Journal for the year 2012

Below a journal/blog giving you an insight on some of the photographic trips made during the year 2012. I am not listing every single outing just outlining a few outings. Some images will be added to each write up but larger and more images will be displayed on the main site.

Exeter 12 December

The weather was fine so took the opportunity to visit my home town for a day of photography and visit the Christmas Market. I preferred photographing the newer buildings but decided that as Christmas was soon would take a couple of shots to celebrate Christmas.

Dorset 18 to 22 November

A short trip to Dorset for photography, this proved to be challenging as the weather wasn't at it's best, very dull and quite a lot of rain and floods but we managed to get something in the bag. The bed and breakfast place was very comfortable which was in Dorchester a very central place for photography in Dorset. We managed to travel as far as The New Forest, Portland Bill, West Bay, Old Harry Rocks just to name a few.

26 - 29 October - Liverpool

After I left Cheltenham I travelled on to Liverpool to stay with a friend on a Dutch Barge in Liverpool Marina. She had done a house swap and the barge I must say was very comfortable and gave us the opportunity to visit some areas in and around Liverpool. The weather on the whole wasn't too bad, a little cold but we both managed to get a variety of images. We visited the Dock areas, Crosby inside Tate Liverpool and plus some of the back streets of Liverpool.

24 - 25 October 2012 - Portraits, Fashion and Nude Workshop

This two day course which was organised by the RPS and was held at Cheltenham gave me an insight into studio work which I haven't done before and during these two days I managed to get quite a few images I was pleased with.

17th October 2012 - Camden Town, London

I took a day trip specifically to photograph the markets in Camden Town. Walked round several areas in particular the Stables Market and Camden Lock. The weather was kind with just a couple of rain showers which didn't stop me photographing the people, stalls and buildings. Below a few images of the day.

21st to 24th September 2012 - Cornwall

I took a short trip to Mullion Cove with a few friends from Exeter Camera Club. We stayed in caravans in a Holiday Park and visited the surrounding areas. We had mixed weather and on one particular day took pictures of Sennen Cove in the rain but it gave a lovely misty effect. We managed a few very early morning shots at Mullion Cove, went to Porth Nanven, Coverack, Kynance Cove, and Wheal Coates. One place I hadn't been to before was Cadgwith, a delightful little fishing village and I had to have afternoon tea at the Lizard Cafe, so pleasant sitting outside overlooking the sea.

21st July 2012 - London

Summer has started at long last which is fortunate as I made a trip to London for the day, not a patch of rain in sight, marvelleous. I travelled up by train and as I was attending the Awards Ceremony of the London Salon to which I was invited, thought I would make a day of it. Walked to Covent Garden via Waterloo Bridge, stopping to take a shot of an "Olympic Lane" plus quite a few images in the area before going to the London Film Museum where the London Salon prints were being exhibited. It was an excellent exhibition, so much better to see the prints rather than the digital images.

The city was packed as the Olympics were due to start in a week, very lively, place especially with the sun out. Plenty of evidence that the Olympics were being held in London with places inaccessible and loads of security. After leaving the Covent Garden area I walked to Leicester Square and then on to Trafalgar Square, which was shut to the general public as a music show was being held there. I then decided to visit The National Gallery having never been inside; I particularly wanted to see the Turner paintings, also Constable plus the impressionists Monet, Renoir, Georges Seurat and Berthe Morisot particularly as I had some prints at home, it was great to see the originals.

I arrived at Horseguards Parade a little late to see the Guards on their horses but chatted up one of the guards in the enclosure and said I had wanted to take a picture of the horses. He obligingly took me to the stables and I was able to see 12 of their horses which were magnificent, certainly a great privilege.

On the way back to the Station whilst crossing Westminster Bridge there was an incident, the Police Dog Section were searching a car very thoroughly which was parked on the bridge, I suspect everyone is being very cautious because of the Olympics.

All in all a very long, tiring and busy day but very enjoyable.

