Tag Archives: evening

golden light

My Walk this Week 180 – Calling Curlews at Sunset

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My walk this week is more of the mind than the body with memories of curlews calling in the evening light and sunsets of south west Scotland back in September.

darkening sky

I was particularly keen and hopeful to capture the sounds of the evening birds across the sandy, muddy bay – in particular the curlews, if they were there. In recent posts I have presented soundscapes recorded on my phone but I had taken my field recorder (Fostex FR2-LE) and shotgun mic (RODE NTG 2) for the purpose. And I was in luck –Continue reading→

red shattered rock

Coastal Curiosities 1 – Arranged and Sculpted Naturally

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This week I am focusing on some of the coastal curiosities I found along my walks in Scotland last month. The wind and sea had been sculpting, as they naturally do, but people were also evident in the arrangements they left behind in the form of what appeared to me like a miniature straggling sea defence. A sea defence that was set higher on the beach than the highest tide level, at least for a few days, thus ensuring they would stay there for a while and allow me to photograph them in different lights.

miniature defences

The low sun in the evening also sculpted the appearance of the beach into a Martian landscape and the my daughter pointed me towards the Martian colours revealed in a rock formation split by erosion. This revealed a measure of timeContinue reading→

ripples

Scottish Seas 3 – The Subtleties of Surface

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The surface of the sea is constantly changing – colour, pattern, texture – it all depends, from moment to moment, on the changing conditions of light, wind, currents and the pull of the sun and moon.

surface colour

However rough or calm the sea is, the changing patterns on the surface of the water can hold my attention for a long time. The longer I look, the more subtleties I see and although there is an overall rhythm to the motion, that too changes gradually as the tide gently rises and falls against the rocks and seaweed – see the video below.

The longer you sit quietly, the less you are noticed byContinue reading→

sunset silhouette

Scottish Skies 3 – Sunset Silhouettes and Impressions

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The silhouettes of stacked and jagged rocks and dark hills give a realistic impression of the scene they describe, but it is an impression. The camera (without any filters) provides more contrast than is there in reality and there have been occasions when I have increased that contrast further in order to provide a better sense of what the scene felt like.

sunset sentinel

The Impressionists did a similar thing in painting scenes that, while not perhaps accurately or photographically depicted, gave a more accurate impression or sense of life. Photorealism in paintingContinue reading→

Sunset Scotland

Scottish Skies 2 – Evening Light

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The evening light in my selected shots of sunsets in SW Scotland show the changing scene from day to day from different viewpoints. Almost all the photos were taken on different evenings but it is easy to take many, many photographs throughout just one evening as the sun sinks down and the light and shade and colours change above in the sky and below in the bay.

Low tide and lowering sun

Fewer clouds this year might have meant less drama, but I don’t think that is ever the case in this place. The skyscape / landscape / seascape is always mesmerising and holds my attention,Continue reading→

distant Isle of Man

The Light in Scottish Skies 1

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I have some Scottish skies to show you. With all the dry weather we have had this Summer the light in SW Scotland was unique. In some of the photos below it may look as if we had some poor weather while there but that is not really the case.

evening view

At times the light was such that it was difficult to differentiate between the different aspects of the sea, landscape and sky. It prompted me to go abstract and emphasise the effect because that seemed more realistic. The second shot below is deliberately out of focus, blurred, but the only reason the shot of the swans is not sharp is because I was having to act quickly to capture them in flight.

Over the next couple of weeks or so I will not be posting My Walk this Week – instead I would like to show a selection photos I took on various walks in Scotland while on holiday.

sea and sky
abstract mood – sea and sky
flying swans
monochrome gulls
distant Isle of Man
Isle of Man close up
evening view
trees silhouette

The Moon and A Mirror

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I think the shot below is probably my favourite from my walk this week down on our local marshes during the sunset and moon rise. The flat water of the high tide filling the river and reflecting the fading light and lunar crescent like a mirror was so peaceful and calming.

The soundscape for the walk also reflected the evening peace, even with the backdrop of motorway traffic. The birds sang and along with the bubbling of a small stream flowing into the river, they allowed me to ignore the trundle of tyres on tarmac. The soundscape is in three sections – Continue reading→