Moorland and More

Land Rover Nationals at Newnham Park

2010-06-03T21:21:00.006+01:00

Newnham was the venue for the ALRC National event over the Bank Holiday weekend; a good chance to get some action photos and test out the autofocus!

I managed to get some good keepers after reading up on the best sports set up for the Nikon D300s. It certainly paid off as I've never been happy with my fast action shots before

I'm keen to try this technique out again as soon as possible - anyone know where I can borrow a fast jet?!

This machine is awesome - the QT Wildcat - virtually indestructible off-roader that looks the business and sounds real mean!

Bluebells at last!

2010-05-23T20:25:00.005+01:00

At last the weather is kind to me. It was perfect weather for shooting these bluebells near Dewerstone on Dartmoor last week - overcast but bright, hardly any wind, and I had the wood to myself for a whole 3 hours. No-one else around apart from cuckoos that nearly sent me up the wall!!

I'm hoping to go back again and get some images with more emphasis on the blue carpet with a longer lens.

Long time, no post...

2010-05-19T14:40:00.001+01:00

It's over 6 months since I last posted anything here. Good job no-one is relying on my photographic pearls of wisdom!
I'm currently waiting to shoot a bluebell wood that I found last weekend, it will be perfect in a few days time. Unfortunately I am staring out of the window at drizzle and mist - horrible stuff - and just praying that the rain will stop sometime this week. Hopefully I will be able to put a few shots up here as soon as I can get outside!

Just so you can see I haven't been completely idle camera-wise over the last few months here are a couple of photos from a recent holiday to the Lake District.

This is the view towards Old Man of Coniston and Wetherlam.

And an abandoned mine building on the path up the Old Man, converted to black and white and with some dodging and burning in places.

I promise to update more often!
See you soon!

Happy Birthday Smeaton's Tower

2009-10-15T15:55:00.002+01:00

Tomorrow is 250 years since the candles were first lit in the lighthouse warning ships of the danger at the Eddystone Reef. The third lighthouse to be built on the reef, it was designed to mirror the shape of an oak tree by its designer, John Smeaton.

In 1884 it was transported piece by piece and rebuilt on Plymouth Hoe after the rock on which it stood started to crumble under the ferocious pounding of the sea. It now stands proudly as an icon for the city of Plymouth and a landmark for miles around.
A new lighthouse was built on a nearby rock which can be seen from the Hoe on a clear day, standing next to the stump of the foundation stones of Smeaton's original tower as it was deemed uneconomic to dismantle the last largest stones.

Goosey Fair

2009-10-15T15:41:00.005+01:00

Yesterday was Tavistock Goose Fair, which is one of the oldest fairs in England, tracing it's history back for almost 900 years. Originally named as farmers brought their geese to be sold and fattened up for Christmas, there was not much evidence of this yesterday. Only a few pens with geese were in evidence and even less of our four legged livestock on display. Most people though were more keen on the stalls and fair rides such as this one, FreakOut. (I nearly did when I saw it... needless to say I don't have any pictures of the view from the top!!)

The Duke of Bedford must have wondered what all the noise was for...!

Summer's back!

2009-08-09T21:18:00.002+01:00

The weekend got all summery again. This heather was taken on Friday evening, arrived a bit too late and the sun was already dipping below the tree line at Roborough Down, but I did manage to catch this clump of heather in the sunshine.

Over at Yennadon the new growth on these conifers seemed to stand out so I have tried an infra-red effect as it was a beautiful sky. A poloriser helped to darken the blue sky and bring out the clouds, then I adjusted the colours using a black and white conversion in Photoshop.

Evening at Down Tor

2009-08-03T20:28:00.005+01:00

Some great lighting and that stormy sky that I love, helped by a ND graduated filter produced this shot. The granite takes on a completely different colour in the late evening sun.

This second shot is a composite of 2 exposures for the sky and the fields. Maybe the sky could have been darker still but I like the delicate tones and the vivid green fields and slanting shadows, overall a successful evening's shooting.

Fiery skies

2009-08-03T20:20:00.003+01:00

These trees again, my favourites at the moment, but surrounded by woods they are hard to photograph to keep them separate from the rest of the trees. Really good effect in the setting sun here as the whole sky lit up, 2 minutes later it was gone!

This is the 3 granite stacks that make up Lowery Tor overlooking Burrator. The sun was very fickle this evening, usually giving great sidelighting just at the moment I was changing the lens. Grrrrr!
But I did manage to capture this panorama...

At last!

2009-07-20T21:29:00.005+01:00

Finally after all this horrible weather, managed to get out with the camera on Friday at the Maristow Estate. Took this shot of wheat ears. yes that is lens flare but I like the effect!

Also got a lovely shot of the sun setting behind these trees, the most photogenic trees I have seen yet - perfectly shaped...

Impressive skies

2009-06-20T21:57:00.004+01:00

Last night I went out to Leedon Tor, the cloud formation was varied with clouds at different heights. I managed to get this one before the sun got hazy and eventually disappeared behind a bank of cloud. At that point I knew shooting was over...

Saturday afternoon on the top of Down Tor, I took this shot of Cuckoo Rock momentarily bathed in sunlight. Dartmoor is at its most "green" at the moment as you can see!

Lovely summer Saturday!!

2009-06-07T19:40:00.003+01:00

Well, what a washout Saturday! Until the sun came out in the evening... This was taken at Burrator Dam, the vibrant greens reflecting in the calm water.

As the evening got colder (and boy did it get cold!) a layer of mist formed over the water, making it look quite eerie ...

First post

2009-05-31T14:36:00.000+01:00

Hello and welcome to this blog, my first post!

I am hoping to update this on a weekly basis (other stuff permitting!) with news of photo trips and resulting images.

What a beautiful sunny weekend, not much good for photographs though, so I used this morning to recce some viewpoints around Walkhampton, but it was so hot walking!!