The Lighthouse Diaries
Most people will say we did the proper thing on the day Storm Ciara visited the British Isles. The nation had been solemnly warned by weather forecasters on all channels that staying indoors was the only sensible option as winds of almost 100 miles per hour were due to arrive and make a thorough examination of the landscape. It was an unwelcome interruption to our three day visit to North Wales when every moment was precious and full of photographic intent, but we decided that there would be other adventures ahead of us if we put our own personal safety ahead of artistic ambition.
And so we put on a pot of coffee and settled down in front of "Whisky Galore" instead. My brother Dave had spotted the fact that our rented cottage boasted a DVD player and decided to bring the entertainment with him. If you haven't seen this film (and I'm talking about the 1949 version rather than the more recent offering that I cannot vouch for), then I highly recommend it on a dark damp Sunday afternoon, preferably along with a glass of something Scottish and peaty. And I beg you please, without ice or other form of diluting substance.
During the film we all kept an eye on events outside the window of course. Only a couple of miles of flat open land separated our temporary home from the North coast of Wales, and apart from the odd brave motorist and one seagull notably flying backwards, all we could hear was huge amounts of air being moved rapidly from one place to another. Until early in the afternoon it began to ease. When we stepped outside, the first thing we noticed was that the recycling bins had been distributed extravagantly across the road outside the cottage. Passing cars had evidently had to engage in a bit of obstacle dodging during the morning.
It's only about 17 miles from where we were staying to Penmon Lighthouse, but the journey took two hours. There are two bridges onto Anglesey, and the larger one, the Britannia Bridge remained closed, while seemingly all of the traffic in North Wales convened at a single roundabout near Bangor to cross the stately Menai Bridge in single file. As we queued, Dave joked that the tractor in front of us was probably going all the way to Penmon. It seemed less funny when it really did lead us almost all of the way to our destination.
We'd gone to North Wales primarily to shoot in the mountains of Snowdonia, but somehow managed to visit no less than four lighthouses. Penmon, on the leeward side of Anglesey was number two, and we managed to catch it in between some brutal squalls. As Dave headed towards the edge of the water the instruction came through by phone for him to stand still and look heroic while he worked out his own composition.
After a cursory glance I'd ignored the Penmon pictures until today, as I couldn't work out how to edit them satisfactorily, and other images from the trip seemed easier to work on. But it's a bank holiday weekend and the blazing sun that we were promised today failed to materialise so I decided to persevere until I got something I felt reasonably content with. At this rate I might even manage to produce a shot from Llandwyn Island on the first evening when the mountains of Snowdonia disappeared into the distant cloud. No promises though!
The Lighthouse Diaries
Most people will say we did the proper thing on the day Storm Ciara visited the British Isles. The nation had been solemnly warned by weather forecasters on all channels that staying indoors was the only sensible option as winds of almost 100 miles per hour were due to arrive and make a thorough examination of the landscape. It was an unwelcome interruption to our three day visit to North Wales when every moment was precious and full of photographic intent, but we decided that there would be other adventures ahead of us if we put our own personal safety ahead of artistic ambition.
And so we put on a pot of coffee and settled down in front of "Whisky Galore" instead. My brother Dave had spotted the fact that our rented cottage boasted a DVD player and decided to bring the entertainment with him. If you haven't seen this film (and I'm talking about the 1949 version rather than the more recent offering that I cannot vouch for), then I highly recommend it on a dark damp Sunday afternoon, preferably along with a glass of something Scottish and peaty. And I beg you please, without ice or other form of diluting substance.
During the film we all kept an eye on events outside the window of course. Only a couple of miles of flat open land separated our temporary home from the North coast of Wales, and apart from the odd brave motorist and one seagull notably flying backwards, all we could hear was huge amounts of air being moved rapidly from one place to another. Until early in the afternoon it began to ease. When we stepped outside, the first thing we noticed was that the recycling bins had been distributed extravagantly across the road outside the cottage. Passing cars had evidently had to engage in a bit of obstacle dodging during the morning.
It's only about 17 miles from where we were staying to Penmon Lighthouse, but the journey took two hours. There are two bridges onto Anglesey, and the larger one, the Britannia Bridge remained closed, while seemingly all of the traffic in North Wales convened at a single roundabout near Bangor to cross the stately Menai Bridge in single file. As we queued, Dave joked that the tractor in front of us was probably going all the way to Penmon. It seemed less funny when it really did lead us almost all of the way to our destination.
We'd gone to North Wales primarily to shoot in the mountains of Snowdonia, but somehow managed to visit no less than four lighthouses. Penmon, on the leeward side of Anglesey was number two, and we managed to catch it in between some brutal squalls. As Dave headed towards the edge of the water the instruction came through by phone for him to stand still and look heroic while he worked out his own composition.
After a cursory glance I'd ignored the Penmon pictures until today, as I couldn't work out how to edit them satisfactorily, and other images from the trip seemed easier to work on. But it's a bank holiday weekend and the blazing sun that we were promised today failed to materialise so I decided to persevere until I got something I felt reasonably content with. At this rate I might even manage to produce a shot from Llandwyn Island on the first evening when the mountains of Snowdonia disappeared into the distant cloud. No promises though!