly underwater although others further up the hill are clear of the reservoir.

Looking down the length of the reservoir you get a sense of the water level in the great evening light.  I will come back to this and other reservoirs on the moors if the summer remains dry as there are more remains in this and other Dartmoor reservoirs that are seen during rare dry summers.  Having said that in the time, it has taken me to write this blog we have had some significant rain (the water butts I use in the garden are now mostly full)!

Walking back towards where we had left the car, the light was going steadily but really did make the moors and the reservoir look good.  There is a real magic about walking the moors in the evenings and I hope I’ll continue doing so for some years to come.

Another day when the weather dictated my walk recently is the subject of this blog.  I’d originally planned to head to the moors but the forecast suggested that might not be worthwhile so I was heading to the South Hams coast.  Fairly close to home I realised that the forecast of less good weather in the west of Devon looked corrected so decided to head east.  It was a while since I had walked the Exeter Ship Canal which runs from the docks at Exeter down to join the River Exe just above Powderham.  The canal was originally built in the 16th century to allow traffic to Exeter that was not so dependent on the tide.  It ceased commercial use in the 1970s but is well used as a leisure resource now.  The above image is taken looking up the canal towards Exeter at Turf lock.

The canal flows into the river Exe at Turf lock.  Both the above images are taken on the Exe looking downstream from around this point.  The remains of the old vessel is just one of many that are along the banks of the river.  The small dinghy is on the jetty at Turf which serves the small passenger ferry across the river here.

I walked on down the path along the edge of the river towards Powderham a small village mostly known for its castle.  As can be seen from the images of this walk the weather was variable.  Looking west here into the woods at Powderham the weather looked threatening.  The bluebells were out but not in such numbers as I saw on the moors recently.   Equally the image of Powderham church is so striking because of the dark clouds and the recent ploughed field.

I decided to head back up to the canal rather than walk further downstream as the path is on the road at this point and for a while longer.  The image above looks over the stretch of water where the canal emerges to join the river Exe at Turf.  The jetty that can be seen is the one shown with the dinghy on earlier in this post.  The cyclists are waiting for the ferry to arrive to cross the river Exe which is quite wide at this point.

Walking back up the canal now there were a number of cyclists, walkers and canoeists among others making the most of the day and the track along the canal.  There were swans nesting along the canal too and, from time to time, flag iris as can be seen above – they added some real colour to a day which was not the brightest.

I walked on up the canal past the point where the ferry runs across to Topsham.  By this point the river, while still quite wide, has narrowed significantly.  However the weather was not that good over this stretch and although not raining the light was poor.  I turned back and headed for the car via the Exeter marshes which are an RSPB bird reserve.  Back briefly on the canal there was a little more light for the above shot of the canal and then I headed home.

These images were taken in late March however there have always been other things to blog somehow.  I was walking the beaches at Paignton and Preston and looking at those things far closer to me than I usually do.  In part this was due to reading an article in a photography magazine which suggested photographing items in a garden for a change – I decided doing this project on a beach might be interesting.  I love the intensity of colour in the seaweed above.

Above are a collection of some of the images I caught while walking the beach.  It is so easy to forget to look in our rush to get places these days and we miss out on some remarkable sights.  The colours and both simplicity and complexity of these small inhabitants and sea plants on our beaches are striking.  This is an approach I’ll return to sometime as I found it interesting and rewarding but I’ll leave this blog with another seaweed.

Looking back the way we had just walked Greator Rocks was lit by the late sunlight.  The bluebells here are a little thinner on the ground so the impact is a little less.

This shot looks over towards Haytor.  While they are bluebells, in this shadowy light, they really did look purple (& the colour has not been adjusted in any of these shots).

Last year I caught the bluebells on Holwell Tor lawn on the Haytor side of the valley (blogged here) and they are not quite at their best yet but I think they probably should be soon.  Both this year and last year I was not the only photographer in the area – they really do make a stunning sight for anyone who is in the area.

The walk had been quite a short one so we headed over to Bonehill Rocks to catch the last light of the day.  Over the years I’ve seen some great effects around sunset on the moors and this is one of them.  I did return for an early morning shoot of the bluebells a couple of days later.  I got some good shots but decided to leave this blog to be about the one outing, some of the early shots can be seen on facebook here though.

These are images taken on two different occasions (and with different cameras) however as they both concern rather indirect sunlight and are both recent I thought they might go together.  The one above (taken on my “point and shoot”) was on the morning of the recent election here.  I was heading off to the polling station I was working at and, fortunately, it was early enough for there to be little traffic around so stopping suddenly when I saw this was not a problem.  The early misty light looked lovely.

The rest of these images were all taken on the same evening as I was heading back to Totnes after a meeting in Paignton.  I’ve looked over this valley before and felt it had something to offer a photographer but, as always, catching the light is the issue.  The very threatening clouds combined with the bright sunlight (yes – it is a little overexposed) with the feel of the valley below was interesting – a place I will return to.

The above photo comes from a favourite spot – the copse on the ridge looks good at various times of the day if the light is good but here it is almost a silhouette with the attraction being that burst of sunlight from behind the cloud.

Almost back in Totnes on a road where there really is nowhere to stop I just had to for this one.  Not all meetings have such beneficial results but hopefully this one will lead to another opportunity to exhibit as well as giving me some good images.

I’ve known of crepuscular rays for sometime now however watching a television programme the other evening the phrase “Fingers of God” was used and it seemed appropriate for me and this posting.  The programme was on Cloudspotting and was about the Cloud Appreciation Society as well as clouds generally – their website has some stunning images of clouds on.  I’ve taken a few over a while now but I do like this one.

I’ve sat on Dartmoor a few times at this location watching the sunset and the light over the moors and I have frequently been lucky with shots around the area at this time.  I love the “misty light” effect that the hills have at this time of day.  Walking the moors in the evening can be very rewarding.

The sunset itself was special too.  There should have been a couple of blogs on a recent trip to the Gower in Wales but they will come soon – the light and colour in all the above made me feel they should be here first.  I said when I started this blog 18 months or so ago that “everyone has to have a first blog sometime” – this is number 100.  Thanks for reading.