Westcountry wanderings » Totnes

Evening over the field of barley

nigel — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:27:55 +0000

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.

River Dart – more ice (December 2010)

nigel — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 14:10:23 +0000

Again I was thinking that the really cold weather was over but today (Christmas Eve) I went over the Dart in Totnes early this morning and saw some ice again so I headed out a little later to walk the river bank with the camera.

Despite only being around -2 deg C overnight I guess that the high tide must have coincided with a temperature drop as the tide was turning and the river was still. This stretch of the Dart is tidal. The white area is not snow but a very thin covering of ice.

A little of the detail of the ice can be seen here.

The above shows a small beach on the river Dart at the point where it ceases to be tidal – again covered with a sheet of ice.

The above is a closer shot of the beach area. I have not seen this sort of thing in the west country before. Although the ice was very thin the ground along the banks beneath it it was quite hard so I guess this will have contributed to the creation of the ice – temperatures have rarely been above freezing around here for some time now even in the day.

Even above the tidal section there was ice on the edges of the river. By now it was around midday but this section had quite a bit of ice as can been seen by the stick on top of it!

I wish all readers a peaceful and happy Christmas.

Hoar frost in south Devon

nigel — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 16:38:00 +0000

I thought that the really cold weather was maybe over around Totnes by now (22 December 2010) but checking the thermometer this morning it had hit -6 deg C overnight. The minor road I live on has had little traffic so had some aspects of a skating rink but I’d arranged to meet someone and needed to get out so I wandered out to check the road. The first clues of the level of the frost can be seen above – spiders webs on a beam.

Equally much of the garden had very significant hoar frost. The fact that there was a little colour left in the dead rose petals merely added to the effect.

I drove to Paignton for the meeting and, given it is on the coast, it was perhaps not surprising that there was hardly any frost or snow. Heading back one route had too much traffic so I took an alternative – chance plays such a role in photo opportunities. This is almost a “good news, bad news” story. I drove past another photographer who had a great view point – more of that in a minute – but headed to another spot I know. As I’ve said before I love mono tonal images and this sums up the feeling quite well – clean, simple and cold!

This is the other half of the above part. This is the spot the photographer was at in the late morning. He had a little sunlight on his scene – but the time I got back in the early afternoon that light had disappeared! I’ve said to quite a few people that I like to capture what I see quickly – the moral to the story is to stop and get the shot not hope it will be there later. Even though I do like this one it would have been better with a touch of light.

Totnes snow (December 2010)

nigel — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 10:45:37 +0000

Rather a hasty one but given most of the hits on the blog in the last few days have been “snow” orientated and quite a few have been “Totnes” too here are some shots from the past few days. The top one is a few days ago on Vire Island.

The above is from yesterday (17th) and it was actually snowing although not much had fallen really. It looks towards Vire Island with the river Dart in the foreground. Auto focus is not that great in snow!

This is from about an hour ago (18th) looking up Bridgetown hill – not that much snow but not much traffic either.

Also about an hour ago looking up the High Street from the bridge.

On Vire Island – not intended as a “usual” blog but given the conditions and the interest I thought it worth getting a quick one done. I should be out later and will be away for a short period so normal postings will resume I hope in a day or so.

Frosty morning along the river Dart

nigel — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:37:47 +0000

Looking out there was quite a noticeable hoarfrost however the sun was coming out so I decided to take a walk to see what was around. I was not the only one looking around as can be seen above. The (grey) squirrel seemed to want to play “hide and seek” with me and when I got close enough for a reasonable shot he would go to the other side of the tree or start climbing it. He moved fast and not many shots were in focus.

The hoar frost shows nicely on these blackberries.

And also looking across this field here. I have shots of this field in a number of conditions and last Autumn and this Spring it was often flooded but it looked great in the early morning light and with the winter colour in the branches of the trees at the sides.

As people who read this blog will know I do like the possibilities of reflections in images so the one above on the river Dart above Totnes was bound to catch my eye. The stillness of the water and colours overall were great.

Sometimes it is the quirky things that catch my eye. Given that it had been a very cold night and not that warm in the daytimes recently you may not be surprised to know that the circle of chairs seen here had the remains of a fire in the centre – I don’t think it was for the “teddy bears picnic” somehow!

