Weekly Photo Challenge: Earth


I’m not a stats orientated person, I very rarely look at the stats that WordPress but as of 18:50 UK time the number of views today has been about 340. Checking through the stats it looks like on a normal day it averages about 40. So what has caused this sudden surge? It’s all due to my blog post about Ansell Adams being featured as an Editors Pick on Discover. It’s been manic. My email has been pinging constantly all day with notifications about new followers and a lot of comments requiring moderation. I am trying to acknowledge the comments as soon as I can and I’d like to say “thank you” to you all for making my life so busy today. If I don’t get around to replying to your comments today I will tomorrow.

Right onto this weeks challenge which is Earth. Interesting choice and I was debating which way to go with this one. In the end I decided to stick with what I do best – landscape photographs – so here’s a selection.

Long, long time ago I used to live in Weston-super-Mare or Weston-super-Mud. Great beaches, beautiful sand but venture beyond those danger signs, and people do, and you are taking your life in your hands. Thick, cloying mud, combined with one of the highest tides in the world and a tide that comes in fast means that if you get stuck out there, you better hope they can get to you fast. Fortunately after several deaths they now have a specialised rescue team that carries equipment to get anyone stuck out of the mud fast.

Danger Sinking Mud

Take the historic Steam Railway out of Porth Madog which winds it’s way through parts of Snowdonia to Blaenau Ffestiniog and you will have to cross the Cob. Don’t you just love these beautiful Welsh place names? I know I do. I never pronounce them right, although I’m slowly getting the hang of some of them, but that’s another story. Anyway crossing the Cob you get this great view into the Snowdonia National Park.

From The Cob

On the North Coast of Anglesey, South Stack Lighthouse sits on a small rocky island  called Ynys Lawd. To reach the lighthouse you need to go down a switchback stairway of over 400 steps which go down the cliff face. Of course, what goes down must come back up so that’s another 400 steps. Not easy if you are carrying a load of photography gear and it’s a very windy day.

South Stack Lighthouse

The groyne markers at Prestatyn Beach, where I live, are pretty uninteresting to photograph. But throw in a dramatic sunset and they become something else, especially in silhouette.

Sunset At Prestatyn

Finally, I’d like to leave you with this photograph of a lone tree in a field of yellow rape seed flowers. I took this photograph about six years ago and every year I watch the field to see if the farmer will plant it again, but he never does. Shame really because I don’t think I did it justice first time round and I’d like to have another go at it.

Field Of Yellow

Next week I will be away from North Wales for about ten days with limited internet access. I’m off in search of castles and rivers on the North East coast of England, right on the border with Scotland. I might even venture, if I have time, into my home country, but who knows. So of course that means I probably will not be posting for a short while until I get back.

That’s it for this week. As usual here’s what other bloggers are saying about this weeks challenge.

Weekly Photo Challenge- Earth – Up And Gone
Photos By Goldie Skyward
Behind The Willows Weekly Photo Challenge- Earth
Mother Earth · Best Places Of Interest
Wednesday Lensday- Earth’s Underdogs – Aloada Bobbins
Weekly Photo Challenge- Earth – imyesterdaysgirl
Earth – Life is Great
XingfuMama For the beauty of the earth
everyphototunity WPC- Earth
Annika Kellner foto Weekly Photo Challenge – Earth

28 replies to “Weekly Photo Challenge: Earth”

  1. Weston-super-Mud, and not a donkey in sight. Wonderful colors: very angry with rainy fringes dangling. As for Wales: “Sweet are thy hills and thy vales.” What a nice way to end my day. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I should have written “not a shadow of a donkey”. When I was courting my current wife, we went frequently to Weston. Also traveled there on the paddle steamer from Cardiff to watch Glamorgan play cricket against Somerset. Wilf Wooller and Bill Alley: those were the days!

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Congratulations on so many visitors on your blog. I know how that feels, it happened to me once, I got over 500 visitors in one day, as I posted a photo session about a chef, I couldn’t believe the high number of my stats.

    Liked by 1 person

        1. I’m on limited Internet access at the moment, finally managed to get a signal. I’ll be back in the technological world next Wednesday when I’ll be better able to maybe answer your question

          Liked by 1 person

        2. Where to start with advice. The first thing I would say, you don’t need expensive cameras to take good photographs, get to know the one you already have, experiment, experiment and experiment again. I suppose that goes hand in hand with use your camera as often as possible. That’s how I learned.

          If you can, take your camera with you, everywhere. You never know when a photo op might come up.

          Set yourself a challenge – today I’m going to shoot flowers, and then experiment with different settings.

          Don’t be afraid to ask, there’s no such thing as a stupid question, at least in my book there’s not.

          I could go on and on but above all, enjoy photography.

          Mike

          Like

  7. I am sorry, I haven’t read what you have written, except for the very first paragraph. After that, my eyes fell upon the pictures you have posted and I didn’t feel like reading anything or anymore thence. I got very deeply absorbed into all the pictures on this post. I can’t tell you exactly how I felt, in words. Words to me are incapable of saying one’s feeling, no matter how much one may try and I am only using words to acknowledge what you have shared. I wish I could see all that you have captured with my own eyes. Nevertheless, thank you. Cheers.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. well done for being picked by the Editor! I have been photographing groynes recently, but as I am on the east coast, getting a shot of them at sunset is impossible, sadly.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Earth – Chasing Life Upwards

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