Turner by the sea

Turner is one of my favourite artists; his eye for colour, his capturing of light, his obession with water. I look at his art and realise how much it has inspired a lot of my more abstract work. I look at his work and it speaks to me on a level deep in my soul.

I took the train down to Barry island today. The moon was nearly full and its light fell down on a distant, far out sea and in its glow the beach became luminous and beautiful. I wanted to capture that ghostly feeling, that feeling of the awe and subtle mystery found in nature that's so present in Turners work.

As I took photos I reveled in the oranges, blues, whites and yellows found in the pictures I was taking. I took pictures of the light reflected upon the sand, the moonlight reflected on the water and of the glowing multicolored neon lights of the nearby lights of the attractions there.

And as I took pictures I imagined what Turner must have felt like capturing pictures by the sea.

Cornwall Part 2: Polperro and the sea cliff walk

 After a day spent lazing on the beach me and my camping buddy decided it was time to do something a bit more active. We had had the sea side town of Polperro recommended as being an excellent place to visit and so we decided to take the cliff side walk to reach it.

It was a good ten mile walk all round from where we were camped and so we started early. The views themselves were stunning as we passed dramatic rock formations, beautiful blue waters, waterfalls and stunning beaches.

The walk was also great for nature spotting as we spotted diving birds, butterflies and dramatically coloured flowers and a bird of prey hunting high above the cliffs.

The walk itself took a little bit longer then expected and we arrived in the late afternoon. The town itself was as picturesque as expected and we spent some time exploring the lovely local shops, eating ice cream and topped it all off by having an exquisite lamb stew at one of the local pubs.

We left and made it in good time back to the campsite and we stopped for a little while to take in the truly magical sunset that slowly disappeared along the horizon. I spent my final night relaxing and watching the stars. By the time the next day came I was sad to be leaving Cornwall but also glad to be making my way back from camping to the comforts of home.

Penarth: And the sea came in

In the Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman, death is compared to the sea. Not a sudden surge that sweeps everything away but a tide that comes and goes gradually and slowly wears it all away. Penarth more then anywhere else in Cardiff reminds of this idea.

It once was a vibrant, bright promenade full of small businesses, a thrivingly active port and a bustling stone beach overflowing with families visiting the sea. But old age has crept slowly upon it and now with its gently decaying pier and slowly eroding sea front, the waterfront has taken on the atmosphere of a setting more akin to Wuthering Heights or the poems of Keats.

The night I took these pictures a storm was rolling in and the rain soaked me and the stony shore. I love nights like this when the sky turns to charcoal and the sea threatens to swallow everything in endless greys and greens. And I can for a second imagine a town recapturing what made it great, a beauty waterfront slowly reclaimed by the sea.

A neon sea

I got the chance to experiment with different types of lighting recently after going down to the bay at night.

As much as I love street lamps as sources of lighting, sometimes I long for an alternative colour to the neon orange glow that is most street lighting. And down the bay proved the perfect place to do that.

Car parks to local apartments were filled with greens, blues, purples and whites that created much more variety and colour then I would otherwise have found on the streets.

Futhermore the sea created wonderful patterns to the light on the water that when distorted through long exposure became a fantastical canvas through which to create abstract paintings.

Kenfig Nature Reserve

Located in the desolated and wind swept heart of the South Welsh coastline, lies Kenfig Pool Nature Reserve. This beautiful reserve is home to a wonderful selection of nature due to its impressive freshwater lake, sweeping sand dunes and expansively lovely coastline.

I volunteered at this site for a year and a half and it stills holds many good memories for me. Whether it involved sloshing through flooded reed beds hunting for elusive Waterails (a type of wading bird that squeals like a pig when it gets territorial), hunting by flashlight for the rare newts that dot its pools or (like today) exploring its beautiful beaches it really is an extraordinary home for nature.

I was there with a friend and together we stomped over the dunes, gazed across the lake, took a moment to rest in the bird hide by the lake before finally making our way to the sea. The coast stretches for miles and is made even more amazing by the fact that just over the hill lies a steel mill that seems to exist to pump clouds into the sky.

After walking a fair stretch of the beach we climbed over the now rocky shore before looping our way back the local pub The Prince of Wales to take in a pint. It really is an excellent place to relax, filled as it is with warmth, old worldly charm and some truly exquisite food. This historic pub and the reserve itself is also home to many legends of ancient apparitions and ghostly goings on. After all if you visit the reserve on a lonely night you just might hear the toiling of a church bell from far beneath the lake or feel the icy chill of the local lich that wanders Kenfig's local graveyard.

Overall I would thoroughly recommend Kenfig as a wonderful and beautiful spot for a day out.

Cardiff Bay

Cardiff bay is one of the feathers in Cardiff's stylish but modest hat. Sat overlooking a beautiful waterfront, host to the Welsh Government's assembly building, home to any number of attractions and boasting a great selection of resturants, its the perfect place for a day out.

Its also an entertaining and varied place to take photographs, as at any time you can stumble across shoals of brightly coloured tourists, street performers, artfully designed buildings and any number of great sunset shots gleaming across the bay.

My arrival on a hot summer evening had coincided with the arrival of a full blown carnival and the bay was suitable transformed by its glits and colour. After exploring the stalls, rides and attractions that lined the main promenade. I took a stroll alongside the bay itself and watched as the sun slowly slid into the sea, turning everything gold and blue in the process.

As the night rolled in and the crowds departed I decided to walk back into the city centre, leaving the glittering carnival behind me.