Misc. from Cornwall

[JohnC]

No- sorry, Misc. not mist. lol. Now mist would make a lovely photo down there. These are the last you'll be pleased to know.  

We stopped off at Trevose Head (lighthouse-North coast) to see the kestrels, they're all over the place but mainly as dusk approached and the light was poor-  so not so good. We then moved on to Portreath and then Porthleven. Re. the waves.at Porthleven I was really a bit too close to the end of that breakwater -they were taken with the 24-105,the one showing the longest shot of the breakwater is  fairly accurate of how near I was to the end but must get the shot,whatever  

Photo 3 is photo 2 but in monochrome-just to see the difference.Which is best ?

These lighthouse shots are like a walk towards it I see-never mind  

I  had to lose the west tip of the outcrop in the last one to get the horizon straight,I always check the horizons back home.It was very windy up there and from time to time I lost concentration on the framing, because of the slight anxiety of getting blown away down the cliff plus I don't do heights very well either.
















Portreath.








Porthleven.

This first one is the Beckford-Smith Institute but I'd imagine it used to be a church. As you see I was on the beach.














Mullion Bay.

[markt]

Stunning shots John!!!     It's such a lovely part of the world down there.  I prefer the colour image over the black and white in this instance.

[rjgjr]

I would think you were on the Oregon Coast John, but then again, I think the English coastline is a bit prettier in my opinion. Some of these photos look like paintings. Did you do much PP on these? You are very brave to go out on that breakwater as far as you did, braver than me and our waves. I think I prefer the color version of the photo. The lighthouse looks like one up the coast at Yaquina Bay near Newport, OR. Beautiful set of photos again John.

[JohnC]

Thanks both. I'll go with you on the colour photo.of thee wave- I like the green.

That's what this place looks like,Richard, it's post-card stuff. I  catalogue and edit  with  Lightroom (Adobe) and I do very little with photos preferring to get it right on location  using grad. filters  re. the bright sky to help balance the exposure,some say do it  at home  in Photoshop but I'd rather sort it on location but sometimes  I'll add/subtract a touch on the exposure and  clarity (sharpening a touch) .. . I don't really think that photos should be taken too far away  from their original form.  I also bracket on exposure ,always checking the LCD image.What is a mystery to me however, is the colour difference between the  sea defence wall in the two photos after the lighthouse  dome close up. I checked the Lightroom history and I barely did anything to them-one was at 1/50 sec. the other at 100/sec. (both f8) and that's the only real difference. I've even gone back in and changed the exposure,clarity but nothing gets that colour difference,the rocks are lighter so maybe it was the sun-I remember looking at them and wondering why the difference. I also think that the camera and lens make a difference.  Canon 5D 11 and the Canon 24-105, and  I see them as an investment in my hobby really rather than a cost. I always check horizons  since someone told me about a photo a while ago in which the horizon wasn't straight  ( he did me a favour,I rigorously check that now )  I'll crop in a little if there's a distracting subject on the  extreme edges. Barely anything's been done to these ,I adjusted  exposure just to see what difference it would make  but even the exposure in most  was left as it was. When you stand on the cliff tops looking out to sea that's the colour  you see,it varies depending on which parts of it has the direct sunlight especially when there are large clouds about which will darken some areas .The lighthouses and sea were as you see them here. I did very little with the sunrise, photos too and I was astounded at the colours appearing as the sun moved above the horizon clouds especially. With the right weather it's an artists and photographers' paradise,infact that's  why there are so many artists living there and so many art shops and galleries... it's just  a pity that the roads are so narrow  

[paulster78]

Wonderful images John, a beautiful scenic area and you've captured some lovely colours in your images, horizons look good to me-its something that always catches me out too when taking seascapes. The colour over the B+W for me too. 

[Anton]

Very nice set of images and description John, Trevose Head is a great location to watch the sunset with the right conditions it can provide brilliant photo opportunities. The waves looked powerful at Porthleven if you were any closer I think you may have been taking some other images of a red & white helicopter coming to your rescue.

Thanks

Anthony.

[JohnC]

Thanks both.

Paul..No-one who has seen the B&W wave photo thinks it's better than the colour one either -they all like the colour too and as I say, I'd go for it myself.We're planning on going back sometime between Jan 4-31.I really want to see the storms,it;'s just a matter of getting a long range forecast  but a week is a good stretch,I should get something,the place we're looking at is at that Mullion Bay- you can see the beach and rocks from the living room and with the 100-400 I should be able to photograph any rough seas even if it's raining.

Anton..you jest BUT....Would you believe it. I did something I shouldn't have done. It was quite windy-not a gale but I knew I was in a wind. Re. the Mullion Bay photos-the sea scapees I wanted to get a shot from 'round the corner'  on the cliff face pathway so being a wimp lol.. I sat on my behind and edged along the narrow pathway just 2 feet from the edge - I was afraid to walk upright. As I 'bounced' along I heard a helicopter and looked up to see the red coast guard rescue helicopter passing overhead ,possibly en-route back to base at Culdrose -I took it as a warning from above    stopped where I was and inched, bounced my way back. I was safe really and anyone else would have just walked round that bend but I suffer from vertigo, I  even get that 'funny feeling' looking up at  very tall,  skyscraper type buildings.

[martinastro]

No, I'm not pleased John, I would love to see more of your images from this fantastic location, you went out with a bang though with these beautiful landscape images, top quality photography indeed. My favourites are 8,9,11,12 ,and second last, love what you done with the sea,waves, concrete jetty - goreous. I like the feeling of depth and the rich colours in all the images, any one of those would look great on a big print , nice cirrus cloud structures too. That's got to be a great location for Winter storms and off-shore cells. Did you use a polarizer or grad filter for those John?

[DaveH64]

Looked at these a few times John superb scenery well caught. Like the waves and breakwater. Have recently taken up sea angling again and these make my mouth water.

[JohnC]

Thanks,both . Great place to fish,Dave.

I used Cokin P  series grads.Martin.P120 (1-stop ) and P 121 (2-stop). I've had to buy new ones now( look at the second from last photo.) Paul thinks it may be salt deposit on the lens but there's a permanent scoured area  on one of the the filters,I checked it after seeing photos with this 'haze/smear on. It's not even something that can be cloned out either.It's probably a bit of both ie. salt deposit and the plate, I've got water on my 'to take 'list next time to wash off the salt and I'll check the lenses often.We plan to go down there  again in January.

Ref. the colour change in the sea wall (breakwater) - I still had them on the CF card and that difference is there so I assume it was the sun as it kept coming and  going..

[martinastro]

Thanks for the tech info John, I've learned something new