Westcountry wanderings » lighthouse

Around Start Point

nigel — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:40:09 +0000

I’ve blogged this area before however with photography along the coast it is almost impossible to get the “same” image as you got before – I know I’ve tried – so these are from a recent break there. The weather was supposed to be improving over a three day period however it didn’t change all that much. It did varied enough to get some shots that I found quite interesting though so I thought I would share them.

Start Point itself is quite an iconic setting for this part of the South West Coast Path and nearby Slapton Sands with its fresh water pool and pebble bank is also quite well known. The whole area was used in the Second World War as a training ground for the D Day landings. Walking towards Start Point recently the day was mostly rather grey. However, as in the shot above, when grey becomes silver it is a little more interesting.

From time to time the cloud base would come down and then it would rise again. The above image looks towards Start Point from just above Beesands village.

Passing the old village of Hallsands, much of which was swept into the sea in the first half of last century, we cut off to the south west just before we got to Start Point. We headed back towards Start going around Peartree Point to approach Start from the south. The above show the contrast in weather either side of the Start Point that day. To the south it is a fairly clear and quite pleasant day. To the north there was quite thick mist.

As we walked back along the coast the mist became thicker and we could hear the sound of the fog horn from the lighthouse. Stopping for a break at Beesands I caught an image of the lighthouse at Start Point lit due to the bad weather. I have seen that before but not managed to get a shot of it.

Although that day was not the best weather wise (though the walk was great) we did see some good weather and there was some great light on the sea at times as can be seen above.

Some Spring sunshine around Plymouth

nigel — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:00:20 +0000

I had to go down to Plymouth to collect a couple of my framed images from the gallery there for use at my forthcoming exhibition. Obviously I took the camera and it was a nice morning so I took a few shots which I thought I would share. While there are some signs of Spring around the weather has been largely dull so far however there has been some misty sunlight on one or two days recently. Smeaton’s Tower seen here is the iconic image of the Hoe. Building was completed in 1759 and it remained in use until 1877 and it is a Grade I listed building.

The above image looks along the coast at the Hoe towards Drake’s Island which is not quite clear because of the mist which had yet to burn off. First mentioned in 1135 as St Nicholas’s Island Drake sailed from here in 1577 and returned in 1580 having circumnavigated the world. It has been used during times of war as part of Plymouth’s fortifications to protect the important naval establishment there.

Tinside Pool is one of the few remaining lidos in the country. Built in 1935 it is now only filled with sea water in the summer months (May to September). It is a Grade II listed building.

The above image shows the Hoe and Mount Batten breakwater and was taken a little later in the day when the sun was higher and rather brighter. Smeaton’s Tower can be clearly seen on the Hoe.

Waves on Blackpool Sands

nigel — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:00:59 +0000

We went down to Blackpool Sands on a mostly sunny day and I got quite a few shots there and, a little later, at Slapton. The above is looking out over Start Bay – the combination of the light on the water and the cloud was great.

This photograph from Blackpool Sands looks south towards Slapton sands, Start Point and the lighthouse there.

When I got back and started running through the photographs I had taken while I was out walking along Blackpool Sands I realised there was something of a theme to them – rather a lot of waves.

I realised that, while posting a collection of “wave” photos might seem a bit odd, there was a real variety of light, colour, tone and waves in the collection and so decided to go for a single topic posting.

This is at the northern end of Blackpool Sands and the sea was breaking over the rocks there in the sunlight which made for some nice shots. The beach faces roughly south east and has no protection from seas coming in that direction. However the promontory of Start Point gives a lot of protection from westerly seas and winds.

There really were some good “rollers” coming in – some of which were quite large. This one is taken looking south towards Slapton sands again.

I really liked the colour “inside” the roller on this one. That sea green in the sunlight is really striking. I do love walking beaches. You never quite know what you will see and, because of the sea and the light, you get ever changing pictures from it. The cafe at Blackpool Sands is nice too so I’m sure I’ll be back there soon for some more photos and a coffee!

Light on water

nigel — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 16:47:37 +0000

Having caught up with the backlog of the holiday snaps I started working on the relatively small number I’ve taken since I’ve been back and wondering about my next post. These are not all taken on the same day but I realised that on a number of days I’d taken photos that were effectively on a theme – light on water. The above looks from Paignton towards Berry Head.

I guess it is partly the time of year with a lower angle of the sun and less good weather however I do love the coast and the play of light on the water. The one above is taken from Preston and shows a windsurfer spotlighted on a stormy autumn day.

Shooting into the light has its problems. All too often a shot will be out of sensor range. A camera sensor can only get the exposure (roughly) right over a fixed range of light. Outside this range there will either be black with no actual content or white similarly. This may or may not be considered “wrong” by some people however I do like to catch what I see and so I have no real issue with this if most of the image has valid content and portrays what I want it to. The above – shot from Goodrington looking towards Berry Head – is a good example. It is not a “perfect” image with some parts of the image over or under exposed. The limitations of the camera also mean that the quality is not as perfect as I would wish but it conveys the scene I saw in the way that seems correct to me (& I like it!).

These shots were taken over a number of days and while mostly they are taken in Torbay the one above was taken on Slapton sands looking towards the lighthouse at Start Point. The light on the water really had a sparkle to it.

I find I do tend to look for “good weather” images but the one above is a reminder to me of how wrong that approach can be. Taken from Preston Sands with Berry Head just visible the rain that is coming in can be seen (& it rained shortly after I took the picture). The contrast between the better weather and the rain is quite striking.

