Photo101: Warmth & the Quality of Light

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Our delightful spell of early Spring weather is continuing here in lovely Cornwall. High pressure is dominating, the sky is largely clear and sunshine abounds. It is, however, still a bit cool with overnight frost and a distinct chill on the light North Easterly breeze.

The point of this rambling weather report is that today I got the quality of light, albeit a tad hazy, but not the warmth! Actually, one of the great things about Cornwall is the quality of the light; the famous Newlyn and St Ives art movements grew up in the 19th Century specifically taking advantage of the beautiful Cornish coastal light. Hmm, the coast.

On that basis, this afternoon I fired up Harley, had a gentle trundle around the byways and eventually ended up at Tintagel Haven on the North Cornwall coast just as the sun was beginning to dip lower in the sky. I wouldn’t say we hit the sweet spot of the “golden hour” as today has pretty much all been quite golden, but the light was rather nice.

I wandered around on the foreshore, grabbing shots here and there, but nothing really excited me until I wandered into the large cavern known as “Merlin’s Cave.” Lying on roughly an East – West axis the cave burrows right through Tintagel Island and is open to the sea at each end. As I walked in the tide was on the flood and beginning to surge through from the West. I grabbed a couple of shots looking into the setting sun, but wasn’t very convinced; then I turned around and got the photo I was looking for!

A Golden Spell Cast From Merlin's Cave.

A Golden Spell Cast From Merlin’s Cave.


I hope you like it.

Dookes

30 thoughts on “Photo101: Warmth & the Quality of Light”

  2. The cave entrance almost serves as a second aperture. Looking through, you can see the gradations of color flowing from sky to rock to greenery. The dog and the hikers offer a sense of drama and movement.

    This is yet another of your exposures that almost leaps off the screen. You capture such vibrant colors!

    Like

    Reply ↓

    • Thank you Patrick. You are very kind.
      I am very lucky to live in such a photogenic area and also lucky to be able to get out and about to enjoy it.
      As to pressing the button at the right moment, well I guess I’m just lucky with that too!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

      • You’re too modest, Dookes. If it were just the one shot, then we could reasonably discuss how lucky you are.

        But this. This is shot and after shot. You’re either incredibly, continuously lucky, or you’re developing some serious skill at capturing the beauty in your surroundings.

        As long as you keep shooting. That’s what matters. Looking forward to the next ones.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. I love the contrast of the mustardy color of the cliff outside the cave. The silhouettes are almost secondary to me. Beautiful! And you can’t go wrong with an animal in the picture can you? 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

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