Anglesey

Trwyn Du Lighthouse, Penmon Point North Wales.

It's been what seems an absolute age since I've been here and it wasn't part of the plan for today, I'd planned to do a third day at the utterly amazing abandoned quaryy at Dinorwic (photos to follow) however a wrng turn, and a total inabilty to pass anything steam train related (Welsh Highland Railway) saw me well off the route and looking for another option, so Anglesey it was....

A quick check on tide times told me what I wanted to now with a low incoming tide here, good chance of some nice foreground.. A quick wander around and this composition just literally jumped out at me, S curved path directly to the lighthouse and some great deep seaweed encrusted rockpools left full by the last tide.

While I was taking this a guy came wandering down and was just about to walk right in front of my set up.. I asked him to hang on for a minute, he said "'oh are you taking pictures too" I'm not sure how much more obvious I could have been as a photographer without maybe a huge red arrow over my head and a neon sign saying 'Hi I'm a photographer', neverthless he seemed to see that I was also taking pictures... once I was done he walked right down to the water line took his snap, and then made his way back.... I said to him, "do you not think it is a better image from here"? to which he replied "no, you are far too far away here", so that was me told, I packed up and retreated to the car. Brilliant.

Conclusion from this trip: I need to visit North Wales so much more as it is absolutely beautiful, and an equal drive time to the Lakes or North Yorkshire. And maybe I should stand closer....

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Anglesey

Menai Bridge bathed in the golden morning glow as the morning mist rises up the staits

Ok I'll grab my coat.........

Not a cloud to be seen as I chased around Anglesey

Moody moonlight shot.

Parys Mountain, they have been mining copper here for over 4000years and in the 19c, this was Europe's largest copper mine. The remains of the windmill built in 1878, was used for pumping minewater.

Trywn Du Lighthouse (Penmon Lighthouse), with Puffin Island in the background, Dinmor Point, Penmon, Anglesey, Wales, UK. ...

Explore #1 13/08/2020

A few weeks ago I'd indentified just one evening where I had some free time to get out and see Comet Neowise. Since it wasn't going to be around again for another 6,766 years I though I'd better make the effort... and the thought of it being visible to the naked eye was far too much of a temptation to pass by.

Thankfully (and unusually) the weather was absolutely perfect for the evening I'd picked with very little cloud lingering around and thus millions of stars were clearly visible to the naked eye, arrivng well after dark was the hard part as not only was I struggling to see the comet I couldn't really see where I was going either without shining a really bright torch around and potentially ruining anyone elses shots that may be around although I couldn't make anyone out..

My arrival time coincided with the tide going back out so that was a huge help knowing I wasn't going to get cut off on the rocks I was now scrambling across in the dark to find a foreground.. once I'd got settled my eyes had adjusted to the dark and the Comet could clearly be seen, absolutely awesome to witness I just stood on watched on for a while taking it all in, after all it was the only time I'd ever get to see it..

This was taken a 0115AM, I finally settled on a 15 second exposure at f/2.8 and a little bit of lighting for the foreground rocks, it's really not often I do shooting at night and Astro work but I really enjoyed it, something very surreal about being stood in the sea at 0130 AM in Wellies shooting and watching a subject that is 64 million miles away. Not something you get to do everyday. And amazingly, no mishaps !

Have a zoom around at all the stars, sent my eyes crazy looking up at them all, due to light pollution you never get to see anything like this where I live.

Portfolio of images on my own website here

I'm going to have a bit of a rant, sorry but I do want to get this off my chest, After hearing what we in the UK are 'allowed' and 'not allowed' to do this week, this untouched from the archive image seemed like a timely upload as we appear to be banned from entering Wales.

While being banned from entering Wales I think is a good thing in the respect of we don't need to be spreading Covid 19 I'm horrified to hear that our absolute clown of a Prime Minister has allowed pretty much free travel all around England, Places along the Coast and also my beloved Lake District stand to be absolutely hammered by visitors at the worst possible time, these people in tiny places have been essentially cut off from non essential visitors and have contained the Covid 19 threat as best they can, only to be (for me) completely let down by our clueless London based Government who seem to think that the average English Citizen has suddenly inherited a load of common sense (despite all the brazen idiots already having tried to get into the lake district against repeated advice) These people stand to lose loved ones, businesses may never reopen and the Lkae District as we know it could very well take a LONG time to return to normal. If anyone reading this is considering visiting these places now Boris has said you can I'm begging you PLEASE DO NOT GO! it will still be there for you when it is all over as long as you treat it with respect NOW.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team along with many others have also pleaded with people to use common sense and not visit, which they shouldn't have been put in that position to do in the first place. I never do this kind of thing on here but if I can get through to just one person and stop them going then it will have been worthwhile... please forward the message to anyone you know intending to go.

Anyway back to this image...

A lot of you will know this spot well but for those who don't it's Penmon Point on Anglesey, North Wales, at this level of tide you can get this lovely path leading towards the lighthouse and rock pools filled with sea critters and seaweed, the island to the right is Puffin Island, when this is all over this area will be one I can't wait to get back to again.

Until then let's all stay safe and use our common sense :-)

Plenty more images on my personal website here

The sea is gradually eating away at the old brickworks, which used to make specialist bricks for steel furnace linings using the local quartzite. It wont be too long before the first circular kiln collapses into the sea.

A monochrome version of the high seas at Black Point, Penmon, Anglesey.

Very humbled to have had this photo selected as one of Flickr's "Compelling...