Ice on the Dart and frost on the beach

nigel — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 17:04:20 +0000

It was another bitterly cold night in Totnes with the temperature down to -6.3 deg C according to my thermometer (8/9 December 2010). Not quite the lowest in the past couple of weeks but close and a hard frost everywhere. However there was a little sun and promise of more so it seemed like a day to get out with the camera. The ice on the river Dart was unusual but I saw the same last year and there was some earlier in the week.

It did make for some nice scenes though – the above is just below the old bridge in Totnes on Vire Island. You can see where the water from the high tide has frozen. There has been very little snow about still although I did get a shot or two of snow in Totnes last week and may post that soon but it really was nothing very exciting compared to the rest of the UK currently.

It was then a decision of where to head for. The moors appealed but the night before I’d seen some good waves coming into the Bay and I wondered if I’d be able to catch some images. In practice the sea was pretty flat but the light was good. The white on the walkway to the sea here at South Milton sands is frost although the temperature was just around freezing when I got there. Anywhere actually in the sun was thawing generally.

Not quite everywhere though – this coot is walking along on the ice on South Milton Ley in the sun.

The ley itself was fairly well frozen and sea birds were walking along the ice in places (the ley comes right to the beach). I walked out along the edge of the golf course until I looked over to Burgh island and Bantham and then walked back again.

As I headed back the clouds started to gather and the light became more broken. However the effects were still nice. I do like these almost monochrome shots – this is taken just above South Milton sands with the Thurlstone itself in the mid ground and Hope Cove and Bolt Tail in the distance.

Frosty autumn morning on the river Dart

nigel — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:18:26 +0000

It was quite early and with one of the first frosts of autumn on the ground. I decided to get out and walk down the river Dart a little way from Totnes. The early wintery light on the river and the frost made for some good photography. The frost is on the jetty here just at the edge of Totnes.

At times the light was quite exceptional and even looks quite warm on the photo, however it was still below freezing at the time.

The sense of peace and tranquillity at the bottom of the path was lovely. There was hardly another person around and the river was glassy and still. There was a duck or two on the water but little else was stirring.

By the time I got back to Totnes the mist had burnt off and there was rather more sun (though not a lot more heat). The river was still calm allowing some reflections of the autumnal trees on Vire Island.

I love the fact that a story may be told in a picture however, in this case, the story is not obvious maybe. The trainers had certainly been there all night and had frost on them…

Ash plume sunsets

nigel — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 10:59:59 +0000

Most folk are probably aware that the UK and quite a large part of northern Europe are affected by the volcanic dust coming from the Icelandic volcano at present. This has closed down airspace in the UK and other countries for a couple of days now. One by product of this is that the sunsets we are getting are affected by the volcanic dust in the atmosphere.

The above are from last night close to Totnes in Devon. I’m planning to get out again to take advantage of the rare combination of good weather and the dust when I can so I’ll likely update this blog in the coming days.

Sunday 18th

The above comes from last night (18th). While the colour may be a little more dramatic than the previous night I had a sense that there was a greater clarity than the night before but that is as likely to be the general weather conditions as the ash cloud. I’m planning to get out again this week when I can.

Reflections on reflections

nigel — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:04:15 +0000

This post does not relate to any specific photo shoot but to the fact that, from time to time, I realise I am paying as much attention to the reflections I see as the conventional view. The one above brings a little summer to the winter weather. As with some of the others it is on the River Dart – tidal here and at high tide.

Some settings seem to “demand” an image of reflections to me. This one is again on the Dart but above the tidal stretch and in early light. The winter starkness of the trees and the slightly misty light add to this one.

Others creep up on you rather more subtly. In this one I realised the reflections were more interesting than the subject maybe. Equally the colours in the water are brighter than the colours above (untreated too).

I caught this one yesterday. Reflections around the sea are maybe less usual however the tidal pool here coupled with the sky, clouds and the family (I guess) intent on the activity in the water caught my eye and insisted on me taking the image.

Two minds with one thought

nigel — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:00:45 +0000

Rose coloured sky 1

I had a text message from my daughter who lives out of my area the other evening saying there was a lovely rose coloured sky. I replied that there was here also and I’d just taken some photos.

Rose coloured sky 2