Peter Holloway's Weblog

Fence Friday

Peter Holloway — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:47:10 +0000

Another Friday, just the same fence…I managed to stop off at Ainsdale for a few minutes yesterday afternoon, just as the sun was setting. There wasn’t much of a sunset, but I did grab a few shots of the sea and of my favourite fence…

Wideplace Post

Peter Holloway — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:44:09 +0000

It’s been a while since I put anything up on the Wideplace blog, but there’s a new post and pic there now…

New Year Pier

Peter Holloway — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:55:20 +0000

The first photo of the New Year just had to be of Southport Pier. I got down to the pier just before sunset, but the light wasn’t great, just a bit overcast, no colour. At least it wasn’t windy, so I was able to take this long exposure shot just before the pier closed for the evening.

The Colour Purple

Peter Holloway — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:28:51 +0000

On Monday this week I finished all my outstanding work and checked the time – ten minutes to sunset. So, I jumped in the car and headed down to the pier, more in hope than expectation. The wind was blowing a gale – it was blowing so hard that there was a constant drone as it blew through the struts of the pier. I took my tripod, but it seemed hell bent on trying to become a kite – it had to be folded up and left on the ground. All that was left was to shoot hand held in available light with the lens wide open. The sky briefly flowered with purple before sulking back into grey dullness. This image was taken in that 10 minute slot…

Distant Hills

Peter Holloway — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:45:41 +0000

These are the Welsh hills viewed from Ainsdale Beach.

Diptych at Dusk

Peter Holloway — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:05:08 +0000

I went down to the Pier last week, hoping for a wonderful sunset, but all I got was complete cloud cover. So, what does one do when the sunset’s a damp squib, and you want to bring something home? I wandered down towards the Marine Way Bridge, which comes with its own lighting, and did a few light trail shots. The post dusk light was better than the sunset, and so I managed to get a few shots that I’m happy with. I’d already cropped this pair to square format when I realised that they would look great together – hence the diptych!

The One Day I get to the Beach at Sunset

Peter Holloway — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:30:11 +0000

And there isn’t one, if you know what I mean? The sun did actually go down, but I, for one didn’t actually see it go down, even though I was watching and waiting for it. The fact of a real, actual sunset event was evidenced by the progressing darkness, but not by any fantastic display of warm, sun enhanced light spreading through the clouds as invariably occurs when I’m sitting at home on the sofa watching out the patio doors.

Ah well, maybe next time, but until then, here’s a split tone shot from the beach as the sun set (honest).

A Windy Day at Southport Pier

Peter Holloway — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:58:35 +0000

The tide was in, but the wind was blowing a gale. The pier was kept firmly locked, for fear of someone being blown off, I presume. The only place left to take photos was from the beach. The sand was blowing everywhere, the tide was right up to the sea defences, so there was barely room to plant a tripod. The wind was whipping up the usual white tops on the shallow sea. I set up the tripod and tried a few long exposure shots, whilst holding onto tripod and camera with both hands! I think this 20 second exposure gives just enough impression of movement in the sea to be effective.

Derwentwater

Peter Holloway — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:54:20 +0000

I took a day trip to Keswick to go to the convention and visit friends. We went for a walk in the afternoon, wandering up and around the lake. The day was overcast and cloudy with the occasional glimpse of sunlight through the cloudscape. I took a series of shots of Derwentwater from up on the hills, and down by the lake shore. This is one of them:

Pale Sea, Southport

Peter Holloway — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:29:47 +0000

I’ve been enjoying using my long exposure filter when the tide is in at Southport, but despite the sea being in, the colours on the beach aren’t always appealing. That’s why it’s sometimes necessary to alter the colour to achieve a pleasing image. In this shot I increased the blue in the image, and decreased the saturation to compensate. This has resulted in a high key image with a hint of colour. I hope you enjoy it!