Bude and the North Cornish/Devon Coast..
I have just returned from a week of much needed R&R staying in a lovely barn conversion just outside Bude in North Cornwall with my good friends Poppy and AJ. Poppy is now blogging again with a shiny new photography and art blog so if you haven’t checked it out yet, follow this link.
The north Cornish and Devon coast is rugged, the surf fantastic and as ever for me, a pleasure to visit. One particular feature of Bude is that it has a sea pool. The pools were constructed in the 20’s and 30’s for people to be able to enjoy a swim in the sea, without having to swim in the sea. A safe environment without the waves and treacherous currents so much a feature of many Cornish beaches and coves. These pools cropped up all over the country but few now remain. The Bude Sea Pool has been restored with donations and fundraising and for both Poppy and myself, a sure fire subject for a photograph or two. The pool is replenished with fresh sea water at every high tide and it was high tide that was bound to elicit the best pictures.
With spring tides in the offing and occuring very accommodatingly at around 10 in the morning, on one of the few sunnier days, we were there, tripods at the ready. Surfers often use the pool to launch themselves into the water, timing the moment with great precision. I was able to capture one such surfer, contemplating and timing the waves. This picture forms part of the series below. I hope you enjoy them.. :-)
70mm f/11 15 sec. ISO100
34mm f/11 15 sec. ISO-100
24mm f/4 0.8 sec. ISO-100
24mm f/4 0.8 sec. ISO-100
Cornwall Photographic 
Excellent!
September 27, 2016 at 4:05 pm
Thank you very much Sue! :-)
September 28, 2016 at 8:42 am
You’re welcome!
October 7, 2016 at 10:23 pm
:-)
October 8, 2016 at 8:52 am
Interesting, and the colors are beautiful (did you use a filter?). I like the way the first photo allows me in to a wild place – the rough rocks and sea, then the ladder – it makes it easy – and pleasant! – to imagine I’m there. But it must be ccccold! Glad you enjoyed the trip – love that Poppy!
September 27, 2016 at 4:27 pm
Thank you Lynn! I was using a 10 stop filter to allow for the longer exposures. This tends to give images a blue cast which sometimes, I’ll correct but in this instance, there didn’t seem to be need to. Amazingly we saw quite a few people swimming. There we a couple of ladies who must have been late 70’s even into their 80’s getting into the pool. This wouldn’t be my idea of fun at this time of year! :-)
September 28, 2016 at 8:51 am
Magnificent photografie.Never known of the bute sea sminningpool with salt water.
September 27, 2016 at 4:35 pm
Thank you Lou! These pools were once very popular! :-)
September 28, 2016 at 8:52 am
What a stunning set of images! The longer exposure in the third and fourth frames almost makes the waves seem *more* imposing. And the inclusion of the surfer really makes your last image. Nicely done.
September 27, 2016 at 5:45 pm
Thank you! When I saw the surfer arrive I knew I wanted the picture only I was using a longer exposure to capture the movement of the water. Thankfully she stood very still for me! :-)
September 28, 2016 at 8:53 am
She did indeed! The moment and the composition are so perfect that when I first saw the image I wondered if you had instructed the surfer to stand there and to stay still. But hearing that the image was serendipitous makes it even more special.
September 28, 2016 at 8:13 pm
It’s always such a pleasure when you capture a serendipitous moment like this one. I was very lucky, as the shutter clicked shut, she was gone on the next wave! :-)
September 29, 2016 at 7:35 am
Stunning photos, everyone a star.
September 27, 2016 at 6:56 pm
Thank you Paula! Appreciate that very much! :-)
September 28, 2016 at 8:53 am
Brilliant images Adrian
September 27, 2016 at 9:42 pm
Thank you very much Mark! :-)
September 28, 2016 at 8:53 am
A very successful day at Bude as these images show so clearly. I love those first two shots particularly. I mentioned in commenting on Poppy’s post that the style is one that Susan Brown FRPS is well known for. If you Google her name you will see what I mean. Susan lives down in S West now – south coast of Devon I think. Used to live up in MK, her husband was a Consultant ENT surgeon and I knew them both and heard Susan speak a couple of times at local clubs.
September 27, 2016 at 9:59 pm
Thank you Andy! I have met Sue, she was one of the assessors for my LRPS and came and spoke to me afterwards. Coincidentally, we’ve both been curated for an Art for Life ‘Shoreline’ exhibition in Taunton. The world of photography does seem to be quite small. I checked out Sue’s pool pictures. They really are quite stunning.
September 28, 2016 at 8:58 am
Exquisite shots, Adrian. Love the effect of the slow shutter. What a spot!
September 27, 2016 at 10:57 pm
Thank you Jane! I imagine at this time of year the water would be very cold but we saw quite a few brave souls taking to the water! :-)
September 28, 2016 at 8:59 am
Gorgeous captures as ever ChillB ! It was exactly the right kind of day for us to be taking these long exposures … vision and outcome then making it so … lovely . The wave action , spray and streaming waters give such a powerful sense of the unstoppable , and then the surfer assessing the right moment to launch – she was pretty quick and I don’t blame her with those rocks being hurled into the air- including that one at her feet !
I think that was our best morning for *moods* :-) great to share it all ChillB x
September 28, 2016 at 9:28 am
Thank you so much Poppy! It was indeed one of those perfect days when it all came together and yes, it really was great to share it all! :-) x
September 28, 2016 at 10:10 am
Fantastic photos, and what a place Bude seems to be. I have never before heard about Bude, but looking at for photos I wouldn’t mind going there. :-)
September 28, 2016 at 5:39 pm
Thank you so much Otto. The north Cornish and Devon coastline is very dramatic. High cliffs and sandy coves. Bude is a lovely place to visit. It was the first time I’d been there and the sea pool made for such a great subject for a photograph it was a very worthwhile trip! :-)
September 29, 2016 at 7:33 am
Hi lovely photos as always. Hope you good xxx
September 28, 2016 at 8:18 pm
Thank you Mum! I’ll email later! :-) x
September 29, 2016 at 7:36 am
Lovely shots. You’d enjoy a visit to Sydney’s beaches. Most of the southern beaches have sea pools.
