PHOTO STORIES
Newly retired Phil has been travelling the UK and rising early to enjoy photographing seaside towns in all their glory
PROJECT INFO
After our retirement a few years ago, my wife and I found we were able to spend much more of our time travelling the UK in our beloved motorhome, and exploring the wonderfully varied scenery around our islands. Ranging from the nearby wild areas of East Anglia to stunningly beautiful distant places such as Loch Lomond and Skye. Presented with such excellent photo opportunities, my thoughts soon turned to photography, so I bought my first Canon EOS DSLR and slowly built up a selection of second-hand lenses.
I soon realised there was much more to successful photography than I anticipated, and I joined a local photographic society to help me get to grips with the skills I needed to do justice to the beautiful locations we were visiting. What I did not appreciate was the peace and tranquillity that photography would bring me. Of course, having more time to explore our beautiful country plays a big part in allowing me to relax, but I feel that the photography, by thinking about photographic techniques, especially when using a tripod, makes me really take my time and think more about my surroundings and how best to capture the joy of moment. Consequently, nothing raises my spirits more than when, back home, I go through my photos and see something which reflects, at least to some extent, the beauty of the wonderful places we have seen. Couple that with the copious outdoor walking we enjoy during those travels and I can’t imagine a more rewarding and relaxing way to spend my time.
One of my fondest memories was in Southwold where, one fine morning, I got up early enough to take photos of the sunrise from the beach. After enjoying the beautiful sunrise, I walked along the beach into the village, where I bought a coffee and sat outside the church on the high street, watching shopkeepers setting up for the day as the town slowly stirred from its slumber. I don’t ever remember feeling a greater sense of peace with the world as I did that morning, which
