Atlantic Fantastic

Plage Sud- Biscarrosse. Last blog post of the year, and it had to be a photo from here- this place has become like a second home to me. This was taken at my favourite time of day on the beach- early morning, when there are few people around. Every day while staying there, I loved getting up and going for a run along the beach, then back through the town to the boulangerie for a pain au chocolat and a latte, to bring back for my breakfast on the beach while watching the surfers, people fishing and dog walkers. The gentle morning sunlight, glistening waves and warm sand beneath my feet brought a guarenteed great start to the day, improved only by walking back up the dune and through the streets to my sister's house where I was greeted by a giddy tail wagging Charlie, a springy but curious Luna and my smiley happy sister and brother-in-law. Thanks 2011 for bringing me these happy memories- looking forward to many more.

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Big Sticks

Yorkshire Sculpture Park, a couple of weeks ago. I think this is a Beech tree, a fairly big old one. My favourite thing about this photo is of course the amazing Autumn colours, and the way the sunlight sets the tree alight... but most of all I like the boy in blue to the left of the tree striding out with a big stick in his hand. He could be Max on a Wild Things adventure. To me, this is what being outdoors in Autumn is all about. Big sticks, exploring and adventures. And trees, really big trees (preferably climbable- this one is decidedly unclimbable) with sunshine and leaves and mud. And picnics on a cold bench, where you have to walk super fast to get warm again. And stepping stones across leaf strewn, clogged muddy rivers. And saying close up hellos to shaggy coated horned cows in open woodland eating acorns. And best friends to share adventures with and appreciate all the great things outdoors. And heading home to a giant roast dinner of epic proportions to match the days adventures in a cosy warm house with good company... Autumn days (and big sticks) are brilliant.

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Tree Frame

Glacier National Park, Montana. This mighty landscape never ceased to amaze me. It's a wonder we actually left Glacier, let alone made it to our destination- Yellowstone, I could have stayed here for an eternity. This was taken on a drive out to a trail head for an afternoon hike. I had been staring out of the window longfully, following the road which tracked alongside the lake. Eventually I got too wriggly with being stuck in the 4x4 with such amazing scenery passing us by, and we had to stop to take in the greatness that was Lake McDonald. At the time of taking it, I don't think I realised quite how well the trees had framed the photo, and provided the depth, colour and varying textures within the shot. The canopy of the trees also provided some shade, which confused amature me on how to best take the picture. Sometimes I struggle to make sense of what I am seeing with my camera... I just know I've seen something that has caught my eye and I have to photograph it. Sometimes it works out, and other times (quite a lot of the time really...) it gets lost in translation. This time I think I got it.

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Ever Changing

Plage Sud, Atlantic Ocean. Yep... another sundown, and yet I never tire of photographing them. Every time I visit the beach in the evenings it feels different, ever changing, just like the waves. This evening, the light was so soft and the sun was smothered with clouds, yet it still managed to draw subtle golden colours from the sand and sky. The ocean was a strangely calming, yet dark viridian green, with uneven breaks of tumbled, frothy waves. After our jaunty but short walk to the beach, my best friend and Charlie the dog wandered patiently around, allowing me time to play with my camera. Charlie was very happy to have a new companion on the beach with him as it ment he no longer had to stand still while I took my photos, he could wander, sniff, wag and woof to his heart's content. It was a great first night back on the West coast- beach walk, dinner, family and friends. One happy Me.

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Casual Contest

Plage Sud Campsite, South West France. We went up to the campsite bar for an early evening beer and to watch the relaxed Petanque games going on nearby. I had a new toy this trip- my dad's telephoto lens. Not being so experienced with taking pictures of people, this allowed me to observe from a noticable distance, but without being too intrusive. Nobody seemed to mind me taking pictures while drinking my beer in the sunshine. There were games all around- families, couples... young and old, but the one photographed seemed to have the most riding on it. The man pictured clearly had a competitive spirit and an expressive game. A small group gathered to watch as he often made attacking play- opting for the aggressive lob over the positional throws. I'm unsure of the overall outcome of the overall game as they probably continued long after we left, but I was rooting for the guy above. The person to the right of the frame was his opponent, and helped to frame the shot. I also like the expression of the man watching, clearly engaged in the small pride-filled battle.

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Repas en Famille

Family evening meal at my sister's and now brother-in-law's apartment, Biscarrosse. This was a pre-wedding get together of close family on our second night of being back on the Atlantic Coast. It was a perfect evening with great company, good music, entertaining stories, sharing of wedding gifts, and a home cooked feast of barbequed meats, fresh salads, oven roasted vegetables, bread... cheese... wine... french family dining at it's very best. The meal lasted hours, as all good meals should, and as I sat at the end of the table contentedly full of cheese and wine almost unable to move, I reached around for my camera, and took a moment to capture the softly lit scene before me.

Technically not an easy shot as I didn't want to kill the atmosphere of the shot with a flash. This required a slow shutter speed and wide aperture, and I didn't have a tripod to avoid camera shake/wine induced wobble, so had to resort to my often ineffective breath holding technique. I reluctantly cranked up the ISO to help with the low light conditions, hoping the noise wouldn't ruin the clarity of the picture. Thankfully it worked out great.