11th July 2012 - Holsworthy Market

Eight of us made a trip to Holsworthy Market, North Devon run by the Auctioneers, Kivells. One of the largest livestock markets in Devon with traders coming from Cornwall and Devon. Today's market was Sheep and Cattle and I found the cattle market the most interesting. I was able to capture so many images; the farmers certainly make good character studies. Fortunately the rain held off whilst outside and after lunch we made our way to Holsworthy town centre and then on to Bude and Sandymouth Bay. All very inspiring and certainly a good day out. To see more images click here . I also have a Flickr site dedicated solely to Holsworthy Market and they are all in mono, please click here to view.

28th May to 1st June 2012 - Dartmouth

Eleven of us (photographers) had a short break in Dartmouth, Devon which isn't very far from where I live but we decided it was going to be a "House Party" with perhaps the opportunity of taking a few photos. It was a fantastic place, set high on the hillside overlooking the whole of Dartmouth. The place had a big balcony and we were often found to be sitting there taking photos, having breakfast or taking an evening drink.

We did manage to visit several places, Start Point Lighthouse area, Bantham Beach, Cotehele House, a National Trust place, Beesands and Slapton Sands. I got a few images, here is just a small selection.

6th May to 2nd June 2012 - Exhibition of Prints at The Cafe, Topsham, Nr Exeter

I had the opportunity of exhibiting some prints in The Cafe, Topsham, Near Exeter. The Cafe have this policy of allowing exhibitors to hang their work free of charge for a month at a time, its certainly a good way of "decorating" their wall space and the customers get the opportunity of seeing something different once a month. I hung 29 images and by comments I have been given they were well received. Below some images I displayed.

I have exhibited before, but only one or two prints at a time at small events, for instance the Club to which I belong has an exhibition at A La Ronde, Exmouth (a National Trust Place) every year. I sometimes have work in exhibitions done by The Royal Photographic Society, the Western Counties Photographic Federation and olther Salons. At the moment I have a permanent collection of prints on display in the local hospital, Wonford Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, this was done under a lottery scheme called "Devon As I See It".

28th April to 4th May 2012 - Yorkshire Dales

A trip to Yorkshire with 3 other photographers proved to be a great success. We stayed in a beautiful cottage standing high on the hillside in Swaledale with lovely views of the typical Yorkshire barns and countryside. We visited quite a few different waterfalls, a castle, all the barns you could possibly wish for and then on top of all this made a visit to the Lake District because the weather was going to be better that particular day in Cumbria than where we were staying. We spent a day trying to photograph the red grouse, very shy birds and also made visits to both Malham and Ingleton where it is covered with limestone.

We made the most of our time because on our journey to and from Yorkshire we stopped at places to get images of rape fields and bluebells in Ashridge Forest, Hertfordshire. We certainly packed a lot in especially as the weather was indifferent at time. For more images please go to this link.

6th April and 24th April 2012 - Birds of Prey

I have been to a couple of Birds of Prey Centres to try and get my hand in at photographing flying birds. One was quite local, in the Cullompton area and the other was in Gloucestershire. It has been quite an experience and have managed to capture quite a few different birds in flight. Please see my Birds of Prey link for more images.

12th to 18th February 2012 - Venice Carnival

I went on a week's trip to the Venice Carnival, never been to Venice before and found it quite delightful. The added bonus of course was the Carnival and we got up very early in the morning each day so that we could take pictures of the models before the general tourists arrived. The rest of the day was spent going to other parts of Venice, exploring the ally ways and canals. We also took boat trips to other islands including Burano and Murano, plus St Georges Island. It was cold and generally the weather wasn't too bad, no rain. Please click here for the Venice page

3rd to 13th January 2012 - France - Ploubalay in Brittany, Normandy and Paris

I went to France for a week and took a friend. We visited my son for a few days and took the opportunity of visiting Dinan, St Malo, Lancieux and Comburg. We then left and went to stay for a couple of days in Bayeaux so that we could visit the Normandy Beaches and Cemeteries stopping on the way to see Mont Saint Michel. We then left Bayeaux and drove to Paris and stayed there for a couple of days. It was a visit I had been wanting to do for some considerable number of years as my late husband Philip and I went there in 1959. I wanted to revisit Paris to see if it had changed and go to some of the same places. I wasn't disappointed and gots loads of images. I have put an audio visual on You Tube of Paris which can be seen here. All images for the Ploubalay, surrounding areas and Normandy are here and Paris images are on this link.

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