BEST CORNWALL LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR 2022
Another year in the books for Tide & Land with a whole host of new landscape photography imagery to share.
I am always looking for new Cornish locations to explore and photograph to not only widen my portfolio but also to increase my understanding of this beautiful county and its various coastlines and woodland paths. This year was no different, but I wanted to take the time to go back to those well trodden landmarks such as Godrevy Lighthouse and St Ives with fresh eyes and new perspectives.
A lot of my focus this year has been returning to one of my favourite but also most demanding aspects of landscape photography, and that is Astrophotography. Going out and pulling an all nighter in dark and remote locations is as exhausting as it is rewarding and I was glad to have made that effort. I have pulled back from simply making all twelve of these images night time shots as I have more plans with these during 2023 - so stay tuned!
This years Best Cornwall Landscape Photography of the Year has a nice mix of night and day, dramatic and calm and old and new. I hope you enjoy these new additions to Tide & Land as much as I enjoyed photographing them.
HOLYWELL RAIN OF STARS
One of my goals for 2022 was to capture more night-time photography as life demands and projects had steered me away from this style of photography in recent years. I had a particular idea for this astrophotography image to capture a close up of the twin Gull Rocks at Holywell Bay in North Cornwall with the stars streaking behind. I set up the camera, zoomed in and managed to get a focus point on the rocks themselves. As a stroke of luck, light from the land behind me was flooding out to sea, catching the tops of the two rocks and setting them alight like two beacons in the night sky.
Overall, this shot took about 45 minutes to capture. As the earth rotated, it pulled the stars across the sky and created this mesmerising effect, almost like rain falling diagonally across the scene and pouring over the tops of the islands. With the movement of the stars contrasted with the milky sea below, the whole scene took a truly ethereal quality that really reflects that majesty of the Cornish coast at night-time. With life and activity even in the dark, it’s a nod to the magic that takes place as we sleep and a little reminder to look up to the stars.
GODREVY SUNSET SPRAY
For this image, Godrevy Sunset Spray, I took a trip to Godrevy on Cornwall’s west coast one evening, hoping to capture some of the action that takes place there at high tide. Having found a position at the base of the cliffs, I angled my lens towards the iconic Godrevy lighthouse and waited for the amber glow of sunset to streak the sky. Before long, the sun began to dip toward the horizon and the rush of high tide caused spirited surges of water to crash over the rocks at my feet. Using a tripod for stability and consistency, I set about capturing the stunning amalgamation of elements colliding before me.
As with every photoshoot, you’re often at the mercy of a combination of factors, so I decided to take a number of stills to create a natural composition. Using this method, I was able to blend my favourite shots together to create a picture that really conveyed the mood of the evening. Freezing moments in time, I took several photographs of the waves as they burst against various rocks in the foreground. What I particularly like is that, despite the rush of activity, this scene still has a warmth to it, softened by the orange rays of the setting sun.
KYNANCE COVE SUNSET
Kynance Cove is one of the most instantly recognisable locations in not just Cornwall but the UK too, famed for its picture-perfect aesthetics that have long captured hearts and minds and I wanted to get this across in Kynance Cove Sunset.. With emerald-topped islands soaring from turquoise seas, its somewhere that exudes raw natural beauty and is a natural magnet for photographers. For me, I particularly wanted to capture Kynance Cove at sunset as I felt that my previous attempts to capture the bay in all its glory hadn’t completely hit the mark. This time, I ventured over with renewed determination and managed to capture a beautiful sunset just before the sun disappeared for the day.
As the sun was setting over land, time was very much of the essence as I set up my camera and prepared a series of shots. Fortunately, the sun was still visible, sandwiched between banks of clouds and the land, which created lovely colouration across the sky and caused defiant beams of light to fracture and streak the horizon. To portray the smooth, dreamy quality of the sea, I used a neutral density filter which created this beautifully silky effect across the water, reflecting the sunset tones from deep blue to aquamarine to a warm yellow. The jagged cliffs of the foreground, still illuminated in the last moments of daylight, also provide a striking contrast to the mellow sea and add extra depth and scale to the scene.
CRANTOCK ROCKPOOL REFLECTION
Photography is often about timing and during this excursion one late afternoon in the middle of summer, I managed to capture a beautiful collision of elements that have come together to create the photography print Cranktock Rockpool Reflection. I was at Crantock beach in North Cornwall and as the high tide began to recede, so too did the sun, creating the impression of both the light and the water retreating towards the horizon. Fortunately, I was the first person on the scene, so I was able to take up a prime spot on the rocks below Crantock’s weather-beaten cliffs, looking out towards a watery channel between the twin headlands in the distance.
