Towanroath Engine House - Photography Week 16 (2017)

Sitting high the cliffs close to Chapel Porth is Wheal Coates, a former tin mine which includes the Towanroath engine house. The location is absolutely perfect for landscape photography and, despite photographing it many times, there is always a detail either in landscape, or the weather, that makes me reach for the camera.

On this occasion it was a patch of pink thrift positioned nicely on the coastal path which caught my eye. Interestingly though, whilst the composition was obvious, it took a while to line up the shot. Maximising the foreground and getting the positioning of the engine house correct was the challenge. Even slight corrections changed the composition as demonstrated in the following two images:

In the first image the engine house and the clouds sit nicely in the composition. However, the foreground in the second image is far superior but the engine house is little too far to the right and the framing on the clouds is less effective. These are only small margins but they make a difference and demonstrates that whilst the location may be perfect for photography, there is no such thing as a perfect photograph.

When the tide allows, there is an alternative view of the engine house from the beach at Chapel Porth. The standing sea water can be used to add a reflection into the composition:

Of course, the engine house doesn't need to be every shot at this venue. In fact many photographers would deliberately exclude the building and references to location, preferring compositions that are based on shape, form, colour and texture. Photographs with obvious references to locations can be seen as clichéd or postcard photography.

For example, I have removed much of the locational information in the next set of images. The beach compositions are now about the sand patterns and the light. The cliff top image concentrates on colour and relationship between the yellow gorse flowers and the blue sea:

From my point of view, I see photographs which include elements like the Towanroath engine house as landscape standards. The aim is to represent the scene in the best possible way. I also see that landscape photography needs to be progressive and this means challenging the viewer beyond simple references to location.

Chapel Porth - Photography Week 34 (2016)

For a few moments at Chapel Porth the breaking sun swept across the landscape tracing the contours of the cliff and highlighting the remains of Wheal Coates mine.

This type of selective light ranks highly on my list of best photographic conditions and it was definitely worth the hour or so wait to see and capture.

To emphasize what difference direct light can make I have included a one shot without light in this reverse order sequence:

Cornish Coast - Photography Week 28 (2016)

After a few weeks break, the coastal landscapes from Cornwall return. Arguably, the best weather of the year has also arrived with blue skies and hot sunshine. It is good for tourism but from a photographic point view, moody and dramatic is often better than bright and blue.

That said, a patient wait until after 9pm at Chapel Porth produced a decent image with some warm light on the cliffs reflected in the wet sand below:

Prior to this, as the family enjoyed the sun, I tried to be inventive with the conditions using a 10 stop ND filter and switching the camera's settings to mono:

A late afternoon walk from St Agnes Head to Trevaunance Cove beach provided some clear views along the cliffs towards Perranporth with some fine heather colour in the foreground:

St Agnes is steeped in mining history and there are many remnants of the area's industrial past along the coastal path:

Also during the week there was some pleasant but hazy evening light further down the coast at Godrevy:

Best of the Rest - Photography Week 6 (2016)

These are a selection of other photographs taken during photography week 6 (8th to 14th February, 2016).

Porthtowan

Having captured a glorious rainbow on Porthtowan beach earlier in the week I returned on a less promising weather day to walk along the coastal path. The first part of the path is a steep climb up the cliff and whilst I do not take many people photographs, I do like the Lowry-esque nature of people (and dogs) walking on the beach below:

The view from the cliff top stretches all the way to St Ives Bay. Godrey island and lighthouse is highlighted by sunrays in the distance and the closer island/rock is Gull Rock off Portreath (I think). The greyness of the day and a few shafts of light created an atmosphere that suited a grainy black and white:

I stopped above Chapel Porth on the coastal path when there was a brief break in the cloud and some watery sunlight. Wheal Coates can be seen in the distance:

Rock Studies

With a couple of miles of coastline around Falmouth to explore there are always new bits of the rock formation to photograph:

Falmouth and Photo-Art

Walking along the seafront and the harbour is great for weather watching:

There is also opportunity to experiment with photo apps. These are a series of stylised black and whites around Falmouth harbour:

I created this pastel-like photo drawing of the Prince of Wales Pier in Falmouth:

Coverack

We spent a greyish Sunday afternoon looking around Coverack harbour: