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North Wales Coast to Caernarfon

50 images Created 1 Mar 2011

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  • An incredibly tranquil evening near Beaumaris, with winter sun forming a beautifully coloured backdrop over the far West of the Menai Strait. Such perfection, such biting cold.
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  • In this modern period of climate catastrophe it's so worrying just how fast weather conditions vary. If we get any snow at all it comes and goes in a matter of days. Although still 'cold' water, the sea temperatures are unseasonably warm, and the winds and gales seem relentless.  <br />
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And yet, to keep my mind sane, I have to imagine that whatever I see happening in the hills and sea, is just normal. I see snow and pretend I can't see climate change. I see no snow, and pretend I can't see climate change, for whatever the awful situation on our planet, I still see the weather, I still see nature, I still see the incredible landscapes and the wonderful sea. I have to keep pretending that everything is OK.
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  • In this modern period of climate catastrophe it's so worrying just how fast weather conditions vary. If we get any snow at all it comes and goes in a matter of days. Although still 'cold' water, the sea temperatures are unseasonably warm, and the winds and gales seem relentless.  <br />
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And yet, to keep my mind sane, I have to imagine that whatever I see happening in the hills and sea, is just normal. I see snow and pretend I can't see climate change. I see no snow, and pretend I can't see climate change, for whatever the awful situation on our planet, I still see the weather, I still see nature, I still see the incredible landscapes and the wonderful sea. I have to keep pretending that everything is OK.
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  • A Christmas morning swim in the Menai Strait under dramatic but wonderful skies, pierced by sunlight and doused by rain in equal measure. As I watched cars sweep by on the road behind me, off to see relatives for Christmas lunch, I swam totally alone in the winter water, and it was utterly, truly fabulous and one of my most memorable starts to a Christmas Day ever. <br />
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I didn't even feel the cold, either in the air or in the water and I swam even further than of late, out to the far buoy. I smiled and then laughed out loud calling "Now THIS is Christmas" to the passing flocks of Oystercatcher and Cormorants.
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  • A clear blue sky morning gave itself up to banks of cloud rapidly scudding across the mountain tops of Eryri, thankfully backlit by the warmest coloured sunshine you could imagine, a contrast to the cold wind and sea.
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  • I could sense it in the air, that something had changed, and when I left our street and looked towards the mountains, there it was, the first snow, glistening in the early morning Autumn light. It won't last long I'm sure, but I knew swimming from now on was going to become more of a challenge!
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  • This is a place where my ageing parents go for a bit of escape, short walks and cafe visits, but sadly as they continue to get older, even these walks are getting less and less. I'm acutely aware that at some point, it will only be memories of my lovely Mum & Dad that will accompany on my own walk at one of their favourite locations. I dread that time.
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  • Llanfairfechan was the ONLY place for miles around which was illuminated by brilliant sunshine. Everywhere else was thick cloud & drizzle. Walking in the sunshine was such a delight after several days of utterly depressing weather.
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  • No, this isn't a stupidly processed sky - it was the strangest light at Llanfairfechan, looking back towards a totally clouded Anglesey. We wanted to get out for fresh air after work on yet another dreary day on Anglesey. On impulse we headed for a 'brighter patch' in the sky over the Conwy area. As we arrived at Llanfairfechan the sun was shining brilliantly, even though it was cloudy and drizzly everywhere else. It resembled a Hollywood fantasy film where you drive from one reality to another world entirely. <br />
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This particular image was after the intense sunshine had disappeared, but it was still illuminating the Menai Strait.
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  • I always get excited when beautiful, dramatic sunlight bursts through the clouds after a dreary day. It's that reminder that good things can sometimes happen no matter how dark times may be and that happiness can be found at the most unusual times.
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  • I was fascinated by the gentle, minimal arrangement of the buoys below Bangor Pier but the two gulls suddenly coming into view in the morning fog, completed a wonderful oval arrangement.
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  • Landerne Pier, (named after the twinned Brittany town of Landerneau ) just to the North of Doc Fictoria in Caernarfon was completed in 1993. It's frequented by anglers and occasionally is used by boats as a temporary tie up, waiting for the dock to open.<br />
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In busy lives, it's strange that places or people that have been so much a part of our existence, become history quite quickly. Wandering along the Caernarfon waterfront, steeped in architectural & cultural heritage, my own history & memory of this place suddenly seemed so familiar
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  • Landerne Pier, (named after the twinned Brittany town of Landerneau ) just to the North of Doc Fictoria in Caernarfon was completed in 1993. It's frequented by anglers and occasionally is used by boats as a temporary tie up, waiting for the dock to open.<br />
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In busy lives, it's strange that places or people that have been so much a part of our existence, become history quite quickly. Wandering along the Caernarfon waterfront, steeped in architectural & cultural heritage, my own history & memory of this place suddenly seemed so familiar
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  • In busy lives, it's strange that places or people that have been so much a part of our existence, become history quite quickly. Wandering along the Caernarfon waterfront, steeped in architectural & cultural heritage, my own history & memory of this place suddenly seemed so familiar
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  • Garth Pier, Bangor, in brilliant morning sunshine over a high tide. A wind was howling up the Menai Strait but the sea also had a comforting calmness to it. Garth Pier which was 125 years old in 2021, was voted 2022 Pier of the Year.
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  • Afternoon winter sunlight floods between tall trees onto Llanfairfechan beach. The same beautful light bathes the Snowdonia foothills that help form this distinctive coastline.
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  • Another of those images asitting in unseen folders from a few years ago. I must have 1000s and 1000s of images like these gathering pixel dust. Just one of those “OMG I can’t believe what’s happening” moments, as the world turned pink.
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  • Huge clouds of spindrift were back-lit by the last moments of blazing sunshine before it was doused by blankets of black rain that built over Ynys Môn.<br />
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These were possibly the strongest winds I’ve ever battled against; so strong that I was knocked sideways twice by gale-force gusts. My face and camera were sandblasted by the stinging particles, and yet, I was equally blown-away and utterly invigorated by the power of it all.
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  • Possibly the strongest winds I’ve ever battled against; so strong that I was knocked sideways twice by gale-force gusts. My face and camera were sandblasted by the stinging particles, and yet, I was equally blown-away and utterly invigorated by the power of it all. The flying sheets of sand were side-lit by blazing sunshine, not long before towering walls of darkness moved in rapidly from the West. I took some other versions of this image where it literally looks I'm walking on clouds of sand, but I wanted to retain the visual of these boulders in the foreground, which became obscured in the other views.
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  • I’ve always loved the sea from above, from planes for sure, but even from mountain tops. A constantly morphing sheet of textures and pattern, sometimes describing the weather and the clouds above, but sometimes the currents below. Here on the approach to the Conwy Estuary the channels are winding and shallow and accurate navigation is critical. As the last of the sun went behind a huge cloud bank on the horizon, and the world went dark, only a gently illuminated shimmering sea remained clear.
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  • It was slightly nerve wracking walking out onto this old dissused jetty, with wave after wave splashing over my waist every second or so. It really felt as if I was walking on the surface of the sea at some points, and at others where the jetty had broken, I was walking IN the sea! My camera got soaked, my clothes got soaked but I enjoyed the experience anyway.
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  • As I wound my way down the tiny lane to the foreshore, I had to stop for six cars and vans, some towing powerboats and jet skis, which surprised me during this lockdown. There were a further three cars parked up in the tiny parking area but thankfully I found a space and there was no one actually to be seen. <br />
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I really wanted this slipway in the foreground with the town of Y Felinheli on the far side of the Afon Menai, basking in evening sunlight. Sadly, just two minutes after arriving, the sun disappeared behind a massive cloud bank and the orange floodlight simply faded away.
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  • The first day of the new year, the first day of the new decade! After a lazy start, relaxing in bed, drinking fresh coffee whilst sunshine poured through the window, we decided to make the most of the beautiful conditions and get a walk in. <br />
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We drove to the Great Orme to maximise exposure to the New Year’s sunshine and scrambled up through the limestone buttresses to reach the summit. The views back across to Snowdonia were stunning, the huge mountains just stopped at the sea and looked more reminiscent of some Greek islands than the Welsh coast. The sea was so calm and the tiny yacht making its way out of the Conwy estuary helped to describe just how huge and magnificent everything looked. <br />
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In terms of climate disaster and self-interested politics worldwide we are in such frightening times, but today’s conditions at the start of the new decade, infused us both with a small dose of happiness and positivity that I hope to God we can still find more of over the next few years.
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  • This place will always be special to me, simply because it’s always been special to my Mum & Dad in their later years. I know why they like it - a sense of space and the great outdoors but with the security of firm ground and a great cafe.
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  • Such an impressive structure; such a beautiful setting; such serene conditions; such a tourist attraction; such a dark history.
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  • This place will always be special to me, simply because it’s always been special to my Mum & Dad in their later years. I know why they like it - a sense of space and the great outdoors but with the security of firm ground and a great cafe.
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  • A simple shot of Bangor Pier taken as the thick fog banks from a temperature inversion cleared in the warm morning sunshine. It was strange to see the Snowdonia mountains appear first, and then slowly but surely Bangor Pier and the Menai Strait, until finally the fog disappeared altogether.
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  • A simple shot of Bangor Pier taken as the thick fog banks from a temperature inversion cleared in the warm morning sunshine. It was strange to see the Snowdonia mountains appear first, and then slowly but surely Bangor Pier and the Menai Strait, until finally the fog disappeared altogether.
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  • Utterly calm conditions over the Menai Strait, near Beaumaris on a warm Spring morning. The only obvious movement was the flight of waders and seagulls as they swooped over the mirror like surface of the sea. Indeed there was near silence apart from their calls to each other. The enormous limestone headland of the Great Orme almost looked like an island as soft mist obscured the low strip of land that connects it to mainland Wales. <br />
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This was one of those mornings that fills me with positivity, physical warmth and hope for more glorious days in the summer ahead.
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  • Shot from a mountain summit at sunset. At this time of year the sun blazes across the Menai Strait, the stretch of water that separates the Isle of Anglesey from the mainland. <br />
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The wind was bitterly cold even in July, but sheltered behind the summit cairn the sun did offer some warmth as I excitedly watched the rapidly changing light created by fast moving swirling clouds above me. <br />
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I remained on the summit until the sun dropped behind a huge bank of cloud on the horizon, and I walked down alone in the gathering dusk.
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  • I took this photograph whilst being filmed for a new ITV series ‘The Strait’ <br />
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The cameraman and I were being bitten senseless by a million midgies as we waited for the tide to rise over these heavily weathered wooden posts. Normally I would have gone exploring whilst waiting for right height for the sea, but the hassle of setting up filming positions meant that perhaps this half an hour was the longest I’ve ever waited for a photograph. <br />
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The strong earlier sunshine had weakened behind a soft bank of cloud, removing the high contrast I wanted. However the gentleness of the light has still worked nicely for me nevertheless. Indeed, there is something more calming and serene about the light and colours in this image than originally anticipated.
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  • I am really enjoying my gentle excursion into minimal landscapes, an approach I used many years ago in art school. This time I feel I am seeing far more though, in these vast tracts of sand and sky and sea. I seem more acutely aware of the myriad of intrinsic details that make up the surfaces. Maybe it’s because my long distance isn’t what it was, and the foreground details seem even more relevant than before :-)<br />
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I am seeing escape. Days like this on an empty, wild windswept bay are precious to me. I can sense society not far away, the noise of traffic and the chatter and incessant debates between increasingly indifferent people, but I’m grounded here. I feel security in the earth and in the elements that have preceded us all and that forever will outlast us all.
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  • Awarded a discretionary MERIT in the 29th SUN (Shot up North) Awards for full time professional photographers<br />
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Nominee in Fine Art Category / B&W Spider Awards 2017<br />
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Tiny blades of light penetrated the thick armour of black clouds over the Irish Sea. Pierced into soft dunes were short lengths of delicate fencing, resolutely standing their ground in the shifting sand, but gradually becoming eroded by the relentless attack of wind and weather.
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  • Bangor Pier looms through the early morning fog over the Menai Strait on Easter Day 2015.
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  • Bangor Pier looms through the early morning fog over the Menai Strait on Easter Day 2015.
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  • Bangor Pier looms through the early morning fog over the Menai Strait on Easter Day 2015.
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  • Sun rays over the Welsh mountains of Snowdonia with Bangor Victorian Pier in the foreground, jutting into the Menai Strait. Bangor is a University town and is now almost utterly dependent on the University for the city's economy.
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  • Yet, despite all, there was a surreal if melancholy beauty to the place. This once tourism-fronted seaside town, this once also busy quarry town that has seen better days, is topped by ancient standing stones and open windswept moorlands. The often-quiet hilltops offer solitude and spectacular views, Eryri behind, Anglesey and the Irish Sea in front, a sea quilted with colours and shadows from the vast skies above. I’ve stood at the Druid’s Circle, high on the flat peak and I’ve spoken to the stones, literally, for they listen without judgement and they hear you. I see figures in their form, and in the low wet mists when no one else is around, they will move in the vapour. Up here, high above the shadow-nestled town, it is expansive and liberating, bright even in cloud and with wings you could swoop over the darkness of Pen to the sunlit sea beyond, perhaps in Summer actually catching some warm sun rays which catch the huge sandy beach skirting this shadowy habitation.
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  • Boulders in sky reflection form small islands in a huge mirror-flat beach pool at Penmaenmawr, Gwynedd, North Wales. The Great Orme at Llandudno is illuminated in sunshine in the distance and the small island of Puffin Island can be seen far left.
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  • Rhuddlan and it's castle have been the site of numerous Welsh English battles in history. The castle was originally mostly built of wood and ships used to moor alongside the jetty. Today, a Royal swan peacefully glides amongst the shadows of the castle's trees and a huge driftwood log is the only wooden movement along this shallow river today.
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  • Dinas Dinlle is a vast beach beyond Caernarfon Airport. As the tide retreats it leaves a huge inviting expanse of sand, to be enjoyed by everyone and everything from walkers to oystercatchers, until the tide once again makes its long journey back towards the cliffs.
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  • Available as unlimited A3 & A4 prints only<br />
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Bangor Pier and the Nant Ffrancon Valley as seen from Anglesey
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