Portuguese wanderings

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Rachael

We are back from our summer travels. This year we chose Portugal. We used to holiday in the Algrave often, when the children were small, but hadn’t been back in 11 years. I was afraid we’d find it much changed. Certainly, the Algrave is very much discovered. It already was back in 2002 and the spread of tourism that was marching inexorably West from Faro has reached a little further now. But the extreme South Western tip, at Sagres, still retains its off-beat, surfing vibe, and the wild West coast beaches are just as glorious as I remembered. This is one of my favourite sunset spots, Praia do Castelejo.

Carrelets

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Rachael

I have just returned from a trip to the Gironde estuary in France. There are about 400 of these stilt-fishing huts, known as carrelets, along the estuary shores. They are very photogenic little structures.

That boat shed

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Rachael

Possibly the most photographed boat shed in the world. But, still, it had to be done.

Warmer times

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Rachael

ISO 50, f/16, 8 secs, 16mm.

As the rain lashes down here again tonight, I am dreaming of warmer times, and climes. A gentle sunset over Smiths Beach near Yallingup in Western Australia. Need to go back. Soon.

Milky Way over Pinnacles

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Rachael

We’re back from our trip to Western Australia. This had to be the first image processed. I have long wanted to photograph the milky way, but where we live light pollution is too great. Luckily, during our trip the moon rose late enough for me to squeeze in three milky way photoshoots. But no foreground could match that of the eery pinnacles in Nambung National Park.
Happy New Year everyone!

New York Nightscape

Posted on November 8, 2013 by Rachael

f/18, 4x 14 sec exposures, ISO 400, 18mm

One belongs to New York instantly. One belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.
– Tom Wolfe
Give me such shows – give me the streets of Manhattan!
– Walt Whitman

New York, New York

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Rachael

Central Park from the ‘Top of the Rock’

We have just returned from a visit to New York, city of thronging streets, shadowy tower-canyons and vertiginous perspectives.

View downtown from the ‘Top of the Rock’

As my description above might indicate, there are as many challenges as opportunities for the photographer in this most exciting of cities. We were on holiday, sightseeing and catching up with friends, so photography was near the bottom of the to-do list. I snapped a lot, but had little opportunity to take more considered images. Nonetheless, I can hardly resist sharing a few of my photographs here.

Balloons over Manhattan

Oh, and in case it isn’t clear, I loved New York. Yes, I know I am not really a city girl, but you’d have to have zero capacity for excitement not to thrill at this amazing, chaotic, adrenaline-fuelled place.

Moongazing buildings

More from the ‘city that never sleeps’ to follow soon.

St. Peter Port

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Rachael

St. Peter Port is the principal town on Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands.

Castle Cornet

It is a delightful little place.

One of the town’s squares

Cobbled lanes reveal boutiques and galleries, as well as the more usual high street shopping.

The high street

Cafes and Brasseries spill out onto pedestrianised alleys.

Cafe society

There’s even a spot to rest your feet and have a good read.

A reader’s haven

The picturesque harbour is guarded by the imposing hulk of Castle Cornet, which is reflected in the still water of a Victorian boating pond.

Castle cornet reflected in Victorian boating pond

The Castle is well worth a visit, and I will do a post about it soon. But the town itself demands equal attention, a delightful place to hang out for a lazy day or two of meandering exploration. We will be back.

Beautiful Jersey

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Rachael

Another shot of my lighthouse muse, La Corbière on Jersey in the Channel Islands. Better compositions are to be had on the rocks below but high tides coincided with sunset during my recent trip so I had to make do with a higher vantage point. The long exposure time needed for the low light has softened and muted the waves. You will just have to take my word for it that they were crashing onto the rocks below and I would have been inundated had I stayed down there. On the upside, I enjoyed seeing how different the same composition could look at the same time on successive days.

Helicopter views

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Rachael

Our aircraft arrives

Last year I bought my husband a helicopter flight with The London Helicopter. We finally got around to booking it earlier this summer.

Westminster

I love helicopter flights. I love the change of point of view and the crazy angles you don’t get from an aircraft.

The City

Photography is challenging. Windows are not where you want them and never clean enough; viewpoints disappear before you have time to frame them; and then there’s those pesky reflections.