And finally – I’d watched this person flying their kite for a while. I was looking for a good shot of them and got one or two with the kite in the air and in sunlight. However this one seemed to catch the mood of the weather (which kept changing) at the time. This was taken from Preston Sands.

Fishing for photos…

nigel — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:59:53 +0000

For a variety of reasons I’ve not been out much recently and certainly not as much as I would have liked. The evening looked promising so I headed for Brixham hoping for some good sunlight. As is so often the case it didn’t quite work out like that but I still found some scenes that appealed.

Brixham is a working sea port and there is quite a bit of development going on on the fish quay. These pots stacked on the wall with the sky behind looked interesting.

I remember when the outer harbour at Brixham was relatively empty but now it is a marina. The boats and their masts with the sunlight behind and dramatic clouds created a contrast.

Given it was a good evening and the tide was fairly high the number of people fishing is not at all surprising. In the upper picture the colours of the “vests” being worn by the fishermen in the boat (father & son?) added extra colour to the scene. At the end of the breakwater the sole fisherman (on that side) created a good visual scene with the light going behind him.

Walking back to the car the sky looked great. The effect is almost monotone but it has an appeal. While not strictly “sunset” it is liquid gold.

Sennen Cove to Lands End

nigel — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 11:00:31 +0000

We headed for Sennen Cove early on one of the mornings in Cornwall and walked from there to Lands End. Sennen is a beautiful area and the beach is great – usually crowded with surfers if there is a good swell it was almost deserted when we got there. I am not a fan of Lands End – even before it became a “theme” park it was not the best bit of Cornish coast and lacks the wildness/remoteness that seems appropriate. Walking there seems better than driving.

The image above does show one of my favourite spots along this section of coast. In the distance Cape Cornwall can be seen. While it is not quite the most westerly point of England it sticks out nicely with the mine chimney on top being a good reminder of Cornwall’s industrial past.

In the foreground here you can see the R M S Mulheim (or rather the remains of the boat). The vessel went aground on the coast in March 2003. The crew were rescued by helicopter. I was both surprised at how much remained and the fact that, in the seas there are in that area, so much was still there. Lands End is the headland in the distance.

This shows the setting of Longships lighthouse on Carn Bras very clearly. Visibility was good and from Lands End the Scilly Isles could be seen (30 miles away) as well as Wolf Rock lighthouse about 8 miles away.

I was struck by the simplicity of views such as this one. The gradient of colours in the sky, the surf and the sand were very attractive. I took similar shots wandering a number of the beaches on the western end of Cornwall. All were interesting, all different.

Heading down the coast

nigel — Mon, 31 May 2010 16:14:03 +0000

I’m just back from a break in Cornwall. We stayed in the far west close to Penzance. Heading down there it was a good day weather wise so we stopped off on route to make the most of the sunshine.

First stop was the small cove of Chapel Porth. It is a National Trust owned spot with a fairly small car park and I’d not been there before.

It is a while since I was last in Cornwall and certainly with this amount of sunshine! It really is a beautiful part of the world. The north coast has some wonderful beaches but also some great cliffs. The remains of tin mining can be seen in most parts of Cornwall. At the one here you can hear the noise of the sea coming up the old shaft. Many mines were worked below sea level.

Surfing is something Cornwall is well known for and some surfers were making the most of the breakers.

Moving on down the coast we stopped at another National Trust car park at Godrevy (good beach cafe there!). On a sunny Saturday the car park was fairly full but the beach is big and there was plenty of space. Godrevy lighthouse is a well known site in the area. I’ll post some more soon but I have quite a few images to review.

Aspects of Plymouth

nigel — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:04:37 +0000

It was a while since I had headed in the direction of Plymouth however I had to go there anyway so the camera was with me. I visited various spots on the eastern side of the Sound including Bovisand and Jennycliff.

I got this shot of a frigate heading out to sea from Jennycliff. I liked the juxtaposition of a modern naval vessel with Drake’s Island just behind it.

I also liked the industrial aspect of the docks at Cattewater with Dartmoor in the background. You can just see current industrialisation there in the form of the Lee Moor china clay works too. Again as a contrast the Cattewater area has a small SSSI area in it.

A good view of the Hoe can be achieved from Mount Batten and this is a multi image stitch of it showing Smeaton’s Tower quite clearly. The tower, an early lighthouse, is a Grade I listed building.

The area of the Hoe is used for recreation and affords some great views of Plymouth Sound as well as the opportunity to take a closer look at the tower.

The urban landscape can provide interest for a photographer. The Cattewater docks scene shows this. However these three tower blocks also caught my eye. The bright colours set against a greying sky were quite vivid and eye catching. Some of my images should be available for sale in a gallery in the Barbican in the not too distant future.

Kingsbridge and Torcross

nigel — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:00:09 +0000

The weather forecast was for sun… Never trust weather forecasts in the Westcountry! Heading for Kingsbridge last week and planning to head down towards Hope Cove for some coastal images it became obvious that the day was not going to be as forecast. Looking at the head of the estuary at Kingsbridge the winter light is clearly in evidence.

Moving on with the change of plan I passed Frogmore Creek which leads into the main estuary and found a family of swans. The three young ones, while large now, show the juvenile plumage clearly and for a while there was some sun.

By the time I got to Torcross there were odd glimpses of the sun but they were brief. The light on the waves was lovely and the blue of the rock there was very attractive (I have many more shots to prove that!).

Looking back towards Start Point there is that real “winter feel” to the view, cold and a little misty with what sun there is failing to really light the scene or warm the day.