September 29, 2016 at 10:07 am
Thank you Mr Dragon! I have absolutely no doubt I would love Sydney’s beaches. A trip was planned for next year but perhaps it’ll be 2018 now. Seems a very long way off but the way time rushes by these days.. :-)
September 29, 2016 at 11:40 am
Good morning, dear Adrian,
do you know there are 35 defintions of the acronym R&R? I’m sure you do, but I wanted to make sure I got it right and I was rewarded with lots of smiles. :-) I’m glad you all had a good time and lots of opportunities for photography.
Aaaaaah, such beautiful photos from Bude!! You can go anywhere and make it look heavenly. :-) The Sea Pool is great, I have never seen anything like this.
Next week I’m in Norfolk again; you and Poppy have given me lots of inspiration and I’m eager to get back to my camera again. Unfortunately, my Macbook is still missing (tears) and I have to adjust to the thought of it as being stolen, (more tears) Stupid DHL …
Take care, lost of love from us in Bonn and Cley,
Hanne x
September 30, 2016 at 6:56 am
Hello Hanne,
I wasn’t aware there were 35 definitions for the acronym R&R. I’m sure you got it right! Rest and recuperation was what I was meaning of course. I had a lovely time in Bude and there were some nice photo opportunities. I’m glad you found that inspiring. I’m sure you’re looking forward to being back in Norfolk very much though I bet you’ve had a great time in Bonn. I’m very sorry to hear that your Macbook is still missing. Was the item insured by DHL. Will they pay for a replacement? They certainly should do. I just hope you haven’t lost too much data.
I will look forward to hearing from you next week when you are back home in Cley. Have a very safe journey! Lots of love from us here in Malvern! :-) x
September 30, 2016 at 8:35 am
Me again, Adrian.:-) No news about my Macbook, grrr. It should be insured, The fuming thing is, it has been costly upgraded to match my camera and without it, the Nikon gear collects dust … It may take weeks to sort this out, so I try to learn in the meantime. I’m a firm believer; there must be something good coming out of every desaster. ;-)
I have just revisited your excellent post with the most terrific photos of all times :-)
https://cornwallphotographic.com/2014/10/30/neutral-density-and-graduated-neutral-density-filters/
I think the comments are closed there, so I’ll place my question concerning the LEE Big Stopper here:
I have looked at many seascapes with long exposure on several blogs with various topics lately and they do all have one thing in common; an overall bluish tone. It can be rather annoying when it’s too much (not meaning your work now) Why is this? And is this the reasons why so many photographers publish long exposures in B&W? Is there a way to avoid the blue colour? Then please do a post about it, it would be very helpful for all greenhorns.. :-) You kindly let me use your Big Stopper on Weybourne beach and the photos are too blue too my liking. I suppose there’s nothing you can do about this later, or do you know a postprocessing trick? :-)
Blue sea + blue sky + Big Stopper = Blue +++. Our trial on Cley beach with remote control is a lot less blue and I think it’s because there were many people on the scene, more contrast. And my go on Cromer Pier appears totally different, probably the Pier gives it even more contrast and thererfore it doesn’t look bluish at all?
Thank you so much for your time and effort, dear friend. Talk next week. :-)
Hanne x
October 1, 2016 at 4:14 pm
Hi Hanne,
A colour caste, as you’ve noted, is one of the drawbacks of using 10 stop filters. Some are better than others. Lee claim theirs produces the least caste but clearly it’s still there. I tend to use a ‘colour balance’ adjustment layer to rectify the colours. It’s easy enough to reduce the blue channel and boost the magenta slightly to achieve a more natural looking picture. Sometimes the blue-ish caste is not a problem, for example during the dawn or dusk blue hours when the light is at the blue end of the spectrum anyway but at other times of day, this is not what you want. You can adjust colour balance in Lightroom, Photoshop and also Nik Color Effex, all methods work well although in Photoshop, you do get the opportunity to adjust three channels rather than just two giving you more flexibiliy.
Catch up next week!
:-) x
October 1, 2016 at 4:51 pm
Thanks a million! This is most helpful. :-)
October 1, 2016 at 5:03 pm
We can talk about this more Hanne and I can show you how to adjust the colour cast next time we see you! I’m glad you found the comments useful though! :-) x
October 2, 2016 at 8:15 am
Gosh, you have a lot more followers than Steve McCurry! :-)
October 1, 2016 at 5:12 pm
Hmm, not sure how that happened! :-/
October 2, 2016 at 8:16 am
wow…excelet photos…interesting too…
October 2, 2016 at 7:15 am
Thank you very much! :-)
October 2, 2016 at 8:13 am
As soon as these images started to open in my browser I knew I was in for a treat to see some terrific work. Wow! Blown away. Hope you have a great week Adrian.
October 5, 2016 at 9:34 am
Thank you JD! Much appreciated! I hope you have a great week too! :-)
October 5, 2016 at 10:11 am
Lovely photos of an irresistible subject!
November 2, 2016 at 4:37 pm
Thank you Noeline. That sea pool, as you say, is an irresistible subject. I’m so glad the conditions, tide and weather, conspired to allow me to take these images! :-)
November 7, 2016 at 9:57 am