The first part of my holiday was in Southwold, which I’ve visited a few times (see previous trip photos here) but always want to go back, no matter what time of year. Apart from the amazing beaches and landscape the pubs are wonderful, particularly with good friends like Bryony and Ellie from Chelmsford who came up for a visit and drinks on a warm, sunny day.
Sadly the photos from our midnight bike ride in the woods didn’t come out so great…
With my holiday over I have been looking through the photos and they bring back some amazing memories, easily one of my best holidays ever. These first photos are from a day skating Anti-fornia, the Hythe Knives latest DIY concrete skate spot hidden away amongst some forgotten derelict concrete. Dave Dixon has worked hard clearing space and building some amazing little concrete bits and pieces to skate and is planning on adding more and more. There is something special about making something out of nothing and then it itself being something that allows people to be creative.
I’m leaving this morning for a short holiday in Suffolk and Essex, I’m going to try and return to one of my favourite beaches, Covehithe. I’ve posted up loads of photos from Covehithe before (see them all here) and it is a place I’m sure I’ll keep on returning to time and time again hoping to catch different perspectives on the cliffs, beach, sea and trees.
See you when I return.
The third set of photos from the ZoZo summer shoot (part 1 and part 2) were taken on the beach road leading up to a ridge that then dropped down to the sea. The beach houses sat back from the ridge but still had incredible views of the water. The ridge itself created a sort of infinity, the pebbles leading up in to the white sky, the road lined with flowers before it.
Returning to Staunton Country Park just north of Havant, the park has a huge lake with an island that is home to all sorts of birds and the lake is home to many types of fish…drawing many people with their fishing rods. I was sat in a fishing swim with my camera for a while and caught glimpses of little fish swimming together and then a larger fish breaking the surface. At the other side of the lake the birds were checking out if anyone had any bits of bread apart from a couple of families of swans, where the parents were naturally protective of the signets.
Due to a little confusion on my part I unloaded a partially shot roll of film from my camera and then a little while later reloaded it but didn’t wind it on past the already taken frames. Oops. The first frames were taken during a walk in Saltern Copse by Chichester Marina. After reloading the film was used during an evening bike ride around Southsea ending up in Old Portsmouth along the battlement walls and past the Cathedral.
I like to shoot multiple exposures intentionally but it was nice to see a set created by accident, from two totally different times and locations. It’s a shame you can’t sometimes plan happy accidents.
The list of simple pleasures, for me, has to include sitting outside a pub with friends on a sunny afternoon. Can’t go far wrong. Some friends recently opened The Belle Isle on Osborne Road in Southsea and it’s wide open doors, airy interior, friendly faces, awesome food and tables on the pavement have helped make it a regular haunt.
Despite today’s rain, long may this summer continue.
Little remains of Battle Abbey which at one point was vast. The only part that still stands and can be explored was once the novices’ quarters which has intricate arched ceilings and medieval arched windows. When I visited it was a sunny late afternoon and the warm golden light poured in through the doors and windows, lighting up the quiet space.
I visited Battle the other week and explored around the battlefield where William and Harold’s armies met at the Battle of Hastings. Coincidentally, there was a great program about the Normans and the battle on the BBC the other day (watch it here on iPlayer). The battlefield itself is nigh on unchanged and as you walk around it you get a real perspective of the Anglo-Saxon English line at the top of the hill and the steep hill the Norman army had to climb.
Many years after the battle William commissioned an abbey of which the some of the remains (nice one Henry VIII) still stand. It is a strange experience walking around a location that at a particular time fundamentally changed England and set it down a new path where the language, laws, governance, etc we now have were all developed. Considering how close the battle was, it makes you wonder what the country would be like now if the Normans lost.
I can’t recommend a visit to Battle enough, as well as the battlefield, museums and the abbey the village itself is a little goldmine too. I’ll be posting up more photos of the abbey on Monday.
Really sorry for the lack of updates and photos in the last week or so. It’s hard to explain but I think I took so many photos last month when I got all the photos back I was a bit burnt out and busy and couldn’t get around to going through them all. I’ve started doing that and I’m hoping to get things back to normal with daily photo updates from Friday.
