Preferential treatment

In the past decade or so, replenishment schemes have built up my local beaches to the point of taking away the exposed expanses of foreshore at low tide. Ripples in the sand, and reflections in tide pools once left by the ebbing sea (and very photogenic), were replaced by a subnstantial sandbank that extended to the low water line. 

But the current increase in winter storms, coupled with high tides, is beginning to shape the shoreline back to the way nature (and I) prefer.

© 2025

Midwinter blues

Midwinter, and the coastal mist adds to the feeling of drabness. I had considered rendering the scene in black and white, but instead I partially desaturated what colour there was to enhance the mood of the day.

On a lighter note, the days are beginning to get noticeably longer. 

© 2025

No excuses needed

There's something about black & white photography that is timeless. Even with today's ubiquitous hi-res colour imaging, the genre is still widely practiced.

I took the photograph of the zipwire tower in colour as the sun rose over the sea, but the monochrome rendition has more impact.

© 2025

Getting the ball rolling

I'm roughly half way through my seascape season, and the weather isn't playing ball. It's either heavily overcast, or any pre-dawn cloud simply melts away with the sun just below the horizon. So I'm posting what I got, not what I would have liked, just to get the photographic ball rolling for the new year.

© 2025

 

A nine-and-a-half-mile walk, only to come home with this?

It could have been worse. It's the last day of the year, and I'm out early in a bid to see it out with a photograph. The sky didn't look encouraging from the off, and the weather forecast was more or less spot-on. The tinge of warmth that did materialise in the cloud as the sun rose disappeared as quickly as it appeared, and I was left with endless grey.

Still, at least it was good exercise.

© 2024

In one sixth of an hour

I've been at this photography game for quite some time now, but it still amazes me as to how quickly conditions can change. 10 minutes before this shot was taken it was raining, and the sky was heavily overcast.

© 2024

Good times, not so good times

There are the (admittedly) rare times when all that's necessary is to wave the camera about at arm's length to get good images, whilst at other times it's hard work to get anything usable. Okay, hyperbole regarding that first remark, but today's shoot definitely applies to the second.

All the elements are in place for something memorable to happen as the sun rises over the ocean, but the reality is quite different, and I'm left scratching about making the most of what's available.

© 2024 

Target fixation

It's a calm morning on the coast, with temperatures slightly below average, and although the sky is in a state of flux I'm struggling to find a composition. I'm trying to make something of the tubular framework that sits over the concrete outfall that deals with heavy rainfall in the area, but it's not working. 

The pool of still seawater in the foreground doesn't extend far enough so that I can isolate the structure and make use of the reflection, so I opt to include the pier. I had been so preoccupied with one angle that I almost missed this one. A few minutes later and the cloud cover returned.

© 2024

Gritty day; gritty picture

The beauty of monochrome is that a scene can be photographed under any conditions. It's what you do afterwards that makes the difference. It's an average winter's day, and low cloud rules out any chance of spectacular light as the sun barely creeps into the sky at this time of year. With that in mind, I'm on the lookout for shape and form, and find it with this clump of Marram grass at Branksome Dene beach. 

I gave the image a blue tint and applied a generous amount of "film grain" in post processing, to add to the grittiness of the day.

© 2024 

The tree on the beach

I'm always on the lookout for this kind of thing, especially when dealing with flat light. Looking directly downwards, water that has drained onto the beach has created a shape on the sand that resembles a tree. How nature has the habit of repeating itself.

© 2024

L'heure bleue revisited

I'm becoming quite a fan of shooting in the blue hour, as the hues on display before the sun breaks the horizon at either end of the day can be stunning.

© 2024

On my way home

The few wisps of cloud that were dotted about over the horizon showed some promise for a composition upon my arrival at the beach. But casting a swift 360º look about me as I stood on the shoreline told me things wren't going to get much better, if at all.

Since I had made the effort, I dutifully took a few snaps to validate my being there and headed for home. As always, I keep an eye on my chosen subject for as long as possible, and it was 24 minutes after sunrise that the sky filled-out and became interesting. All I needed then was something of interest for a foreground.

© 2024

On the trail of the lonesome... hawthorn

The tree population on Nine Barrow Down is somewhat sparse to begin with. Anything growing is constantly exposed to the prevailing southwesterly, and the few wind-blown specimens dotted about at the eastern end have now blown over, or at least looking the worse for wear. 

But this lone hawthorn, near the burial mounds, still thrives on the exposed hilltop.

© 2024

From one Down to the next

Storm Bert blew in and blew out again, leaving turbulent atmospheric conditions in its wake. The perfect time for a walk in the hills. 

This view from the western end of Ballard Down overlooks Giants Grave Bottom (in shadow on the hilltop), at the eastern end of Nine Barrow Down.

© 2024

 

L'heure bleue

There's no doubt in my mind that winter light is the best light for landscape photography, mainly because the sun remains low in the sky all day. It gives an extended 'golden hour', but there's a time that is often overlooked by many that can produce equally appealing images, and that is the blue hour. 

That time between twilight and sunrise/sunset; when photographers pack up and go home (or haven't arrived yet); that time when the landscape is only lit by the sky, will often produce something special.

© 2024

In my element

Walking on a daily basis is no panacea, although it certainly has its health benefits. But many psychologists claim that exercise can also be addictive, and I'm beginning to see some truth in that. There are days - especially in poor weather - when I can't resist braving the elements, and roam the local coastline in search of a photograph. 

Maybe it's photography that is the real addiction.
 

© 2024

Nature doing its thing

The thin, pale, red glow between the grey cloud bank and the horizon didn't look particularly encouraging at first light today, and the dawn itself wasn't anything to get excited about. But within half an hour of sunrise the clouds part, and nature turns it on as only nature can.

© 2024

Weather? What weather?

The stereotypical belief that the British are always talking about the weather may have an element of truth to it, but recently that wouldn't have been the case... because there hadn't been any. For the best part of this month, a blanket of grey cloud has sat virtually motionless over much of Northern Europe.

This afternoon the cloud began to break up over the UK as the high pressure system that kept it there moves away, and we see the sun for the first time in ten days.

© 2024

Muddy boots season

It stopped raining just long enough for it to start again, on this morning's hike along the chalk ridge that is Ballard Down, Isle of Purbeck. The regular downpours; the low cloud; the rapidly changing light, are but three things that make me want to get out into the hills with a camera. 

© 2024

Missing out

Frequent bouts of heavy rain - followed by patches of clear skies, is what inspires me the most to get outside with a camera, and this morning has it in spades. The sheer drama of it all is worth the 4am alarm when conditions are this good, and trudging through the torrential downpours to reach a chosen location is all part of the fun. However, there are those I know that disagree with me. 

But then again, they don't get the shots that I get. 

© 2024