St Peter Port and Home

The series of workshops now being over, I had a few hours to wander around St Peter Port before catching the ferry after lunch.  I've always liked the town, and it's sufficiently small that walking is the most sensible way of getting around.  What follows is a miscellany of shots from the morning.

It was then time to board the ferry and head back to Poole.  I'm always sad to leave Guernsey, and this had been a particularly enjoyable visit.  Huge thanks are due to Carl and Gill for running the "best hotel on the island", and to all the Guernsey photographers who made me feel so welcome.  I'll be back, whether you like it or not!

The last couple of pictures were taken from the ferry just before we docked in Poole.

It was then a three hour drive to Cambridge, followed by the dawning realisation that I needed to go to work the following morning.  Roll on retirement...

Sunset at Vazon Bay

After the final day of workshops on Guernsey, Carl, Gill and I went for a walk along Vazon Beach as the sun was setting.  It was a warm, balmy evening, and the place was virtually deserted.  All it needed was a dumb blonde labrador to complete the idyll...

There was a slightly serious note to beginning of the walk as all the flags on the island were flying at half mast.  This was due to the premature demise of Guernsey's Lieutenant Governor, Peter Walker, who had died suddenly the previous day.

The evening light was beautiful, and the sea wall was distinctly warm to the touch.

The shadows of two photographers, both attempting to make pictures out of the railings above.

Carl, photographing everything which moved (or didn't, in the case of the sand castle and crab sculpture which we found on the beach).

The final picture shows the strange and ancient Guernsey sport of "rock lifting".  No, I don't understand it either...

Sark (part three)

We had an excellent lunch at the Seigneurie, which is the traditional home of Sark's Seigneur.  The island has kept much of its feudal heritage, despite being occupied by the Germans during WWII and by the Barclay Brothers since 1993!  The Seigneurie Gardens looked very beautiful, despite the inclement weather.

A couple of pictures of the Seigneurie itself.

The weather started to improve while on the ferry back to St Peter Port, but I was somewhat pre-occupied having got my sticky hands on two of Fuji's newest lens offerings courtesy of Paul (who seemed to have collected the entire set).  These were the 90 f/2, which was used to capture the two reprobates below (Carol and Julie) and the 16 f/1.4, which was used to capture a very studious looking Carl.  Both lenses are stupidly sharp wide open, and I immediately started to lust after them.  Bad news...

Another with the 16 f/1.4.

I eventually had to give the borrowed lenses back, and returned to using my trusty 35 f/1.4.  The old sea dog below was shot with the lens wide open, and hopefully this gives some sense of quite how good these Fujinon XF lenses really are.

There were two cruise ships moored in the channel between Guernsey and Herm, and these were being serviced by a series of "shuttles" going backwards and forwards to St Peter Port harbour.

By the time we got back to Guernsey the rain had gone and the sun had come out.  A perfect end to a Grand Day Out.

Sark (part two)

No cars are allowed on Sark, so alternative modes of transport are necessary.  An important money-spinner for the island is the army of people who provide tours on a horse and trap.  I went on one back in 2011 during a family holiday, and can attest to it being a very peaceful, informative and entertaining way to see the sights.  On this occasion were were on Shanks's Pony, however, which gave me the opportunity to look at the horse's head rather than its back-side...

One of the picturesque rows of cottages on the island.

The Barclay Brothers have polarised opinion on Sark: firstly by purchasing the neighbouring island of Brecqhou; then by building a monstrous castle on it (as befits their collective ego); and, finally, by gradually attempting to take over Sark itself.  This they have done by buying up large tracts of land and planting vines on them, as well as building - and then closing - expensive hotels.  They sound like thoroughly nice people...

We walked to La Coupée, which is a narrow strip of land linking Sark and Little Sark.

Carol stopped to take a picture of the landscape...

...while Paul decided to concentrate on the local wildlife instead.

Speaking of wildlife, there was a pod of dolphins in the bay.  This is a tiny crop from an image using the longest lens at my disposal (a 70-200), but I'm fairly sure there were 5 or 6 animals in the pod.

Paul was well into Natural History mode by now, and decided to have a go at another of the wild inhabitants of the island.

OK - not exactly wild...

Some more pictures showing other forms of transport used on Sark.  Bicycles are everywhere, and so are tractors: the only motor vehicle allowed on the island.  Tractors are used for every conceivable purpose, including the island's "ambulance".

Sark (part one)

After two days of wall-to-wall Lightroom and Photoshop workshops on Thursday and Friday respectively, Saturday was a photographic outing to the beautiful island of Sark.  Because the 10:00 ferry was fully booked, we opted for the 08:00 sailing instead.  This turned out to be a cunning plan, as the weather was reasonable during the early part of the day.

When the going gets tough, the tough have breakfast.  Actually this was second breakfast, as some of us had grabbed a bacon butty (or even a "Full English") at a cafe in St Peter Port harbour before setting off.  By now the sun had gone in, but the parasols were doing a fine job of keeping the rain off our camera gear.

One of the shops in "The Village" was displaying an assortment of top hats in a variety of colours.  Perhaps they're for the tourists, as I can't for the life of me imagine why the locals would want one.

The rain had started in earnest now, so we decided to shelter in St Peter's Church.  Rather stupidly, in an attempt to travel light I had decided to leave my tripod at home.  Bad move, but I still managed to get a few shots of the interior.

This is Carol, very generously sharing her bean bag with those of us who were less well prepared.

The rain eventually eased off, so we started to go for a walk around the island.  The final picture of this set is Sark's prison - with a bicycle for scale.