Diving off Pendennis Point

Due to the storm hitting last weekend none of us thought we were going to be diving on tuesday so on Tuesday morning the last thing we were all expecting was a text from Gaynor (our dive lecturer) saying we were going to be diving later that day, but as it happens as I woke up I looked at my phone and there it was and we were diving.

When down there we saw a number of different species including one that I don't even know what it is, the key species that was seen were Velvet Swimming crabs which seemed to be everywhere in every crack and crevice.

I have added some photos of a Goby I found that which seemed to be particularly tame, I also added a shot of a edible crab which I found that was large enough to feed a family of 4.

Tehidy Taster Day

Today I was helping out on a taster day, in this I looked after two hopeful students which wanted to see what a day in the life of a student was like. Today was also the first years trip to Tehidy Country Park where they had a brief to capture a number of different images such as landscapes and species shots.

While there I spoke to the taster students about any questions they have about the course and what they thought of it so far. Nearer the end of the day we spoke about photography techniques and how to capture their images in a  different manner to make them stand out.

Grey Squirrel - Sciurus carolinensis

As always the the squirrels were as friendly as ever and allowed us get close to them, of course as long as we had some nuts.

Grey Squirrel - Sciurus carolinensis

While there we also came across some cauliflower fungus at the stump of a tree. This rare fungus stands out and is easily spotted but is rare and often never seen. 

Cauliflower Fungus - Sparassis

Swanpool at Twilight

Had a great day getting some odd jobs done, all in preparation in going out at sunset and getting some twilight shots from Swanpool. If anyone remembers I tried this earlier on in the year and got some great shots so today was a day to try it out.

Upon arrive I noticed it was high tide which created a few difficulties in itself, the main one being the lack of beach to capture my images. Having said that I was able to capture a could of great shots with the help of a Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon 24-105mm F4L I had hired from the photo stores.

Tomorrow I am out with the 1st years and some college students on a teaser day, the 1st years will be out completing a project and the college students are on the trip to get an idea of what uni life is like. I'm there as a Student Ambassador looking after them and talking to them about what I've experienced so far at uni.

Out Filming

Sadly no dive images again this week, last week was due to bad buoyancy on my side this week because of a bad cold in which my diving buddy has come down with, which means he couldn't dive together so we will have to make up another week.

So instead of wasting the day I met up with a fellow student, who I am working on a moving image project with and we did some filming. For this project we needed to show a process which relates to natural history, the catch is that we can't use any sound or text in the video that has to be exactly 60 seconds (1 minute) long.

Our chosen process is the process of a landscape photographer from getting his stuff ready right through to taking the final photo at the location. At the end of the video we needed a shot of the final shot so here it is, not my best photo but at the same time works well with the video.

Kennall Vale

Had a quick trip up to Kennall Vale this afternoon to see if the fungi had appeared yet and any changes that may have happened since my last visit before summer. Upon arrival I noticed a sing explaining that part of the reserve had been closed due to it being unsafe, over the next 8 weeks they are hoping to fix this and get the reserve back to how it was.

While wondering around I kept an eye out for any fungi but there was so little and none in a nice place to photograph. I am hoping to go back in a few weeks to see if more has appeared and I am able to capture the images in which I am after.

The Search for Stackhouse Cove

Had a great day out yesterday where I went out with two of my house mates in the hope of getting an idea what the fishery at Newlyn is like and then after searching for Stackhouse Cove where we had been shown some great landscapes and told about a friendly Kestrel that had been seen there.

The view from within at Rinsey

So first things first the fishery, we had a wander around the pier area. Where we captured some nice images of all the fishing boats moored at the harbour. We even had the chance to watch two of the fishing boats come in with a fresh load.

Harbour at Newlyn

While there we often found ourselves nears some friendly juvenile Turnstones which seems to patrol the edge of the pier.

Juvenile Turnstones - Arenaria interpres

Along with the Turnstones we also saw a young Cormorant, who was allowing us to get close to him and capture some great photos of him with his feet just dipped in the water.

Juvenile Cormorant - Phalacrocorax carbo

From Newlyn Pier we went searching for Stackhouse Cove, in the process we found a small car park, a beach and a cafe where we asked a number of different people none of which knew where or of Stackhouse Cove, it was as if it didn't exist. We however ended up at a National Trust car park called Rinsey, where we captured a lovely show from inside a chimney and a slow motion show of the waves coming in and out over the rocks surround the coast.

Rocks at Rinsey

After taking some great photos we headed back to base and waited for sun down, where we headed out once again this time to Pendennis Point. Where we captured some images of the amazing stars that cover the star every night and yet most of us are normally indoors at this point and don't see them. 

While there I used my phone torch to light the building or subject for a few seconds then leave the camera shutter open for the remained of the 30" shutter speed I was using to light up the nights sky and allow me to capture some great skyscrapers. Hopefully I will be improving on them in the next few weeks as the sun sets earlier allowing me to get out earlier and earlier.

Stars at Pendennis Point 

While out on Saturday I was using a Nikon D800E which is Nikons new full frame camera with a whooping 36.3MP allowing me to get the best image quality within my images. Over the next year I will get this camera out a few more times and try and get some amazing images with this outstanding number of pixels.

Stars at Pendennis Point 

Hells Mouth + Godrevy

Had a great day out yesterday at Hell Mouth and Godrevy, was in search of the baby seal pups. Almost straight away after arriving at Hells Mouth we spotted them and started to snap away.

Capturing some great images of them interacting with their parents.

Grey Seal Parent with Pup - Halichoerus grypus 

Photo by Rhian Grey

Just as we were leaving it started to pour down so upon arrive at Godrevy we decided it would be best to only go to the closest beach, where although not a great view of the seals we saw a pup and mum swimming along the shoreline. While there we were surrounded by a flock of Turnstones (Arenaria interpres) and Common Sandpipers (Actitis hypoleucos), while flying over head was a Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis).

Dunlin

View from Hells Mouth