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www.richardfraserphotography.co.uk
An excellent weekend spent exploring S Wales with dear photography friends old and new.
'Nature's architecture at its finest Tower Bridge, see from the Fairyland Loop Trail in Bryce Canyon National Park where every step feels like walking through another world. Utah's red rock beauty never fails to amaze!"
After days of rain we finally had really great weather at Lake Langisjör!
You can find the first part of my travel report on my blog, the second part will follow very soon! Watch the video!
Nach Tagen des Regens hatten wir am See Langisjör dann endlich auch einmal richtig tolles Wetter!
Den ersten Teil des Reiseberichtes findet Ihr auf meinem Blog, der 2. Teil folgt sehr bald! Schaut Euch das Video an!
www.flipbook.schaake.de/blog/2017/10/20/island2017bericht
Viele Grüße Michael
Normally on a Friday evening at this time I'm in that jubilant end of week mode as I pull my kit on for five a side football and wonder what's for dinner afterwards. It's a routine that's been going on for more than seventeen years now, and I've never been sure what I'm going to replace it with when I finally accept that I can't keep up with the youngsters any more.
At the moment football is off the agenda of course, so when Lee managed to cram Porthleven, high tide, 5:30pm and big waves all into one short and excited sentence yesterday, I immediately confirmed my availability. As soon as my day at the office (well my kitchen at the moment) had passed, I grabbed the camera bag, trusting that everything was in it, threw the tripod into the boot of the car and set off.
I've never photographed Porthleven before. I really have no idea why, as it has a reputation for exciting storms, despite being on the more sheltered south coast of Cornwall. Perhaps it's because I live just five minutes drive from the more predictably brutal north coast and its surging tides which fill so many of my evenings with contented drama. We started by the church with the big lens fixed on the cliffs to the east of town where some big waves were beating the coast with a steady rhythm, before heading up to this vantage point on the other side of the harbour. It wasn't easy with the 70-200 on the tripod and a six stop filter thrown in to add to the complications, but on the odd image that wasn't destroyed by the buffeting winds, the results were quite exciting. On this one a seagull was generous enough to stay put for a few seconds and add to the composition.
Sometimes I arrive at a location not really having much of a clue what I'm going to point the camera at. Last night, returning here for the first time in some months I sat at the edge of the dunes, gazing absently at the scene and being indecisive until I realised that the silhouettes and their shadows on the wet sand left by the outgoing tide were the subject. I hope this complete stranger and her jumping dog don't mind me putting them in front of you. I hope her friend and the second dog, who had adopted less pleasing stances don't mind me using a bit of content aware fill to airbrush them from the story. I'm forever forgetting what a wonderful lens I have in the 70-200. I need to remember to use it more often.
I've been to Gwithian so many times over almost the whole of my life, both with and without the camera bag. It's been a family favourite for body boarding, twilight barbecues and throwing frisbees as far as possible ever since childhood. At that time, money was scarce and my parents couldn't afford exotic holidays abroad, which hardly seemed to matter when this place was on the doorstep. We would always be among the last off the beach, heading back to our camping pitch, or to home if it wasn't holiday time as the dusk settled around us.
To the right of this spot lies the sea encircled Godrevy Lighthouse, which we recently discovered to our horror is dubbed "Seal Island" in summertime for the benefit of visitors from beyond the county border by the boat trip operators of St Ives. I've no idea how successful the ruse is, besides which you'll see far more seals here in winter, lolling about on the beach at nearby Mutton Cove. To the left, one can walk happily for at least two miles on unbroken sands towards the Hayle Estuary, much of it completely unoccupied. In summer the sun sinks directly into St Ives Bay, often setting the sky alight with golds, oranges and pinks as the blue hour is heralded in. For me, this has always been my Echo Beach. Even though Porthtowan and Portreath are closer, this is always the place I head for first. When I eventually summon up the courage to don the wetsuit for the first time this summer, it will be right here too.
As for the picture itself, I've been doing a little experimentation with ICM and blending to get this sort of effect. I follow a chap called Mark Tunstall who does it very well, and decided to try it myself. Still a work in progress but I like the effect - I suspect it doesn't work for everyone. I've also been intentionally reducing the colour range in each image. Whether it's a principle I'll continue to follow forever I don't know yet, but the extra free time recently has enabled further progress along the great learning curve of landscape photography. Time to experiment and try and discover a style that I'm truly content with. I'm not there yet, but life is about the journey and not the end result.
I hope those of you who have been under stringent lockdown are able with care to have a little more freedom now. I've enjoyed reworking old images over the last two months, but not as much as I'm enjoying getting outside and making new ones.
Stay safe. Stay well.
Caught between the earth and the storm, she walks into a world of shadow and light.
The silence is thick, the mountains breathe quietly.
There’s no clear path, only the pull of something beyond — something waiting.
Khwai Concession | Botswana
Love how strong and muscular this lioness is. Every pound is muscle and tells you, that you have a real predator in front of you.
Her pride took down an elephant the night before and I imagine, that she had a good portion in the hunt.
Taken while fishing along the shore of Long Branch Lake at Long Branch State Park. Captured with an iPhone 17 Pro Max.
I really loved the trail up Angel's landing with its breathtaking views, amazing rocks, and great trail.
Woodland witness protection with mushroom surveillance backup…and he’s totally judging your hiking outfit.
Agent Whiskers reporting from the Aquatic Surveillance Unit. Method of gathering intel – periscope mode. Status – damp but effective. Mission – I’d tell you, but then I’d have to splash you.
A beautiful sunrise at the pinnacles National Park in California. Never imagined to be treated to a beauitful sunrise but scrambling at the end to find a frame was a good adventure
Canon EOS 1V, Kodak Portra 400, ISO 400, Cinestil C-41 Kit
Sometimes I take these side by side, film and digital. A repeat, shot handheld of the tree in the morning mist. This was shot on Kodak Portra 400 with the Canon EOS 1V, the last true professional 35mm film camera ever made. The Canon 1V utilizes the EF mount, so you get that modern, sweet, sweet L glass... Lens is the 70-200 L 2.8 IS III
Düsseldorf | Germany
The Kingfishers were pretty activ all day and luckily I looked at my back, instead watching were they had been just seconds before.
This one was sitting only a few meters away in a dead tree.
Tried to scope out a intimate composition from the beautiful looking rolling hills of the East bay Hills during spring time
We witnessed a nice flight show of all kinds of "Birds of Prey" at the Mpayathutlwa Pan Waterhole in the Mabuasehube region. Besides this Secretary Bird, there were a dozen Bateleurs, adults and Juveniles in the air.
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!