For now, here is a sneak peek at what is to come…I spent many hours last month around and on Chichester Harbour and this photo of beach walkers at the northerly point of East Head was taken during a boat trip on the harbour looking for seals…who will make an appearance here soon!
The footbridge connecting Southwold and Walberswick is invaluable during the winter months when the little ferry isn’t running. The bridge crosses the River Blyth which runs to the North Sea and the salt marshes so the only other way to get from one place to the other is via a long road journey…no fun when walking in the cold, wet winter weather.
Bit of a dream come true yesterday, for work I got to fly in a light aircraft over one of my favourite places, Chichester Harbour. Taking off from Goodwood Aerodrome we flew west over Chichester and then along the top edge of the harbour before turning south over Hayling Island. From there we turned East out to sea before coming back over the harbour entrance and East Head. We then travelled north up to Emsworth and then east over Bosham, Itchenor and Dell Quay.
With the tide low the harbour became huge patches of green and blue water mixed with yellow sandbanks and mudflats, it was rather wonderful to see places I love to walk from such a different perspective. I want to go up again.
I was busy filming for a film project for Chichester Harbour Conservancy and sadly didn’t get to use my regular film SLR but did manage to get a handful of digi shots.
In Coastal Fission Part 1 are photos of Sizewell nuclear power station, located on the edge of Sizewell beach. The power stations also extend out in to the sea via a rig like structure and an outlet pipe. The pipe I assume vents out warm water from the steam generation part of the cycle. The warm water promotes the growth of plants and small creatures, which attracts fish, which attracts birds. A cycle in itself too.
Sorry for the lack in updates, work has been hectic and I have about 15 rolls of film to get developed too so once things quiet down a little there will be loads of new photos to go up.
These photos are more from the photography workshop field trip to the beautiful Staunton Country Park just north of Leigh Park. The weather was very hot even at 10am in the morning so the shade of the trees and the cool cover of the arches was most welcome.
If you haven’t visited Staunton before I really recommend it.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been cycling down to the almost empty beach on Saturday mornings to go swimming in the sea, which whilst not warm is not too bad once you are in and the sun is shining. The other week the coastguard helicopter was practising rescue runs down by the harbour entrance using a yacht to winch down and up from. The hazy sunlight and still sea made for pretty good conditions for that and for the swimming (plus loads of floating around).
A week or two ago I was in Worthing for the evening and spent 30 minutes sat on a curb waiting for some friends. Behind me was a small garden with loads of lavender, so I spent the time on my own taking some photos. Lavender is one of my favourite summer smells and reminds me of summers spent at my Nan’s house when I was little. Very fond memories. They do say the sense of smell triggers memories the best.
Staunton Country Park lies at the northerly edge of Leigh Park and Havant, which are north of Portsmouth and Hayling Island. The heavily populated strip along the coast reaches up as far as the park and then it returns to the green hills of the South Downs and ancient woodland.
As mentioned previously I was teaching a photography workshop last month and early one Saturday morning I took the students up to Staunton for a little field trip. These are the first of my photos I took with my old faithful Olympus OM10 which has been brought out of retirement while my Nikon is being repaired.
The second set of photos from the ZoZo fashion shoot out in the countryside near Pagham was in the white flowers at the edge of the rapeseed field. The flowers were along one side and also filled a corner of the field and it was hard to work out if these were being pushed out or were pushing in.
I was taking a break on a photography workshop field trip to Staunton Country Park the other weekend so sat down next to the lake edge under the woods tree line. The bright sunlight was reflected off of the lake surface and up to the underside of the tree leaves and with the breeze there was a strange wave strobe effect when looking up at the tree canopy.
Music: ‘His Second Story Island’ by Tortoise.
As the sea water in Chichester Harbour retreats back to the sea at low tide the East Head sands return to the surface, opening out along the harbour entrance. The cool sand underfoot and pools of water contain patterns and creatures. The sand closer to the high dunes also contain vast graveyards of small white crabs, seemingly huddled together, missing the much needed tide at some point previously.
