Melvin’s Photography Tour of the UK Summer 2017- Halfway through news update
Day 14 and Melvin’s sat in his minibus/makeshift converted campervan (complete with single IKEA mattress and a two-burner stove). That opening sentence sounds like a line from a Big Brother show featuring the dulcet tones of Marcus Bentley (the show’s voice over guy).
So I am a little over halfway around my imaginatively titled Tour of the UK (despite me only covering the southern half of the UK) and I thought that I would share some images that I have taken and a couple of stories that have been created along the way. I’ll keep the blog as brief as I can because nobody likes to read something as long as War and Peace, ha, ha.
Day One: Saturday 15th July 2017
I ran a workshop on Angelsey in North Wales and whilst the weather started a little damp, the sun came out and paid us a visit early afternoon. Here’s an image of Twr Bach Lighthouse & Boathouse, Llanddwyn Island.
Day Two: Sunday 16th July 2017
An early start at Llyn Padarn in Llanberis to shoot the lone tree before moving onto Llyn Ogwen and the boathouse there and a short walk up to the beautiful Llyn Idwal and the surrounding Devil’s Kitchen mountains. But it was this wonderful scene at Afon Nant Peris, Pass of Llanberis that caught my eye.
After the workshop in North Wales finished (4pm) I took the long drive down to Broadway Tower in Worcestershire to shoot the sunset with my good friend John Starkey. The weather was gorgeous and with great company, this was a great way to continue my journey down south.
Day Three: Monday 17th July 2017
Sunrise started back at Broadway Tower with a fellow photographer and client John meeting me pre-dawn before moving on to the lavender fields of Snowshill round the corner.
I finished off the day with a visit to the impressive Chesterton Windmill. Sunset was staggering beautiful and the inclusion of the lady in this photo was heaven sent. I met another photographer at my minibus whilst I was cooking my evening meal at 10pm and we sat and chatted until midnight before us both retiring to our vehicles for a few hours sleep before rising at 4am for a sunrise shoot. The problem was the Police arrived at 3.50am to check on us but we were awake anyway. They were great, stopped for ten minutes to chat and laugh before moving on. Nice to know the Police are out there just keeping an eye out for you.
Day Four: Tuesday 18th July 2017
Sunrise at Chesterton Windmill followed by an easy day catching up on social media and work commitments (emailing, workshop enquiries etc). A 110 mile drive to Clevedon Pier in Somerset late afternoon to meet up with a friend for sunset. Duncan knows this place well and I love the look of the pier. £3.30 to gain entry onto the pier with 20 minutes to go before closing and no using the tripod either (health and bloody safety with only three people on the whole pier, grrr). It would appear that my timing was superb as the colour in the storm laden sky looked stunning. A few shots fired off left me feeling happy in my work and a pizza for Duncan and I followed to celebrate our efforts.
Day Five: Wednesday 19th July 2017
I tried getting some sleep in the minibus but a storm hit around 4am and I decided to rise, get dressed and venture out in the hope of capturing some fork lightning over Clevedon Pier. I stood waiting hoping to avoid the rain and at 4.30am, I was rubbing my blurry eyes from tiredness thinking that I had better be rewarded for my dedication/patience/stupidity. Eventually, around 5.15am I decided to finish and head back to the minibus. I quickly slipped through the dozens and dozens of images I had and I believed I had one in the can. See it below.
Once the excitement of shooting in a lightning storm abated, I managed to persuade a couple of fishermen to allow me onto the pier for a couple of photos. They thankfully agreed and I enjoyed a few minutes using my tripod to capture a couple of shots.
I had been told about a unique looking lighthouse from a friend of mine and I felt compelled to go and visit it once I got Clevedon Pier out of my system. It is called the Black Nore Lighthouse and the thing that really attracted me to it was that it looked like a rocket ship. I could not resist so a quick trip up the coast to Portishead to hunt it down and shoot it as best I could. Parking on the main road and a quick yomp along a woodland path took me down to the coast where this wonderful 1894 Grade Two listed building lighthouse stands high on a rocky outcrop. It was decommissioned back in 2010 and was sold to a trust for preservation for just a £1.00. What also attracted me to the area was the magnificent colours of the rocks and what a variety of colours too.
The clouds rolled in soon after and I decided to visit the open air swimming pool (Marine Lake) at the south end of the town. The objective was to shoot some minimlistic images and to convert them to black and white. I know it’s done to death but I don’t care about that and the weather conditions and available light dictated what i shot to a large degree.
THIS BLOG WILL BE UPDATED EVERY OTHER DAY
Beautiful. I love the photo of Broadway Tower. That is gorgeous.
Thank you Ramona
Broadway Tower is a lovely building and it looks fantastic when set against a beautiful sunset. I was really fortunate with the weather, not only at sunset but also sunrise the following morning. I’m so pleased you like it.
Hi Melvin,
I enjoy following your adventures. Dancing clients, charming villages, breathtaking view from the top of a cliff, exciting landscape photography in the bath ?… and of course your stunning photos. UK is beautiful!
I like your image of the lavender field, haven’t seen it on Facebook. But all the others are fantastic as well.
More adventures, friendly people and award winning photos are waiting for you on your tour!
I hope you can have a rest sometimes. Take care! ☺
Thank you Csilla for your kind words and I am so pleased that you are enjoying my travels with me. It has been so busy getting up at 3.30am for sunrise shoots and returning late into the night after capturing sunsets with a host of travelling and photography in the daytime. It is turning into a wonderful three and a half week tour of the southern half of the UK and I might even consider doing to same again next year.
Continue happy reading Csilla. x
Very very nice images of UK Melvin, keep them coming.
Hi John
Thank you very much. Glad you enjoyed the tour through my eyes. There are a fair few images to edit now that I am home though.
Enjoying your 24 day trip some lovery photo and vides best of luck.
Hi Tony
Many thanks for saying. It was an amazing tour full of wonderful memories and some beautiful places visited. Maybe I’ll do it again next year who knows.
I am really enjoying following your progress on your tour and seeing your unique view of our beautiful country. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise, your humour and vocal prowess along the way and, of course, your stunning photographs. Looking forward to the next half ?
Hi Chris
That’s very kind of you to say, thank you. I’m finally home now and working through the hundreds of photographs I took. t may take a while editing them all, lol.
Love the perspective in your photography. The two which stood out for me were 1) the lightning shot – one in a million chance 2) the rocks and pebbles on the old rocket ship/lighthouse shot. Keep ’em coming please Melvin!
Hi Chris
Ah the lightning shot of Cromer Pier during a thunderstorm at 4.30am. That was quite an exhilarating experience I can tell you. The Nore Lighthouse with its amazing rock formations on the beach was ‘other worldly’ to look at. The scene almost felt like a movie set for Apollo 13, lol.
Melvin, you have got some great images that you can be very proud of. Amazing since you haven’t been to some of the locations before and the weather hasn’t been too kind to you.
Jane and I will follow your updates with great interest and respect for the sheer hard work, whilst living out the back of the van.
Keep on keeping on and keep those horizons straight, even at 4 in the morning!
Hi Ken and Jane
It was great to meet you both in Dorchester and the lunch was fantastic too (thanks again for picking up the tab). Now that I am home and I am experiencing post tour blues but I’m slowly getting back to normal. Those 4am starts were a killer though, lol.