Though the sun had fallen behind a layer of clouds in the distance, the colours of the sunset painted the sky in every direction, perfectly reflected in the rock pool at my feet. Creating a sort of layering effect, all the greys of the rocks framing the rockpool, the headlands framing the sea, and the clouds framing the sky add a sense of symmetry throughout. Despite the busyness of the sky and the movement of the ocean, the stillness of the mirror-topped pool creates a sense of calm and roots you to the spot as this small body of water escapes the pull of the tide, making Crantock Rockpool Reflection a calming image of an action packed sunset.
ALES & CAKES MINE REFLECTIONS
Opened in the 1700s to serve the county’s once prosperous mining industry, the old Ale and Cask mine in mid-Cornwall is full of history. On this particular day, I was making my way back from a sunrise shoot in another location and decided to venture over to this old copper and tin mine to try and capture it in the morning light. With the sun streaming over my shoulder directly onto the face of its skeletal engine house, the front façade of the building was brilliantly illuminated by the morning’s rays. That said, with the intense colours of golden hour having already faded, the sky itself was a little lacklustre.
Using this as an opportunity for experimentation, I chose to make this image black and white to really capture the innate drama of the scene and emphasise all the different textures too. From the bare arms of the trees and shrubs to the exposed gritty brickwork of the engine house to the thickly-packed clouds above, each element was brought into hyperfocus by the monochromatic theme. Creating an eye-catching juxtaposition, I used a neutral density filter to take the picture over a couple of seconds. This helped to capture the fast movement of the clouds within the sky and contrast this activity with the beautifully still, mirror-like water at the foot of the engine house.
PORTHCURNO RUSHING TIDE
Taken at one of Cornwall’s most famous beaches, the location of Porthcurno Rushing Tide Photography Print is one that is instantly recognisable to fans of the county. Naturally, I wanted to try and get Logan Rock in there as it’s such an iconic sight, and I was able to find a position that centred it really nicely within the frame. It was late afternoon and the sun was still relatively high in a nearly-cloudless sky, which meant I could make the most of the natural light and lovely blue hues too, profiting from conditions as dreamlike as the setting.
Using a ND filter and long exposure, I was able to capture the movement of the sea as it lapped the shore. Perhaps a lot calmer than a lot of my other work, the overall effect of Porthcurno Rushing Tide is quite peaceful, with the feathered effect of the moving water creating a really smooth transition between the sand, foam and deeper blues of the sea. Complemented by the soft, pastel palette of the sky and the gentle light of the sun hitting the rocks in the foreground, this image exudes a sense of calm and evokes a wistfulness that leads heart and mind back to the sea.
GODREVY GOLDEN SUNSET
A particularly striking sunset encouraged me to detour from my route home and head west instead to capture this landscape photograph, Godrevy Golden Sunset. In all the glory of golden hour, a large bank of feathery clouds was being illuminated by the sun, showing off all the many textures and tones within the sky. Arriving at Godrevy, a gorgeous sandy beach lapped by the Atlantic, I raced against time to capture the amazing colours before the sun fully dipped behind the horizon and set up my camera on the edge of the cliffs. It was heading towards high tide so only pockets of sand remained as the sea crept higher below.
Adding a vibrant seasonal flourish to the image, a pink blanket of sea thrift sits in the foreground and contrasts strikingly with the dark rocks below. Blooming throughout spring and early summer, these pretty little flowers are an iconic part of the Cornish coast and this was my first opportunity to photograph them here – making this image all the more special for me. Also featuring the famous Godrevy lighthouse in the distance, there is a strong sense of place within this frame, capturing a unique moment and seasonal take on a much-loved location.
PORTREATH CRASHING SEA
Portreath Crashing Sea is a dramatic scene depicting the effects of Storm Dudley as it battered the UK in February 2022. I have photographed numerous times during stormy weather over the years, and the harbour at Portreath is a great location to catch waves smashing against the Monkey Hut.
I positioned myself safely from the harbour wall, setting up on a tripod to keep the camera steady while zooming into the scene to focus on the Monkey Hut. I like to stay close to my subject in stormy weather because there is so much energy and movement at the point of impact.
Unlike some of my landscape photography which can be capturing fleeting moments such as rainbows or breaks in cloud cover, with coastal storm photography you have several chances to refine, reposition and retake shots. As a result of the high winds, I built a collection of images of waves forcefully battering the Monkey Hut, of which, Portreath Crashing Sea is my favourite.
