The Yorkshire seaside

 I lived for two years in Leeds in West Yorkshire and I made the most of the county by visiting as many town, cities and places I could. 

 I went to Whitby where Bram Stoker's Dracula's legend came to life and enjoyed one of the few sunny days available in the north of England. 

 Whitby is a little seaside town on the east cost of North Yorkshire. It offers touristic as well as historical places and make the visit quite interesting. 

 Here are a few photos I took when I was there:  

The Whitby harbour

In the Whitby harbour, there are a few fishing boats, a lot of seagulls and very nice seaside houses.

 

Kings of Canterbury

In Canterbury, there is an interesting place called King's School Canterbury. It's one of the oldest school in the world and was established in 597 by St Augustine of Canterbury.

I took some pictures there and with the  snow it makes the place quite magical, not far from a setting from a Harry Potter movie.

The Peter Stone music building

This is the buildings where the students practice their musical talents. In this school there are very talented musicians or singers with a lot of opportunities to showcase their talents such as the different choirs or the multitude of music bands. If you want to witness by yourself, I suggest that you book some tickets to the many events displayed during King's Week. 

Of boats and masts

As you may have notice while exploring my blog that seaside landscapes are something I like to photograph. I've always lived not far from a sea and an attachment for its winds and smells formed over the years. 

In this articles, I'll publish photos of Whitstable on the Kentish coast in England.

Whitstable fishing harbour

I like this shot of the Whitstable harbour. I digitally altered to tone down the garish colours of the fishing nets and boats. The shot is balanced between the two boats on the left hand side and the fishing nets on the right. The eyes wander from left to right and may pause on the seagull which flies over the scene.

Seaside moments

 Capturing people on film, even on digital film is quite a difficult process. If you want to make sure that the scene remains natural and intimate, you must make yourself disappear in the landscape in order not to disturb the authenticity of what happening in front of you. 

Here are a few shots I am proud of. I was able to capture those moments without any interference on my part.

I really like these two photos of the children playing by the sea. The first one is a particularly favorite of mine. You can almost hear them whispering secrets to one another unaware that anyone is watching.

Setting suns

Still in Whitstable. I've chosen to show you several photos of the sun setting on the sea, always a beautiful experience to witness and to immortalize.

I particularly like the way the sun rays pierce the sky on this shot and how the different levels of the wooden fence mark another division in the shot.

Luxury life

Since I've been living in England, I tried to visit as many places as I could. Now living in Kent, I stumble upon a very nice Castle in the Kentish countryside. England is very proud of its mansions and castle and has transformed most of those estates into museums and parks. 

Here are several pictures I took when I went there.

The park of Leeds Castle is quite beautiful, especially in the spring when all the flowers bloom. A small river passes through the park and on its banks, you can see a multitude of little white flowers. It is a very nice place for a picnic.

Strutting in Leeds Castle

When I went to visit Leeds Castle I had the chance to witness one of Nature's most beautiful trick: a strutting peacock. Fortunately I never go anywhere without my camera and therefore I was able to immortalize this amazing moment.

In these two shots you can see the extent of the peacock's beautiful feathers. I digitally altered the natural colours of the photos so that it would give them an otherworldly feeling.

Birds of a feather

I thought that after the article on the Leeds castle's peacock it would be interesting to show other pictures of birds I took in another park in the north of England.

Here is a picture of a white swan. The way it's beak is resting on its fluffy feathers is very endearing.

 

Sheep and Wales

A couple of years ago, I went to visit a friend in Wales, in Swansea. Another city bu the sea. I seem to be attracted by the sea. 

Unfortunately, despite the fact that it was spring, the weather was ghastly. Not a ray of sun could pierce the thick clouds that were overrunning the sky that day. As you will see on these photos, a very thick fog was also here to dampen our spirits.

We went to visit a small town on the seaside and we were welcomed by this thick fog that prevented us for seeing anything further away than our feet. On the cliffs, you could see sheep scattered all over the wet, damp grass. Some of those sheep were dangerously close to the edge but none of them seemed to fall on the beach.

Wind turbines, seagulls and beach huts in Whitstable

I was born near the sea and therefore I feel a very profound bond to its smells, colours and landscapes. Now that I live near Whitstable, I go there often and never without my camera. Therefore, it will probably not be my first or last post with photographs of the Whitstable landscape.

On this photo, you cannot clearly distinguish the sand from the water as it is a low tide. however, the persons walking are an indication of where the sand seems to be.

Harmonious yet different...

I went to London several times but each time I was either to in a hurry or to busy shopping that I did not really take time to photograph London's very interesting and motley architecture. Here are two examples of this peculiar mix of architecture.

Here is a shot of the Millennium Bridge leading to Saint-Paul's cathedral. You can see that these two pieces of architecture, although harmonious, show how cities like London or New York mix their architecture to bring charm to the urban landscape.

Here is a shot taken in the City of London which is the financial and economical heart of London. In this part of London, the architecture is very modern and consist of numerous buildings with glass walls. I particularly like the building of the left hand side of this photo. The shape is clearly interesting.

English countryside - Malham, North Yorkshire

On the Yorkshire Dales, there is a cute little village called Malham where you can visit the countryside. There are paths to follow and definitely pictures to be taken. 

Here is a picture I took the second time I went there. I like this shot. You can almost see the fairies. This shot could also illustrate the covers of the Brontë sisters' books. This is Angria.

A Christmas at the beach

After a very filling Christmas lunch, we took a stroll on the beach watching the sunset. Even though we were in Normandy, the day was perfect for this, fresh enough to help digestion yet not too cold that you had to stay in the car.

A very hot day

One spring day, some friends and I went on the seaside to have a drink in a pub overlooking the sea. I live in Kent and it's the most sunny place in Britain. But I never thought that the warmth would cause the seas to evaporate!

Nevertheless, it created very interesting shots. On the two following photos, you can see this strange fog  covering the Pegwell bay.

Jurassic park on the Isle of Wight

During the summer half-term, I went to the Isle of Wight and discovered that it is the home of the long disappeared dinosaurs. On the beach, you can still see their footprints.

 

Here is the proof...

 

The Garlic Farm - Isle of Wight

On the Isle of Wight, the most surprising place to visit is surely the beaches with the dinosaurs' footprints but the Garlic Farm is also very interesting and the food is really food.

Here are some pictures I took there.

Wight is Wight...

Here are a few pictures of the seaside of the Isle of Wight. The cliffs are particularly interesting. The fact that they're made of limestone give nice colours to the photos.

Here is a picture of a beach where we went to see the famous Neddles. The little boats on the right hand side of the shot counterbalances the dock that streches away from the focal point. 

A victorious visit...

On the way to the Isle of Wight, we stopped in Portsmouth where we visited the Historic Dockyard. The HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship is docked there and you can come on board for an interesting visit.

On this picture, we can see the dockyards of Portsmouth harbour. I particularly like this shot because of the colour of the sky and the effect it produces.

Where is Tess?

On the journey back from the Isle of Wight, we stopped to see Stonehenge. It was the worst day of the trip as it was raining so much that day. But even though the visit was short and wet, it offered a nice opportunity for taking pictures.