Clachan Sands, North Uist (2013)

After two days of less than ideally photography conditions, the weather turned fine and sunny for our last day on North Uist. We chose a location we had briefly visited on the previous day and I am rather sticking my neck out by titling this post Clachan Sands as I had to piece together the location from the photographs and a search online. 

The main identifiers were two cemeteries and a quick search suggests that the cemetery shown in a panorama format below is Clachan Sands cemetery. This followed by a black and white of the older  Clachan Shannda Burial Ground:

On the basis of the cemetery locations I am fairly sure that the following set of images was taken at Traigh Hornais, Clachan Sands. On reflection, I wish that I had taken better notes on the different venues we visited, something that I have been much better at in recent years. 

With the location sorted, all I wanted to say is how different the island looked in fine weather, particularly when compared with the previous two days of overcast and gloomy conditions. In common with many places in the Outer Hebrides it is possible to believe that the photographs could have been taken somewhere far more topical than the far north of Britain!

These were some of the results, with a number of the compositions using a rocky outcrop as a foreground lead in to an island, which I believe is Boreray. With nobody on the beach the sand patterns remained undisturbed and these became the focus for a further series of photographs, as did the fluffy white clouds. I particularly like how one cloud mirrored a single rock on the beach:

  

Surfaces, Textures and Colours (January 2020)

I have started this year's photography with a focus on surfaces and textures. Still to post are images of brick, metal, stone, fibreglass, wood and even mud!

A big part of photographing surfaces and textures is colour and I am often on the look out for certain colours or combinations of colour. For example, these images of gravestones in Nottingham’s General Cemetery where a chance encounter and I stopped when I spotted the acid yellow/green lichen set against the blues of the old gravestones. Broadly, these are complementary colours being opposite each other on an artist’s colour wheel and this type of combination makes the following compositions and final photographs more impactful:

Penryn Harbour Walk - Photography Week 19 (2016)

In addition to the images of the Andvari, these are a selection of other photographs taken whilst walking from Penryn Harbour towards Flushing.

St Gluvias Cemetery

The harbour path passes through a pine covered cemetery which is part of the historic parish of St Gluvias dating from the 6th century. The chapel and a number of the gravestones date from the mid 19th century:

Dinghies

I passed a number of dinghies lined up on the shoreline and stopped to captured these textures of cracking fibreglass (and a sorry looking one-legged Teddy!):

I often wonder whether images of textures and surfaces have a general appeal. It might be a photographers' (or some photographers') subject only. I certainly get a few curious looks at times and the odd person asking what I am taking pictures of - they seem none the wiser when I explain!

For anyone with an interest I would recommend a great book by Polly O'Neil - Surfaces and Textures - A Visual Sourcebook (A & C Black Publishers, 2008)

Flushing

More surface and texture shots of the workshops on the outskirts of Flushing and a couple of reflections:

Egret & Orchid

I spotted this Egret in Gorrangorras Creek. Even at 400mm it was small in the frame but I was surprised at the sharpness after a large crop. Also nearby was an early purple orchid (Orchis mascula).