This particular wave that hit the harbour cast a wide spray around the small hut. Using a shutter speed of one fifth of a second, I was able to draw out the lines of spray from the point of impact, in an explosive flash of white droplets against the dark wet stones.
Portreath Crashing Sea is a breath-taking dynamic piece of storm photography that showcases the wild coasts of Cornwall and the power wielded by Mother Nature.
IDLESS WOODS ISOLATION
In early spring, I headed to the beautiful Idless Woods in mid-Cornwall with my camera, ready to see the progress of the bluebells that carpet the woodland floor here every year. Though the first few violet flourishes were starting to appear, it was still a bit early for the full bloom, so I turned my search elsewhere for inspiration. Walking through the woods, a clearing in the trees highlighted my subject: a singular tree set aglow by the late afternoon sun, strung with ivy and surrounded by pockets of bluebells.
Taking centre stage in the middle of the clearing, this solitary tree was set apart from its cast and illuminated by a golden spotlight, highlighted as the low sun shone through the trees. With the rest of the scene in shadow, it made for a striking vision against the umbrageous depths of the woodland. Positioning the tree just off centre, I was able to capture the length of the sunray as it cut through its narrow woodland corridor, across the grassy floor and up the tree – almost as if it had been painted onto the frame.
KENNALL VALE RUSH
The aim behind this photo was to capture some of the autumn colours that were making a beautiful, albeit fleeting, appearance across the county this year. Naturally, there was nowhere better to go than one of Cornwall’s dense pockets of woodland, and for this trip, I decided upon Kennall Vale. A particularly unique location, Kennall Vale is known for being the site of a former gunpowder factory which supplied Cornwall’s mining industry with explosives in the 19th Century. These days, the remains of its buildings are being slowly reclaimed by nature, creating a truly atmospheric setting.
For this image, I found a hollowed shell of a building close to the woodland’s fast-flowing river. During the shoot, I set up a frame that would combine both the movement of the water, the ruins and the autumn colours. With autumn only making a brief appearance, a lot of the leaves had already fallen, and these decorated the ground with flashes of bronze and gold. Once in post-production, I decided to vignette the image to focus the eye. Wide-angle woodland shots can be very busy, so by fading the edges of the photo into darkness, the eye is drawn to the middle of the image where there are fewer elements conflicting with each other.
GURNARD’S HEAD UNDER THE STARS
This year, I wanted to develop my night-time photography, looking past the more common Milky Way scenes and capturing some other elements of the magic that happens at night. One idea that really caught my interest focused on the earth’s rotation and the effect that this has on the stars above, seemingly imperceptible to the naked eye. To put this into practice, I went over to Gurnard’s Head, a stunning headland in West Cornwall that juts out into the Atlantic. Finding a spot on the cliffs, I focused my camera out to sea, capturing the headland’s rocky promontory and a dusting of coastal flowers in the foreground.
This image took around 45 minutes to capture, allowing the lens to absorb plenty of natural light from the sky above and illustrate the movement of stars along with the rotation of the earth. Creating a nice central line from the flowers and the headland to the centre of orbit in the sky, there is a real symmetry to this image that creates a sense of balance despite the busyness of the stars. The added lights of two shipping freights on the horizon add a nice touch, like two beacons either side of the headland, while the orbital movement of the stars creates this wonderful dreamlike quality.
CAPE CORNWALL STAR TRAILS
Thanks to the lack of light pollution, the wild and seabound peninsula of Cornwall is one of the best places in the country to photograph the night sky. To really capture the stars in all of their glory, I headed to Cape Cornwall, once believed to be the most westerly point in the county. After scrambling over the rocky harbour foreshore, I found a spot by the water’s edge to set up my equipment and angled my lens towards the Cape’s iconic 19th Century mining chimney. Part of the Tin Coast and Cornish Mining World Heritage Site, this chimney stands like a beacon atop the cliffs, making for the perfect focal point for the centre of my frame.
With the astral light illuminating my path and a retreating tide, the scene was perfectly set to safely take a series of photographs. The buildings at the tip of the Cape had lights on which wonderfully highlighted the smooth, sea-washed boulders of the shore, but also meant that I had to be careful about how long I took each exposure for to avoid over exposure. This particular photograph is made up of about six images to record the movement of the stars across the sky. Though the north star is just out of frame in this shot, there is this incredible celestial pattern I love that really illustrates the magical quality of the vibrant night skies that Cornwall is so famous for.
