The Final Four

The last of the Cornwall photos, including 2 alternative images from previously posted shots.

Penbreth cove

Newlyn dock

Harbour at Dusk

Glorious England

Nothing special about this photo, just a simple tribute to the beauty of the English coast.

Penberth

Cornish fisherman returning home with his haul.

One of my favourites of the holiday: Early morning and a fisherman hauls his boat back up the cobbles of Penberth cove after gathering his lobster pots. I like several of the photos I took on this morning, but I think this is probably the best.

Harbourside

Three more shots from Cornwall. Harbourside Ropes, taken at Mullion. Doesn't quite have the feel I was expecting from the shot, but is interesting enough.

House Martin chicks scream to be fed by the incoming parent (which is unfortunately distorted, because my on-camera flash wasn't up to freezing their swift movement)

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Fishermen at Polperro (either that or actors paid by Cornwall tourism to look like fishermen!). A little cluttered, but I like all the layers, textures, colours and details all in one shot. A compact encapsulation of Polperro, rather than my previous sweeping panorama.

Moonrise, Sunset

Tonight sees the last Sunset of the summer in the northern hemisphere, which this year happens to be in conjunction with the rise of the Harvest (Full) Moon, with both events happening at the nearest time to each other in decades. As you can see from the image below (link to TPE is in my links list on the right), the Sun sets at 7:05pm almost exactly to the West and the Moon rises at 7:07pm almost exactly to the East, so at some point - cloud permitting - the horizon should be lit in a complete 360 degrees (regardless of location on the globe - unless you're reading this from one of the poles!).



Good luck to anyone off out to view or photograph it!

Kite-surfer Sunset

I couldn't resist this backlit kite, set alight by the setting Sun in front of dramatic dark clouds. I took quite a few shots here, obviously quite a tricky lighting situation and fast moving subject, but didn't quite get what I was looking for in the end. Many shots too dark or too light, despite bracketing, as the Sun slipped in and out from behind the clouds. Still, a nice photograph though.

Coast Path Rainbow

Not usually my thing to colour pop, but this photo was crying out for black and white conversion, with the grasses, textures, storm clouds and house on the horizon. However, it's surely a crime to remove the colour from a sacred rainbow, so I think this works. I also cropped square to keep the frame nicely balanced and composed.

Dartmoor Sunset

The heart of Dartmoor, taken hand-held as I didn't have a tripod to hand, bracketed exposures combined and noise reduction applied.

Cornwall Panoramic for starters..

Got back from Cornwall last weekend, plenty of photos taken and was pretty lucky with the weather except for the mornings where early morning fog or rain showers put pay to any plans for a Sunrise. I will try and get some photos processed this week, but to start things rolling I have this panorama of Polperro taken on the second day of the journey down...

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The last of my automated posts and a macro shot today. A little-brown-jobby (unknown) perches on a nettle leaf, the Sunlight at just the right angle to catch the ridges in its wing. The fore antenna nicely held aloft so is still within the focal plane, which is nice.

With any luck a deluge of Cornwall photos will follow fairly shortly.. even if they are foggy landscapes, tourists eating pasties under umbrellas or waves smashing into stormy coastline. Fingers crossed for at least 1 or 2 nice scenic landscapes though..

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A simple snap posted in honour of the glorious English apple. The juice of which I shall certainly have drank by this stage no doubt.

Not much to say about this photo.. fallen apples under an apple tree. Taken just before raiding it and turning it into apple sauce and jam!

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By my prediction it will be belting down with cold, wind-blown rain by now, with possible flooding by today. So here is a reminder of the summer we had! A hoverfly on one of the wild flowers in the garden underneath the summer Sun.

If I'm by some miracle still Sun bathing in Cornwall at this point I shall be very happy!

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A portrait landscape today. I find myself wanting to like this photo, but not being able to. Makes for a nice thumbnail, but looses something a full size. Can't really put my finger on it either.. composition is .. okay. Has colour, interest, focal point, bit of a lead in, reflections etc.. but for some reason, it just doesn't work for me.

Posted anyway, in case someone out there actually does like it..

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Another damselfly photo today, this time a blue tailed damselfly. Taken along the Kennet & Avon canal.

An exception to the rule of having clean and perfect surroundings, I think the tattered reed adds interest and colour to the image.

Not posted originally because the lighting is not ideal. Holding the camera still at such high magnification can be fairly challenging, especially whilst precariously balancing over the edge of a canal!

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Grey heron preening at twilight. Showing off its feathers in all their glory when not slicked back into their usual streamlined position.

Despite not ideal lighting, I do like this image, the tones are really nice and subtle. With the tree branches looking a little like bamboo I can't help thinking it has a slightly oriental feeling to it too.

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Male Banded Demoiselle damselfly on a lily bud.

Lots of these around this year, commonly see swarms of males chasing the rarer, greener females around, while I've been sat waiting for Kingfishers.

A few clips from the BBC on them.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/species/Banded_Demoiselle

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An extremely colourful orchid (?), actually de-saturated a little to dull the colours down a bit!! Sometimes you just need to forget about technicalities and just rely on a big overdose of colour to carry a photo.

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While I'm away, as compensation for soo long without a post, I've scheduled a load of posts to trigger while I am away. A chance to clear out my blog folder of all the pics that I nearly posted, but have been left behind, yes, it's time for some more rejects...

Man with dog feeding ducks at Corsham lake, the manor house on the skyline, backlit by the setting Sun.

Slacking..

Ouch, nearly a whole month since I posted my last post! I've had a couple of failed attempts at more Kingfisher shots, but not much time or co-operation from the weather. I am off to Cornwall for 10 days from tomorrow, so fingers crossed for a bit more nice weather for a few sunrises and sunsets there. Before I go, a few snapshots from south Wales..