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.

I actually started a blog on this subject two years ago but it has remained a “draft” all that time.  Over that period I have learnt quite a bit and still have a lot more to learn.  These images do not relate to a specific walk but have all been taken over the past couple of months, the weather for the last week or so has mostly just been grey!  Most of the images have been seen on the Westcountry Wanderings page on facebook too as I do sometimes put recent images on there before they make it into a full blog.  Not particularly a fan of facebook but I do appreciate the feedback I get there.

For quite some time I couldn’t “see” black and white images in my scenes.  I realise that I could set the camera to black and white however one thing I have learnt is that it is better to process the images to grayscale after they are taken not at the time.  This actually allows far greater flexibility in processing and I will manipulate grayscale images more than colour ones which I prefer to be as true as possible.  Given we do not “see” in black and white” creating more or less contrast is not about reproducing a scene but more about a feel for the look of an image

The idea of “colour popping” has always appealed in a sense however it is something that can be overdone and so I rarely look for it in my images.  However the one above which was almost monochromatic on a grey day seemed worth trying it on.

Quite a few of my images have tended to be somewhat monochromatic anyway with my love of shooting into the light and I am starting to see that some of my better colour images will also work in grayscale.  In fact the above image is quite “wrong” in colour and does work better in monochrome.

I have always been a fan of Ansell Adam‘s work.  His monochrome landscapes are extremely evocative to me.  They manage to capture the scale and grandeur of some scenes in a way which almost seems harder to achieve in colour.  I have a long way to go yet but I like the sense of space here.

The drama of light and cloud which I love can also look good in grayscale.  The mistiness on the coast – something I like in colour – also works in grayscale as seen above.  The idea of the vessel being in a spotlight has more drama in monochrome than in colour actually.

This one quite surprised me.  The colours in the clouds at sunset were lovely and I got a quick shot or two in.  I suddenly wondered what it might look like in grayscale and was pleasantly surprised by the results.  The colour version can been seen on facebook too in this album.  This will not be the last monochrome post I think even if it has taken me two years to get it done.  I’ll close with very best wishes to all readers for 2012 – hopefully it will bring some good photographic opportunities too.

A week or so back we took advantage of what looked like a good weather forecast to head over the border into Cornwall for three nights. Because we wanted to make the most of the time we decided not to drive far and so headed towards Looe which is only a short distance west from Plymouth. While I stayed in that area a while ago I hadn’t walked much of the coastline between Looe and Plymouth as I’ve tended to go further into Cornwall usually. The above image is taken at Downderry and looks east to Rame Head.

A little to the west of Downderry is Seaton. You can walk to this small village along the beach unless the tide is particularly high. The coast path continues west going up quite a steep hill and the above image is the view back over Seaton beach.

We walked the stretch between Downderry and Looe over two days as we had to head a little inland to our accommodation on foot in the evenings. As can be seen the day we walked into Looe was not as pleasant as the previous two days had been. The view above is looking from West Looe back towards East Looe.

I’d not seen this seal sculpture before but apparently a seal was seen regular in the area of Looe for some years and the lovely bronze sculpture was put there when the seal died. Looe is still a fairly active fishing port with a working dock on the east side of the River Looe.

Not everything along the coast path is a scenic as maybe most of the images I offer on here. This particular building is at Millendreath just to the east of Looe. It looks like it was a holiday complex maybe dating from the 1960s or 1970s but it is now deteriorating and closed down. Much of Millendreath looks rather similar now sadly.

On a more positive note there was a thriving beach cafe at Seaton and we went back there towards the end of the day when the light generally looked lovely. The island in the distance on the right hand image is Looe Island and is just off the coast at West Looe (Hannafore Point).

Wandering back towards of accommodation gave is some lovely views and I particularly liked the stand of trees shown on the left. The image on the right is dawn one morning – cold but beautiful.  Cornwall is a favourite county – hopefully I’ll get down there for longer next year.

Moving off the Dorset coast we had a few days in inland areas of southern England.  At first I thought that there was nothing all that interesting to blog and then realised that there was a theme to a number of the images.  Where the highlights of the earlier part of the break had been in the natural environment, in the second part we saw quite a few great sights that were made by man covering many centuries.  The first of these works is Corfe Castle (seen above in evening light) which dates back from around the 11th century.

It is a remarkable (& very photogenic) structure.  The walls are crumbling and nothing like vertical in many places but it is a very appealing place to visit and is one of the National Trust’s most visited properties.  Spending a little more time in the area than I have in the past enabled me to explore some other viewpoints and, in the one above, look down on the castle.

