A Birthday Weekend Away

I recently had what one might call a "significant" birthday and since a couple of my photography friends had their birthdays within a few weeks of mine, we all decided that we should celebrate being older, more mature, wiser, or something like that. Basically, our birthdays just became an excuse to go away for the weekend with our cameras, drink some wine or beer, and eat cake, pizzas and pasties.

The world was our oyster though so we got a globe out, started spinning it, and randomly stopping it with our finger to see where we might go. Back in the real world though we had to be a lot more practical. We only had a couple of days for photography so we wanted to minimise the amount of driving we would undertake. There was also the consideration of the time of year, and the direction of the rising and setting sun.

To cut a long story short we decided that we would go down to very ends of England and go to the south west tip of Cornwall. It's an area that none of use frequently visit so we knew that we'd all get something from it photographically speaking.

Just a few weeks after booking our accommodation we hit the road and started our drive to the end of the world! Well, the end of England anyway.

Porth Nanven, Cornwall

First stop was the stunning beach at Porth Nanven. It's a location I've only visited twice, once in 2015 and then again in 2017, so I was long overdue a return visit. As soon as I arrived, I was reminded of why I love this place so much. The beach is littered with large boulders embedded in the sand. As the tide comes in the sea laps up around the rocks creating channels in the sand. Finding a composition at first can look a bit daunting, but once you get your eye tuned in, it’s a treasure trove of creative possibilities.

**Porth Nanven, South West Coast Path, Cornwall** - Nikon Z8, Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 30mm, f/11, 1 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL.

It was the middle of day when we arrived but there was plenty of cloud cover to help diffuse the light. I had a wonderful time finding different compositions and opting for black & white when I wanted to focus more on contrast and texture. It was a great way to start our photography holiday!

Botallack Mine, Cornwall

Botallack mine was made famous in the Poldark TV series, but for many photographers it was already iconic. Arriving at Botallack we did the most important thing first and head to the café for coffee and cake! Refuelled we headed down to look upon the crown engine houses which seem to precariously built of the edge of a cliff!

But it's the dramatic location of these buildings that make this such a great scene to photograph. Ideally you want some stormy conditions, so the waves crash against the rocky coastline, but we appear to have turned up on very calm day. However, in the right light, it's still well worth photographing. We had hope the light would continue right up to sunset but a heavy covering a cloud prevented any colour appearing in the sky. That wasn't a reason to leave early though, so we kept shooting right up until it got dark.

**Botallack, South West Coast Path, Cornwall** - Nikon Z8, Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 37mm, f/11, 10 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL.

Logan Rock, Cornwall

The heavy cloud we had been experiencing on the first day was replaced by blue skies the following morning. There was a little bit of cloud here and there, but not enough to add interest to the compositions we were making from the viewpoint towards Logan Rock.

I wasn't feeling inspired, so I decided to walk along the coast path to get closer to Logan Rock. This proved to be a positive step as photographing Logan Rock from a different angle brought in what little cloud there was into the frame. The downside was that from this different angle there wouldn't be much in the way of light hitting the land. It did however catch a couple of the rocky peaks on Logan Rok.

**Logan Rock, South West Coast Path, Cornwall** - Nikon Z8, Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 35mm, f/11, 10 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL.

Though not the greatest morning of photography, it was a real delight to be on the coast watching the sunrise somewhere new.

**Logan Rock, South West Coast Path, Cornwall** - Nikon Z8, Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 16mm, f/13, 4 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL.

Walking and Return to Botallack

To fill the time between sunrise and sunset we decided to go on a long walk to look at some new viewpoints. It was a beautiful day. Not great for photography, but for a walk & talk with friends, it was perfect. We ended up back at Botallack for more coffee and cake, and to take a couple more photos of te crown engine houses..

**Botallack, South West Coast Path, Cornwall** - Nikon Z8, Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 39mm, f/11, 2 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL.

Land's End, Cornwall

To end the day there really was only one location we wanted to photograph and that was Land's End. With it's unique geology, high cliffs, and dramatic coastline it can be exciting place to photography. However, the clear skies and calm conditions from earlier that day had continued into the evening. With neither crashing waves or clouds to catch the light from the setting sun, I felt it left the photographs without much punch. As always though, despite the conditions not being what I might have wanted, just being there was a treat. There is something about being on the coast at sunset that can fill your heart with joy! And that's exactly how I felt as it got dark, and we headed home.

**Land’s End, South West Coast Path, Cornwall** - Nikon Z8, Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 20mm, f/13, 5 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL.

I would very much like to spend more time in this area, but it’s a 2.5 hr drive there so it's not exactly a drive you make on a whim to catch sunset. But it has made me appreciate what a spectacular part of the world I live in for photography. So of course I'll be back. Hopefully with friends again. Hopefully to capture even better photographs!