In Camera ... Fiery sunset

The lovely autumn weather we have been enjoying this last weekend made for good photography and on Sunday there was this amazing sky after sunset. The sun had gone completely below the horizon without a great deal of colour when the air started to glow with this orange light catching the underside of the clouds. I love the way the sky had filled with clouds all seemingly suspended in the very clear air resulting in this very moody image.

In Camera ... Another Good Evening at Another Place

The clear skies of Monday 11th October saw me down on the beach again before sunset. This time I went to the Hall Road end around 18.15, the sun was already a huge red orb close to the horizon and sinking into the sea behind the wind farm. Many people around, lots of photographers on the beach but I selected a spot which included good reflections from the band of wet mud that seems to have invaded the beach. The sun went down perfectly into the cloudless horizon, just a slight haze to give it colour then the sky was pale and uniform, just a slight patch of orange fading to pink then green and blue out to the west. Returning to the car I noticed the moon, a waxing crescent low over the Wirral peninsula and I walked back onto the beach past the mile marker to take photographs looking south west along the beach, capturing the moon’s reflection in still water.

The air was filled with the cries of geese, huge formations flying westward out to sea. Now the sky out west over the horizon was deepening in colour, the grey haziness taking on intense rainbow hues reflecting their warm pinkish glow on the beach, the air still and quiet, the distant throbbing of a passing ship’s engines carrying across the water. The moon was slowly sinking into the purple haze, taking on a warm golden colour as I finally turned away, exposures now too long to capture the moon sharply.

In Camera ... Sunset at Crosby Beach

Sunday 10th October. We have been enjoying several days of unbroken sunshine today is a lovely sunny autumn day, mild, up to 20C in the afternoon. Not a cloud in the sky all day, just a faint haze on the horizon. Down to the beach at 18.15, the sun a large orange disc low on the western horizon beyond the wind farm. The air was still, the cries of birds echo across the flat sands, the tide was out, a strip of wet mud reflected the blue light of the sky. As I thought might happen the sun took on a deep red shade as it sank into the haze on the horizon, becoming pink almost just as it sank below the surface of the sea, distorted into an oval shape by the earth’s atmosphere. There was very little colour in the sky afterwards, a pale pink wash against a the grey haze, the clear sky an eggshell blue above. The beach seems to become silent at sunset, the air stills, even the bird calls cease. I strolled back to the car, the air suddenly becoming chill as dusk fell.

In Camera ... Sunrise over Liverpool

The sleeping city awakes

The sleeping city awakes; this is the first picture I took as I set up on the promenade near Seacombe ferry terminal. I have been wanting to update my Liverpool sunrise pictures for some time and the recent spell of good weather gave me the ideal combination of clear skies and the right time of year to capture the sun rising over Liverpool's Royal Liver Building. Other times I have made many trips to try to capture this event only to be thwarted by cloud, mist or cranes on the skyline but this week everything was just right with no cranes in site.

Monday 11th October - this mornings photographs were not even planned. It had been a lovely clear sky last night, see my pictures from yesterday above, and I woke at 06.45 and wondered if it was still clear. Looking out the sky was a pale blue green, a gimmer of yellow on the eastern horizon. I quickly dressed, a slurp of hot tea to refresh and out at seven. The traffic was light and I arrived at Seacombe ferry terminal car park around 07.25, the Liverpool waterfront a strong silhouette against a lightening sky. I took some pictures before sunrise, the sky a pale orange behind the Liver buildings which shield the first rays of the rising sun from me. Around 07.40 the sun showed its first glimmer of light as it rose over the top of the Liver Buildings, bright burning yellow light streaking across the river, I worked quickly to capture the first rays of light over the city, soon the sun was clear of the buildings and too bright to look directly into. Another day had begun, the sky an unbroken blue but for the trails of aircraft reflecting the light of the sun.

These images will soon be available to purchase in the Liverpool Gallery of my main website. Just click on the title of this blog to go directly there.

Ireland's VIP Magazine Wedding Publication

A surprise in the post arrived yesterday, one of my client's forwarded a copy of the latest edition of Ireland's VIP magazine which features a double page spread of my pictures. Thanks to Fiona and Cathal for being such a marvellous couple to photograph and for sending the magazine.