Landscape Photography
Llanddwyn-Old-Lighthouse-800

Landscape Photographer of the Year 2013

Classic View.

Commended.

”Take a View”, the landscape Photographer of the Year Awards have become my  annual benchmark and once again I am pleased to say that I have had an image Commended.

“Tŵr Mawr” will be printed in the book and exhibited in the exhibition this year.

It’s not that I particularly need judgement in competition to value my own  work, I make the images I like for my own enjoyment, but it is always  nice to know someone else appreciates the pictures you are producing as  well.

It also prompts me to re-visit some of the pictures I have taken sometimes and see whether I can produce better results with improved skills or  new software. It’s amazing the difference just a few years can make.

Tŵr Mawr is one of two towers built on  the small tidal island of LLanddwyn. (Ynys Llanddwyn) The earliest, Tŵr  Bach, was a beacon for ships but was later replaced when this building  became the main lighthouse around the middle of the nineteenth century.

Reminiscent of local windmills there is some thought that it may indeed have served that purpose before being use as a lighthouse.

The mountains in the distance are part of Snowdonia.

This was my first visit to  the island and I had set out to produce a series of shots overnight and  this was taken in the last full light before the sun dipped below the  horizon.

Shortly after this, the last  of the visitors drifted away back to the mainland and I had the place  pretty much to myself until morning.

For the second year running my image of  LLandulas in Colwyn Bay was shortlisted but again did not get through

Colwyn-Bay

You can read more about that on the page I wrote last year.

An older image that I  re-edited this year was of Roche Rock (An Garrek) in Cornwall. This was  also shortlisted but did not get through in the final judging.

Sadly it’s last chance this year.

Roche-Rock-3-800

This small chapel, dedicated to St. Michael in 1409, is built on an  isolated granite outcrop that has attracted so much folk lore over the years that I suspect it was considered a sacred site long before the  Christian’s adopted it.

Whatever its history, the chapel perched upon the rock is an impressive sight that the wintery lighting suited  well on this cold clear morning.

I must confess to a great fondness for ruins, in Britain we have a rich history that is written in the  landscape and locations such as this can be very atmospheric.

I was fortunate to be here while there were few other visitors about. Tradition holds that there was a hermit  living here in the past and on such a quiet day I can see the appeal for such a soul, but it must have been a bleak spot to live through a  winter storm.