Show Basket (0 items costing £0.00)Over Easter we drove back to Saltash to visit family for the Easter weekend. I made sure I used the time to take some new photos of the area. This photo was taken the morning before we left – perhaps one of the easier photos as the camera was in the conservatory and a cup of tea was nearby!
Coombe Viaduct, Tamar Bridge and Royal Albert Bridge (aka Brunel Bridge)
I spent the first 25 years of my life living in Cornwall, but when you live somewhere you often don’t appreciate or even know what’s around you. Whilst visiting family, I wanted to take a trip into deepest, darkest Cornwall to get some photos of the Cornish coast so I poured over the map in true Famous Five fashion and found a lighthouse on an island. A Google search found some photos, some of which were very impressive! My parents who have lived in Cornwall since I was born, so 34 years now, had also never been there or even heard of it! So we set off to see Godrevy Lighthouse…
After visiting a few quoits in the area, we did a quick recce of the area.
Godrevy Lighthouse, Godrevy Point, Cornwall
After a meal at a local pub, we headed back for sunset.
Godrevy Lighthouse, Godrevy Point, Cornwall
Godrevy Lighthouse, Godrevy Point, Cornwall with a 10 stop ND filter
Godrevy Lighthouse, Godrevy Point, Cornwall
I’m pleased to announce that my 2011 calendars of Gower, Brecon Beacons, Pontardawe and Saltash are now available on my buy page. Various outlets will be stocked over the next few weeks and they will be available to buy direct from at the Brecon Craft Fairs in August, September, November and December and the Saltash Wesley craft fair in October.
During the stay in Cornwall, I was able to capture the steam train’s return journey too, although lighting conditions were harsh. There must have been around 100 people watching it from the Tamar Bridge car park!
Cornish Riviera Express crossing Coombe Viaduct
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much steam from the engines as they crossed the Brunel Bridge.
Cornish Riviera Express crossing the Royal Albert Bridge
When in Cornwall, I had a sunrise down on Saltash Waterfront planned so got up early and arrived at 4:50am. The BBC website said sunrise was at 5:06am. At 5:20am, the sun rose and I shot several photos. This is one of my favourites:
Sunrise at Saltash Waterfront
Apologies for the poor pun in the title! Every so often, it’s possible to have one of those rare days that are perfect and this was one of those days. Whilst in Cornwall, I arranged for my parents to pick me up at 9am from the in-laws and drive down to deepest, darkest Cornwall for the day, stopping off at Roche Rock, a couple of quoits and then after a pub meal, watching sunset at Godrevy Point. The weather was warm and sunny which really helped the mood too. The drive down was good (although we missed the Roche Rock turning due to the new A30 and my maps dating back 20 years). We shared Lanyon Quoit and Men an Tol with other visitors, but Mulfra Quoit and Zennor Quoit we had to ourselves. After the quoits, we went to Godrevy Point to do a recce for the evening shoot, went for a pub meal and then back to Godrevy Point but those photos are for another time.
I went down to Cornwall with the aim to get a set of four square black and white photos of Neolithic Cornwall. I would have liked a standing stone rather than the third quoits, but that didn’t become obvious until later in the day when I didn’t have Google to research the area with. Below are the four shots I have come away with. I am pleased with them and feel I have fulfilled my objective. Plus this was the best day I’ve had in a long time – no children to look after, no work to do (OK, so photography is work but it didn’t feel like it) and parents who actually had a day without being stressed about little things. A very rare day indeed and one I’ll treasure for a long time.
TL: Zennor Quoit; TR: Mulfra Quoit; BL: Lanyon Quoit; BR: Men an Tol
All images were taken by either lying on the ground or crouching down – one thing I’ve worked out is that getting down low is the best way to photograph ancient monuments, get them to break the horizon and emphasise them.
I really ought to thank one of my Facebook friends, Adrian Oakes, who wrote as his status “Forecast is looking good for sunrise. Another 3am start looming….”. When it comes to early mornings, I tend to procrastinate about actually getting up and going out; I sometimes look for excuses why I shouldn’t go. Which is all very silly as when I’m out for sunrise, I’m one of the happiest people alive. Walking around in the pre-dawn light, seeing the sun slowly rise (usually several minutes late from the BBC sunrise time) and then feeling the warmth of the new day slowly seep into my cold body is an experience I will never tire of. What makes the procrastinating even more silly is I was trying to decide whether to go to a location just 10 minutes walk from where I was staying, my childhood home from birth to 25 and where my parents still live. Anyway, I saw Adrian’s status which kicked my bottom into gear and I decided to get go for it.
So I set my alarm from 5am, got up at 4:50am (I always wake before my alarm on sunrise shoots), dressed and walked out the door. I met my first dog walker at 5am, tried a shot of Devonport from Saltash Comprehensive School (or whatever it’s called now) and then proceeded down into Churchtown Farm Community Nature Reserve, but slightly wary of dogs – it’s a haven for dog walkers, but I’m not happy with dogs and they tend to get defensive when I’m using the tripod (was out once, sensed someone behind me and it was a dog crouched down and it growled horribly when I looked at it). I was pleased to see mist lying around and was glad I’d made the effort to get up. After taking a few shots of Trematon Castle and Forder, I headed into Point Field as the sun was rising. Realising I was in the wrong place, I ran to the right place in the field and set up the tripod whilst getting my breath back (I’m fit, but not a runner). I only knew this was the right place due to a walk here earlier in the week, which highlights the benefits of a recce.
River Lynher sunrise
I then walked around Point Field to the view towards the Ince Estate, which was hidden in the mist.
Shillingham Point from Point Field
Slightly further along, I shot a photo or two of Trematon Castle through the trees and then walked into the next field. By now, the sun had risen a little higher and had lit the underside of Forder Viaduct so I headed back to Point Field. As I got the camera set up, I heard the first Penzance train of the day. I quickly framed, focused and got ready. To be honest, I’m not sure of the photo would look better without the train (I do have one without the train, but haven’t processed it yet).
Trematon Castle and Forder Viaduct
With the photo shoot over, I walked home for breakfast. A good mornings work and it wasn’t even 7am yet!
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