Heading north from Corfe we found we were passing Cerne Abbas and it seemed silly to pass without taking a look at the “giant”.  There are a number of figures of various sorts in the hillsides in the area with quite a few “white horses”.  When the outline has been recently cleared to allow the chalk to show through they are more striking however the relatively low angle of the light on the above image does give a sense of the figure.  There is more than a little confusion about the age of the figure and it is not possible to definitively date it as older than the 17th century.

We then headed further north to take a look at one of the most renowned UNESCO World Heritage sites in the UK – Stonehenge.  While I’ve passed it a number of times it is some years since I’ve had the time to stop and look properly.  Tourists are now far better organised and the time of wandering among the stone is long gone sadly.

Even in the relatively harsh light the stone are very striking and the labour required to achieve the structure would have been quite remarkable.  Once again dating is not fully established on all parts of the structure however it is between 4 and 5 thousand years old.

Heading towards Devizes which was the nearest town to where we were staying for a couple of nights we found the small (& attractive) village of Seend.  The church there looked wonderful on the afternoon autumn sunshine.  I felt the smoke at the base of the tower added a certain mysterious quality to the setting.

We spent some time walking the Kennet & Avon canal and it is here that our last man made structure in this sequence was found.  This set of locks, Caen Hill locks, is also the most recent structure built in the 19th century and now restored to leisure use.  There are 29 locks in the main series and it is a remarkable piece of engineering and restoration.

Even at this somewhat quieter time of year there were plenty of people making use of the canal for a variety of leisure activities.  In addition to people using the long boats on the canal for holidays there were plenty of fishermen around along with many walkers and cyclists making the most of the weather and the canal towpath.

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.

It has been a few weeks since I’ve been out on the moors in the evening but last night made up for it.  The south western tip of the moors around Shell Top and Penn Beacon is lovely for an evening walk and holds some fond memories for me.  I always set off thinking it is a relatively short walk and always come back remembering that at least half of it is uphill.  Approaching from the east and heading first to Shell Top meant we passed the hut circle above.  The remains are quite clear and the eastern side of the hill has quite a few bronze age remains on it.

Stopping to take a breath a little further up towards Shell Top gave this wonderful view looking east.  This is looking towards the ridge which runs south and ends at Western Beacon.  The combination of the sunlight on the landscape and the very dark clouds did seem quite special – certainly some areas were not enjoying the late sun which we were.

Reaching Shell Top the view all around opened up although Shell Top itself is not that significant a point as can be seen from the above.

However sitting in the evening sunlight having a drink and looking fairly much south gave a great view.  In the foreground (& sadly) is the china clay works.  I realise industry is necessary however what idiots allowed this development right on the very edge of a National Park?  Further off is the city of Plymouth and Plymouth Sound (and the English Channel).

I guess this is my favourite shot of the night.  Taken looking somewhat west from Shell Top it looks down on the Trowelsworthy Tors and across the misty ridges into Cornwall.  The light over a number of ridges really is an effect I love.  I previously blogged the tors here.  Because it is taken looking into the sunlight these shots can be quite difficult but when they work it looks good to me.

Heading off we started to walk down to Penn Beacon which can be seen here at the end of the line on the hillside.  This is an old reave which runs down the hillside towards it.  The china clay works can be seen to the right rather clearly.

Reaching Penn Beacon we looked back up the hill as the last light was going behind a large cloud bank coming in from Cornwall.  The tip of Shell Top can be seen on the upper part of the ridge on the right hand side.  Over the years I’ve seen some great “Last light” scenes on the moors and this was one of them.  A good walk and hopefully we will get out again soon.

Firstly I spent the middle part of the day in Brixham.  The tide was out and there was building work going on around the harbour with scaffold and sheeting covering a building which seemed to intrude on any shot.  However walking the breakwater I liked the feeling of isolation around these fishing rods.  The fisherman was nowhere to be seen which added to the effect.

In the evening I drove up to Dartmoor for a walk.  A little unusually for us we headed into the valley of the West Dart at one stage rather than walking the open moors.  These granite stepping stones across the Dart caught my eye and I took a few shots here.  The water was low so walking across them was very easy but I have seen the river when you cannot see the stones at all.  We stayed there for a drink and watched deer on the edge of the hillside however they were too far away for any meaningful photos .  A green woodpecker flew by but too quickly to get a shot of.

Almost back at the car we passed this gate.  I like the strangeness of a gate with no fence or wall around.  On the far hillside are the lines of old leats as the area has been extensively worked by tin miners in the past.  The late light on the moorland was lovely.

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.