Scotland 2019 11: Isle of May

Harriet and I were both very keen to visit the Isle of May, even though - being the end of August - it was well outside the "puffin" season.  Access to the island is provided either by ferry, the May Princess, or a small inflatable boat, the Osprey.  We chose the latter as it gave us longer on the island, as well as being capable of getting closer to the shoreline in order to observe the birds and seals.  The sailing times are dictated by the tides, and this particular trip lasted from 9am to 2pm.

The crossing can be rough (see later), so everyone is provided with a full set of waterproofs.

The waterproofs weren't really needed on the outward journey, as the sea was almost completely calm.  The next three pictures show Anstruther, the ferry boat and a view across the Firth of Forth with Bass Rock in the distance.

There was a distinct sense of anticipation as we approach the Isle of May.

Osprey is capable of getting very close to the cliffs when the conditions are right, which they were on the day we visited.  Sadly, being so late in the season, the number of nesting birds was actually very small.

The Isle of May itself is a working Nature Reserve, with a small population of scientists living in the old lighthouse.

The central part of the island had a couple of small freshwater lakes and lots of wild flowers, some of which were still flowering.

The island is also home to lots of rabbits, and we saw a couple along with their burrows.

The majority of the burrows belonged to the (now departed) puffins, and the next couple of pictures give some idea of how many there are and their proximity to the path.  It must be absolutely astonishing to walk through the burrow area when they are occupied by breeding birds.  We definitely need to re-visit at a better time of year.

By 1pm it was time to catch the tide and leave the island.

Although the sea looks calm and benevolent in the picture above, we were warned that it might be "a bit choppy" on the way back to Anstruther.  The Scottish art of under-statement.  Osprey bounced along the waves, showering us with copious quantities of sea-water; and, as a result, it seemed a good idea to keep my camera within a sealed (but not very waterproof) bag.  No pictures of the return journey, in other words, but suffice it to say that both of us were soaked and frozen by the time we got back to Anstruther.  A good excuse to visit the café in the Scottish Fisheries Museum for a rather belated (and very welcome) lunch.

The Delights of Dungeness

Dungeness is a truly strange place with a very odd atmosphere.  It's the end of the line for the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, so attracts families with children as well as "train spotter" types (all men, it has to be said) taking pictures of diminutive locomotives.  It's also the site of a rather bohemian settlement, made up of tin shacks and wooden huts, and typified by Derek Jarman's "Prospect Cottage" with its outside walls covered in poetry.  And, towering above both these (rather quaint) features, both literally and metaphorically, is an enormous nuclear power station and working lighthouse.  Something for everyone, in other words...

There are a couple of places to grab lunch in Dungeness, and we chose the one at the end of the railway which gave delightful and unrestricted views of the power station.  Here are two of the ladies in my life (including the dumb blonde - on the left, in case there's any confusion) enjoying what the Station Cafe has to offer.

I struggled to find anything photogenic associated with the power station, and this was the best I could come up with.  I know: pathetic!

It was clearly a good place for fishing, though, as there were several people on the beach trying their luck.

The lighthouse and surrounding buildings were slightly more inspiring than the power station, but the lighting was such that there was little point in wandering around the rest of the site.

Finally, a single image which rather summed up Dungeness for me.  One of the residents had clearly been beach-combing, and produced a pile of plastic junk which your average magpie would give its eye teeth for.  Impressive...

Like I said, a very strange place indeed.

Lighthouse, New Brighton

Lighthouse, New Brighton was taken in - well, I'll let you hazard a wild guess where it was taken - during the "blue hour" on an October evening.  The tide was coming in rather rapidly, so each exposure was a race between composing the shot and seeing the tripod sink slowly into the sand!  As with Wharfedale Hillside I knew that I'd want to lighten the image and print it on a soft, textured art paper.  In fact, the processing of this image is pretty well identical to the other one, with the obvious exception that there weren't any trees growing in the the River Mersey...

This is the original image straight out of the camera.  Photoshop was used to level the horizon and clone out the lights from shipping and the Liverpool side of the river.  The image was then blended with a lightened, softened copy of itself before adding grain and fixing the tonal balance in Nik Colour Efex Pro.  A small amount of dodging and burning was used to emphasise the texture in the sky and the water, and to bring out details in the lighthouse itself.  Canon 5DmkII, EF 24-105/4L, 37s @ f/22, ISO 100.

#NikSoftware #ColorEfexPro

It's that Lighthouse again...

After a day stuck inside a converted indoor running track at the PAGB Print Championships, knowing that the weather outside was rather pleasant, it was frustrating to be turfed out at 5pm when the rain was just starting.  After returning to New Brighton from Connah's Quay, the rain had virtually stopped so we ventured out onto the beach to photograph the lighthouse.  By this time it was almost dark, and - to be fair - we must have had almost half an hour without any water falling from the sky.  In that time I managed to take about half a dozen pictures of the lighthouse, only two of which were sharp.

There's less than 15 minutes between the two pictures, but the difference in colour balance is quite astonishing.

Oh - and thank you for asking - Cambridge Camera Club managed to reach the Championship final, and ended up 8th out of 38.  Not bad for a "normal" club...

New Brighton

After the PAGB Championships, we headed to New Brighton to photograph the lighthouse as the sun went down.  I've tried processing the pictures in various ways, but I'm not sure which I prefer yet.

It isn't often I get the opportunity to take pictures as the sun goes down, so I'd forgotten how magical it was photographing in twilight.  The following pictures range from 30 seconds to 5 minute exposures.

 

The only downside of our trip to New Brighton was that the Fish & Chip shop was closed by the time we got there.  Tedious people...