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Movie Station

Travelling through Kootenay National Park, early evening. We pulled in for a much needed refuel, after passing through epic mountainous scenery. Suddenly everything felt a little surreal as I glanced over and saw what appeared to be an old London bus, sitting neatly in the gas station surrounds, with an almost too perfect to be true mountain skyline and dusky, soft cloud rippled sunset. The florescent glow thrown down from the pump light gave me the feeling I was standing in a film set for a perfectly lit Coen Brothers scene (or something simularly brilliant). As we were fighting the battle against fading light with no preplanned camping destination, time was not on my side, so I scambled my powershot out of the 4x4 and took just one photo. Not perfect, with the distorted post and questionable composition... but it holds the memory well. 

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Tequila Sunset

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The fire had caused havoc in the North of the park most of the day with road closures, unsafe areas and Ranger warnings. The ever growing smoke tower a constant reminder of who was really in charge of the park. We hung out at Old Faithful Lodge playing Moose Farkle and drinking Margaritas (bored of beers and feeling flashy) waiting for roads to re-open so we could make it onto our next stop, but had been forced to change plans. Driving back to camp, we tried to find a decent vantage point to photograph the mushrooming marshmallow monster. The reflection in the water jumped out at me as we sped past, and we made a skiddy stop in the gravelly roadside. Shot in low light- AV mode, I wish I'd thought more about this one, but maybe it was the Margaritas tequila-ing my shot and the fact I was so blown away with the location... I did the best I could with what I had. 

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Gnarly Strides

Coed-y-Brenin, Welsh Mountains. Epic mountain biking trip last year with my best friend who fractured a wrist during said epicness (this can be your memento and tiny tribute to commemorate the event). Following a slow but purposeful morning start and a hearty cholesterol stacked breakfast lining my stomach to fuel our day of biking, I took myself off for a wander around the farm we were camping in. Sheep eyed me curiously and bleeted stuttered warnings as I strode stodgily through a spikey grassed boggy field towards the Far-Away Gnarly Tree. I had spotted the tree while setting up camp the night before, and took a few shots from a distance trying to figure out how best to photograph it with many failed attempts. I originally shot it in colour, but the gentle surrounding countryside and mountainous backdrop contrasting with the weathered twisted branches, I have now decided it suits black and white the best. Learning to dodge and burn in photoshop would be a handy thing to have here as I'd like to have drawn more focus to the tree. I miss being able to do that in the darkroom. Infact, I miss the darkroom process altogether. Black and white is increasingly becoming my default...

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Starry Canopy

Atlantic Coast, Biscarrosse. Taken on one of my more creative evenings, fuelled by large amounts of 1664, somehow I managed to set up my powershot for this clever photo. I'd like to claim photographic skills played a big part, but I think it was more down to being inspired by the wonderment of my surroundings. The universe looks pretty cool when lying down flat on your back by your tent, fresh from a speedy but wobbly bike ride back from the bar along the ocean front. With Charlie the dog and my sister close by to ramble onto about all things irrelevant, this goes down as a special light splintered second... or 13 seconds which was how long I had to keep the lens open for to pick up the stars. From a techincal perspective... yep it's got noise and the trees almost look to glow unaturally with their limey luminosity. I still love the (hazey) memory- click on the image to see the stars! 

13s|f2.8|ISO400|

Tidy Boats

Whitby harbour, North Yorkshire. Tough blog post. Struggling to find pictures I like in my archives, and currently I'm not finding time to get out to take new ones, although I can account for a billion missed opportunities (camera keeps getting left at home- error)! I found this one lurking on an old hard drive...Taken on a sunny day trip up the coast to Whitby for a birthday adventure. Following essential coastal fish 'n chips we set off on a walk around the harbour, then up to the ruins of the Abbey. I was having an out of sorts day, and I think it affected my photos... none of the ones I took at the Abbey, or in the harbour were any good to my overly critical eye. Even this one I'm not happy with the composition, but one thing I do like is the sharpness of the image, vibrant colours and the correct use of aperture, allowing crisp focus throughout the image- even the ropes you can make out detail. I couldn't decide if these were working fishing boats, or just there for the benefit of making the harbour look more appealing.

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Storm Boarding

Standing ontop of a sand dune, San Pedro de Atacama. An early evening sandboarding trip in the desert. Contending with the unforgiving altitude, heavy board and energy sapping sand, I took a moment to take in my surroundings. I noticed some way off storm clouds gathering over the volcanic range. The sun was striking the jagged rough peaks in the foreground, throwing out creeping cool shadows across the sandy basin. It all looked somehow iconically Star Wars, and I had a Skywalker moment (using the force to capture a light sabered splinter). The dramatic scenery made it an  easy shot- right place at the right time. On reflection I wish I had thought more about my camera settings... this shot would have benefitted from a smaller aperture to take in more detail throughout the frame.  Switching the image to black and white added a greater level of contrast and shows the powerful sunlight to it's full effect.

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