It was twenty years ago today...

When I started this blog, it never for one moment crossed my mind that it would run as long as it has. Okay, today's image* may (or may not) be particularly inspiring - but then again, nor was the image I posted to celebrate the tenth anniversary, but it's twenty years ago today that I became a photographic presence on the internet.

*Ongoing development of Premiership football team AFC Bournemouth's stadium.

© 2026

The race is on

My local football club, apart from finishing at its highest ever position in the Premiership (sixth) has, for the first time ever in its 127-year history, qualified for European football* next season. 

No, really. Once considered by some to be a club with no real ambition, it came to within a whisker of becoming extinct during the 2008-9 season before staging a meteoric rise to top flight football in the English League just six years later.

The ground - Dean Court (currently known as Vitality Stadium for sponsorship purposes), was totally rebuilt in 2001, and has a present capacity of 11,300. However, plans have recently been approved to develop the site, which will include the demolition of the south stand and the filling-in of all four corners of the ground to increase the crowd capacity to nearly double.

Working on a Bank Holiday, the race is on to get some of that work finished before the start of the next season in August... and European competition.

*Europa League

© 2026

 

Blue carpet

                                                                       Bluebells in King's Woods, Challock.

© 2026

Something a little less theatrical

Today marks the start of British Summer Time, and that means first light is now back to a more civilised moment - at least for the time being. The sky turned a fiery red as sunrise approached an hour later than yesterday, and although photographed de rigueur, I opted for subtlety rather than drama for this post.

© 2026

Water, water, everywhere

Water: apart from being vital for all known life forms, is also very photogenic. It's one of the reasons I spend so much time shooting seascapes. Overnight rain had already began to evaporate on the Ekki decking of a local pier by the time I arrived, which nicely outlined the individual boards. The blue sky, its reflection, and the warmth of the rising sun did the rest.

© 2026

Only me as a witness

There's a strong northwest wind blowing, and that nearly always means rapidly changing weather; great for outdoor photography. I have no predetermined location in mind for shooting this morning, but one or two gaps in the pre-dawn sky give me hope that I might get some usable light at the beach. Surprisingly, my local pier gates were wide open to all comers as I pass by at 05:30 (two-and-a-half hours earlier than usual), and that gave me the option of shooting along the surf line from an elevated position at sunrise.

The gusting winds of the past thirty-six hours or so have blown the beach smooth; I just need some light. Experience, and a watchful eye, tells me I just have to wait - and not for very long, Obligingly, the cloud breaks in the right places and I start to get something good, and because of the early hour I'm the only one there to see it.

© 2026 

Spring, and spring tide

It's Spring in the northern hemisphere (the vernal equinox was yesterday), and a spring tide - they have nothing to do with the season; they happen every month - at sunrise lures me to the beach. For the most part I try to avoid contrails in images, but this morning they add some much needed detail to the sky.

© 2026