It’s been a while since I posted a picture of the speckled bush crickets in my garden. They seem to have disappeared now – this shot was taken in July. I think it is an adult, although I am prepared to be corrected on that. Here it is taking a well-earned rest from the tiring task of peppering my mallow flowers with holes.
“Light always follows the path of the beautiful.” (Anon.)
Certain iconic locations for landscape photography are known as ‘honeypot’ sites. Kimmeridge Bay on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast is one such site. I visited it for the first time on holiday this summer. Sadly, I was not treated to one of the spectacular sunsets one sees so often captured at this location but I made the best of what I had. There was only one other photographer on the beach, a local, who told me that if there had been the merest whiff of a good sunset the beach would have been heaving with tripods etc. Perhaps I was lucky after all.
This image is a little more arty than my usual style but, despite appearances, it is still a photograph. It is made from three exposures, one sharp:
one panned:
and the third, a ‘texture’ made from a close up of the whitewashed walls of the cottage:
The cottage is Le Don Hilton, also known as La Caumine de Marie Best. It stands on the wall above St.Ouen’s beach with spectacular views of the surf and sunsets. It can be rented from Jersey Heritage and makes a charming, if basic, base for surfers. A more straightforward shot of the cottage appears in my earlier post, Jersey Shores.
This is St. Aubin on Jersey, the next town west of St. Helier. Named after Saint Aubin of Angers, it is the principal settlement of the parish of St.Brelade. It is also very picturesque, especially in the “blue hour” after sunset. A panorama from three exposures.
Most photographers out to capture the sunset go home once the sun has dipped below the horizon. My fellow photographers during my session at La Corbière last week were no exception. But it is always worth waiting around for a little longer. If they had, they would have seen La Corbière lighting up. A different mood from yesterday’s shot, taken at exactly the same location only minutes earlier. Doesn’t the landscape at low tide look otherworldly?
This is La Corbière, the lighthouse on Jersey’s South Western tip. It is the shot I was taking when I posted this: Waiting for the light. Of course, there was a much better sunset the night after I was here. Hey ho.
I wonder if he has just proposed?
A couple kiss on the Cobb, Lyme Regis’s iconic harbour wall. Many writers have been inspired by this landmark, including Jane Austen who featured it in Persuasion and John Fowles in The French Lieutenant’s Woman. The scene where the heroine (played by Meryl Streep in the film) walks to the end of the Cobb during a storm has made its way into movie legend. Perhaps this couple are fans.
I could live by St.Ouen’s beach and have something new to photograph every day for the rest of my life. St.Ouen’s beach is on the West of the Island. The tower silhouetted here is La Rocco, one of the many Martello Towers in Jersey, built as defensive fortifications during the Napoleonic war.
Now we are back from our travels, I am looking forward to catching up with my favourite blogs.
The mother ship launches fighters.
I gave myself a virtual medal for bravery when I took this shot. Good thing I used a tripod for once – my hand was shaking! We are back from our travels, but too late for my daily post. This one is late (it is 1.02am here). Back to normal tomorrow, I mean later today.
Focused Moments 