Storm clouds over Wall Street, New York
Dark clouds gathering over the iconic skyline of Lower Manhattan and New York Harbor, New York, USA. Image © fotoVoyager 2009.
A little bit late to be posting this one here, since the coming storm has developed into a typhoon of financial confusion and money chucking lunacy, but I thought I’d stick it up. This cityscape really misses the iconic towers of the World Trade Center, I’m looking forward to seeing what goes up in its stead when they’ve finished arguing about it. If anywhere needs the boost of some world class architecture it’s downtown New York right now.
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1/500 second, f5, ISO200 50mm
10763 x 3000 pixels. Please don’t steal this image, it’s how I make my living.
Sunset over Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales
The orange light of the setting sun illuminating the ocean cloudscape above Skomer Island off the Pembrokeshire coast of Wales, UK. Image © fotoVoyager 2008.
As usual, this beautiful, tranquil scene of calming, zen-like nature at its most spectacular belies the frantic truth of its taking. Late, weighed down by equipment and having to bribe, cajole and keep a close eye on my companion to make sure she didn’t fall off the steep cliffs of this rugged coastline (more on her in the next post), I just managed to get set up as the sun dipped below the cloud layer, washing the surf and shore in a warm glow of golden light. Phew. Here, have a biscuit. Don’t go to close the edge! No, I won’t be long, I promise. Yes, you can watch television when we get back. Here, take my coat if you’re cold… NOT NOW! If you’ve got kids you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
Anyway, back to the subject at hand. Skomer Island, a dramatic rocky outcrop separated from the mainland by Jack Sound, a thrashing race of treacherous water full of ship wrecks and seals, is a bird spotter’s paradise with Puffins, Shearwaters and Kittiwakes nesting on its remote cliffs. You can catch a boat from Martin’s Haven and roam over the unspoilt landscape looking for wildlife and signs of its prehistoric inhabitants. Just don’t miss the last boat back.
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1/125, f6.7, ISO200 28mm
7500 × 2312 pixels. Please don’t steal this image, it’s how I make my living.
Blackpool Tower, Lancashire, UK
Boy racing horse drawn chariot across the beach in front of Blackpool Tower, Lancashire, UK. Image © fotoVoyager 2008.
Despite the rain, the chip bag strewn pavements and the frankly worrying amount of rust visible when you get to the top of the Tower, there’s an undeniable charm to this windswept resort on the Irish Sea. Beneath the stocky iron lattice is the Tower Ballroom where you can escape from inclement weather to sip tea and eat home made cake served by waitresses in Edwardian aprons whilst you watch (mostly) elderly couples glide across the 14,000 square foot dance floor with a grace few half their age could muster. It’s a slightly surreal but relaxing way to spend an afternoon.
You would never guess the vast ornate, gilded interior that hides behind the typical English seafront of cheap cafes, amusement arcades and sticky-floored bars. Through the ballroom stage with its soft focus Italianate trompe l’oeil backdrop rises an ice cream Wurlitzer played by a spangle-jacketed organist smiling over his shoulder, whom you could just about mistake for Liberace if you squint. Fantastic. I also enjoyed the clattery ghost train in the nearby arcade but took fright at the thought of spending the night in the Tower Lounge with 1400 stag and hen party revellers. That’s 50 gallons of vomit on the pavement at 2am guaranteed. But the Lounge isn’t the biggest venue by far; the Syndicate behind the Winter Gardens holds 5000. You’d never find your mates again after you’d fought your way to the bathroom.
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1/250, f4.8, ISO200 28mm
1894 × 2997 pixels. Please don’t steal this image, it’s how I make my living.