Landscape | alan frost photography

Posts tagged ‘Landscape’

Haytor – a chance to reminisce.

Haytor

I recently came home from a very enjoyable and relaxing family holiday on the borders of Devon and North Cornwall. On the return journey I wanted to take a small detour and visit the town of Bovey Tracey, which lies on the eastern edge of Dartmoor National Park, and more specifically to go and see the granite outcrop of Haytor. This is perhaps the most recognisable and accessible of all the Dartmoor Tors, so on arrival I was not surprised to find a visitor centre, car and coach park catering for the tourists. Fortunately the weather was inclement and the number of people clambering up the relatively easy hill to reach Haytor were few.

I wanted to return mainly for sentimental reasons. I have fond memories of family holidays in this part of Devon when I was in my mid teens, some forty plus years ago (take large gulp…… and ask how is that possible?) and had not been back since. Life moves on and sadly both my parents and my sister have all passed away in the intervening years. My wife stayed by the car to photograph the very tame Dartmoor ponies and I walked up the hill with my grown up daughter and our dog.

I was pleased that the rocks of Haytor were just as I had remembered them; exposed to the elements but to my eyes nothing had really changed. My memory of Haytor is now as it was when I was a teenager. Still proud and strong, still dramatic and still commanding spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. It felt good to be back experiencing this great location with my own family and for a few moments to stand quietly, touch the stone, and reminisce about past times.

It was also good to be reminded that some things change and some things remain the same, which is just as well, as we all need a ‘rock of stability’ in our lives.

A ‘dank’ Devon walk with a camera.

There are times when I enjoy taking photographs in the mist and the rain, when visibility and the light is poor, but the mood and atmosphere can be rather special. These three photographs were all taken in Devon countryside whilst out on a walk with our dog. The low cloud and mist didn’t lift all day, but apart from some early rain, it was just a damp and rather dank sort of day. Nevertheless I found a few locations where the camera came out to capture what I saw and felt as I walked along narrow footpaths and country lanes.

In all three images I have added some grain or noise, as well a slight tone, which I think enhances the overall look of the photograph.

Please click on any image to see a larger version.

Thanks as always for looking.

The River Arun at South Stoke – one of my favourite locations

River Arun at South Stoke

The River Arun has its source in St Leonard’s Forest to the east of Horsham and flows down through the towns of Pulborough and Arundel, finally reaching the sea at Littlehampton. Its course cuts through the South Downs, creating the Arun Valley. This shot was taken at South Stoke which has to be one of my favourite locations in West Sussex. It has featured before on my blog and I am sure will do so again in the future.

Here are some links to other entries with images taken in and around this lovely location –

Using ‘blur’ down by the River Arun

Churches in the landscape – South Stoke

A week on and it’s back to South Stoke

Cow portraits taken near South Stoke

The best catch of the day

Mist on the Test

I can’t describe myself as a fisherman, but when a good friend of mine invited me to join him for a day of fly fishing on the River Test in Hampshire the answer was always going to be yes please! I had been fly fishing before, but never caught anything apart from a few weeds and the odd tree branch when my cast was less than accurate.

We wanted to get to our destination quite early as we had booked a gillie for the morning. Hopefully he would teach us a thing a two which might increase our chances of success. As we drove towards the village of Timsbury, which is just to the north of Romsey, the morning mist had yet to clear, so I had already anticipated there might be the chance of a quick photograph before the sun burnt through.

When we arrived no one else was there so we pieced together our rods, attached the reel, chose our flies and prepared ourselves for the first cast. All this time I was admiring the scene that surrounded me. The mist rising from the river, obscuring the view of the fields in the distance. It was calm and serene but I knew it would not last long. The camera came out and ‘Mist on the Test’ was taken.

We saw a fleeting glimpse of a pair of kingfishers, watched grebes diving for their food and swans enjoying the beautiful spring sunshine, but neither of us caught a single fish; in fact we didn’t even get a bite. But it was a glorious relaxing day if a little frustrating at times. I also committed the cardinal sin of not charging my batteries over night, so the low level battery warning was blinking before the day had even begun. Even the spare battery had little or no charge. So I gave up the photography and concentrated on the fishing. Little did I know that the first release of the shutter turned out to be the best catch of the day.

And just to prove we were fishing here is my friend Nik making his first cast of the day.

First cast

Looking through the archives – Welsh hillside

Welsh hillside

I always enjoying looking back through photographs that were taken a few years ago, partly because it’s a fun thing to do and secondly to see whether or not a colour image taken before I decided to concentrate on monochrome, would convert well to black and white. This particular shot of three sheep on a Welsh hillside in Ceredigion was taken back in August 2010 – a very typical grey day during a Welsh Summer!

The second shot is of a Welsh track taken on the same walk. The pathway leads the eye to the rain clouds ahead.

Welsh track

Fortunately I will be visiting Wales again later this year. Snowdonia this time. It’s an area I do not know at all but it has great photographic appeal. The combination of mountains, lakes and dramatic skies is right up my street. Yes, I am sure it will rain but that just adds to the atmosphere. I can’t wait!

Both shots were taken with a little Panasonic LX3. A camera I still own although it rarely gets used these days.