All of the locations are within 15-20 minutes walk from the main car park and there is a choice of paths for those of us that like to flirt with the cliff edges and easier ones for those that don’t…

Unfortunately there was a very strong wind today making it very difficult to keep the tripod still, even with my rucksack hanging as ballast. At one stage the tripod actually blew over and the whole lot nearly went over the edge, try telling that to the insurance company!

Pordenack Point features huge granite stacks.

Pordenack Point, Land’s End, Nikon D800, Nikkor 50mm f1.8 AI-S

The arch of Enys Dodnan and beyond it The Armed Knight.

Enys Dodnan and The Armed Knight, Land’s End, Nikon D800, Nikkor 35mm f2 AI

Longships Lighthouse is 1 1/2 miles offshore from Land’s End.

Longships Lighthouse, Canon 400D, Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 @ 400mm

All of the locations visited in the posts from Cornwall will feature in the workshops this year, please contact me for full details.

With the amount of recent rain the main problem here is actually accessing the lower pathways as the grass is very slippery, it is a big, big drop down to the rocks below if you lose your footing…..

Botallack Crown Engine Houses, Nikon D800, Nikkor 50mm 1.8 AI-S

Botallack Crown Engine Houses, Nikon D800, Nikkor 50mm 1.8 AI-S

Mind the edge!

Botallack Crown Engine Houses, iPhone 4S

Recent heavy rainfall has made the stream that flows onto the beach very deep and fierce so the normal low tide images of the exposed ‘Dinosaur Eggs’ was not possible.

It is a place where you have to be careful. The stream has strong currents when full, combined with very soft sand and also the large boulders can be very slippery to climb over. Another thing to be aware of is the unstable cliff on the right hand side, the path below the cliff where I sat yesterday drinking tea was today covered in huge fallen boulders! 2 dead grey seals were also seen amongst the boulders, presumably defeated by the big waves and strong winds of the night before

Porth Nanven, Nikon D800, Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8

Porth Nanven, Nikon D800, Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8

Porth Nanven, Nikon D800, Nikkor 35mm f2 AI

Porth Nanven, Nikon D800, Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8

A very low spring tide exposed the cobbled causeway for over 4 hours.

St. Michael’s Mount, Nikon D800, Nikkor 35mm f2 AI

The opposite end of the day, sadly no sunset but a very high incoming tide and strong winds. The next wave completely soaked me!

St. Michael’s Mount, Nikon D800, Nikkor 35mm f2 A1

View of St. Michael’s Mount from Top Tieb, Marazion

St. Michael’s Mount, Nikon D800, Nikkor 35mm f2 AI

Sunrise at St. Michael’s Mount

St. Michael’s Mount, Nikon D800, Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8

Tyre tracks in the sand from ‘St Michael’ the Seamaster amphibious vehicle that carries up to 46 passengers to and from St. Michael’s Mount.

Tyre tracks lead to St. Michael’s Mount, Nikon D800, Nikkor 35mm f2

The National Trust ancient monument Lanyon Quoit looks good in daylight but is more dramatic shot in the dark and ‘light painted’ with a torch. Full instruction (and torches!) will be supplied on how to ‘paint’ a subject in pitch darkness. Normally you see images here taken from the other side but on this occasion I thought that the light pollution from Penzance added to the image.

Lanyon Quoit, Nikon D800, Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 + LED torch

St Michael’s Mount at sunrise, Nikon D800, Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8

First day in Cornwall on a location scouting mission for landscape photography tuition workshops. The plan is to spend a full 5 days (Monday to Friday) at various locations in North and West Cornwall with all travel (to and from the photo locations), accommodation and meals included.

Locations will include disused Tin Mines such as Wheal Coates and Botallack, plus iconic Cornish places such as Land’s End, St. Michaels Mount, Godrevy Head, Porthcurno, Porth Nanven, Sennen Cove, Cape Cornwall, Lanyon Quoit, Mousehole and many more.

This will be an intensive 5 days with a dawn and dusk shoot plus at least 1 other location during the day and a couple of night shoots. In the evenings there will be an option to learn about processing images in Lightroom and Photoshop or if you are all “photo’d” out by then you can relax with a book or go to the local hostelry!  The workshop will cater for all levels of photographer so if you are at an advanced level and simply want easy stress-free access to the locations or are a landscape beginner you are most welcome. A reasonable level of fitness is required as there are some steep paths to navigate but most of the locations are less than 20 minutes walk from the car parks.

The first Cornish photography workshop will be in late January or early February 2013 and will cater for 3 or 4 people maximum. Please contact me for more information and feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Here are some images of the planned locations;

Remains of the Towanroath Shaft Pumping Engine House at Wheal Coates, a number of bodyboarders brave the freezing water in the middle right of the image.

Wheal Coates, Nikon D800, Nikkor 35mm f2 AI

Stamps and Whim Engine House at Wheal Coates Tin Mine.

Wheal Coates, Nikon D800, Nikkor 35mm f2 AI

Shark alert at St. Ives Bay!

St. Ives Bay, Nikon D800, Nikkor 50mm f1.8 AI-S

A couple of images of the lighthouse at Godrevy Head

Godrevy Head Lighthouse, Nikon D800, Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f2.8 G ED VR II

Godrevy Head Lighthouse, Nikon D800, Nikkor 50mm f1.8 AI-S

It is worthwhile bringing a telephoto lens and some binoculars as a number of grey seals can be seen in St. Ives Bay. Very grainy, noisy image but a massive crop from the D800 (ISO 3200) at dusk.

Grey Seal, St. Ives Bay, Nikon D800, Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f2.8 G ED VR II

The next few posts to follow with images from St. Michael’s Mount, Porth Nanven, Land’s End and the ancient monument Lanyon Quoit.

The Cobb, Lyme Regis, Nikon D800, Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8

The Cobb, Lyme Regis, Nikon D800, Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8

Next stop Cornwall!

River Blackwater in flood, Nikon D800, Nikkor 35mm f2 AI

River Blackwater in flood, Nikon D800, Nikkor 35mm f2 AI

Stopped off at Hatchet Pond on the way home for the sunset, fortunately the long exposure has masked the trio of ducks swimming across the pond and maintained the reflection.

Sunset at Hatchet Pond, Nikon D800, Nikkor 35mm f2 AI

Please contact me for availability on photography workshops in the New Forest and Dorset’s Jurassic Coast.

New Forest Trees, Nikon D800, Nikkor 35mm f2 AI lens