Icy reflections

                               Mooragh Lake


The boating lake in winter is often frozen, allowing for mirror image captures. Dusk and cloud cover accentuate the setting sun colours.

Mooragh Park
Ramsey
Isle of Man 

Jane Hards Photography

 More on the Mooragh

Frozen

                                   Zoom lens 


A winter walk round Ramsey using the zoom lens. The zoom, allows me to capture inaccessible areas. I can stay on the pathways, walking round the Poyll Dooey Nature Reserve and focus on hidden ponds through trees and the wildlife at a distance without disturbing either. Early morning image taken a few winters ago. Still waiting for the snow to return to capture more Narnia shots


Image part of Abc where you can find other bloggers around the world and their posts for the letter each week. 

Melting ice

                                Winter blues
   

It's that time of year again when the harbour freezes over The last remnants of the frozen over Sulby river melting under the (surprisingly warm for this time of year) winter sun. Taken from Bowring Road, Ramsey Harbour, Isle of Man. This time next week, who knows tidal flooding or snowdrifts

Image part of Our World Tuesday 

More of the Isle of Man images can be found on my facebook photography page

Snow fell, not Snaefell

                      Not enough for a snow day

First snowflakes of the winter appearing on the mountain, North Barrule, as viewed from Mooragh Park. Not enough for a snow day, so pack those sleighs away for a few more weeks and get back to school. That's the adults btw.  When it hits the urban areas, the towns of the island, and the roads, then everywhere will come to a standstill and the island will be taken over by snowmen. My Icelandic friend, the Norseman will understand the Snaefell, snow fall on the snowy mountain zzzzz. He will also call this mountain a hill. It's blogging thang.

Part of Our World Tuesday posts. Others around the world can be seen here

Ramsey Harbour, under ice

                             Winter is coming

The view of the harbour inlet taken from North Shore Road.  The golden tones of the icy river are from the sun, even though this looks more like an early evening shot, was actually around mid afternoon. The mountain in the distance is North Barrule. Not often the town is snow covered, but the mountain tends to get snowfall most winters.

Image part of Our World. Other images from other bloggers can be found here. 

Cafe, Mooragh Park

                              Teas, coffees, ices

There are two cafes situated either end of Mooragh park, overlooking the boating lake, this one at the park entrance off North Shore Road. While the more adventurous can hire a kayak and take to the water, for those wanting to sit a while a rest there is the cafe. Indoor and outdoor sitting, hot and cold food, and Davidsons ice cream, a local favourite, on a summers day. The art deco building is another of Ramsey's iconic features. Shot taken on a winter's afternoon, as the light fading fast on a very still day, for those mirror image reflections.

Poyll Dooey, Bridle Path

                               Winter is coming


Taken from the bridle path, though I haven't seen any horses for a while, but there are a lot of cyclists and dog walkers. Perhaps it should be renamed   This is the entrance from the town side of the Poyll Dooey nature reserve In the distance you can see Bowring bridge which is situated next to Bowring Road and that's where downtown Ramsey begins, just a stone's throw away from this tranquil spot. Taken on a Winter's day, 2010 the only day I've ever know Ramsey in the 11 years since I've been here covered in snow. The next day, snow had turned to slush, but the nature reserve remained. 

Mooragh Park, Ramsey, Isle of Man, Sunset

                    After rugby, before karaoke
 

During the winter months I can be found most Saturdays photographing Ramsey Rugby home games. This is a winter view, after the game, taken from Mooragh Park, looking towards Skyhill, on the way home. 


More skies around the world can be seen here, as part of Skywatch.

The Poyll Dooey Nature Reserve

                              It's snowtime

Poyll Dooey Nature Reserve is an area of land in Ramsey that is a haven for wildlife. It is also a haven for me as a photographer.

Poyll Dooey has a series of nature trails running through it. Follow the trails and you will find many wonderful birds, rabbits, dragonflies, ladybirds... and dogs. It's a dog walkers heaven. A photographers heaven. Take a step off the nature trails and walkways and you will find yourself wading through overgrown scrub land, ponds, bogs, wild grasses and wild flowers such as bluebells and all sorts of flowers I don't know the names are. Nestled amongst all of this is a picnic area in a beautifully maintained garden setting. The far side of Poyll Dooey you happen upon the white bridge or wander a trail until you reach the Sulby River and follow it back into Ramsey Town. A lovely walk, a lovely area.

More abc's around the world can be found here

Mooragh Park

                            Outside Gym

Since I last blogged something strange appeared in the local park. Not aliens, outdoor gym and workout equipment. I've yet to see anyone actually use it, but I'm sure a few people have a sneaky morning workout before work.

Breaking Dawn

                                                           Ray of light

See post below the polar opposite of this photo. Taken the day before. Same beach, just looking to the right and land ahoy. No two days on the Isle of Man are the same weather wise. It's called bipolar weather. I kinda like it. I could do without getting a soaking every other day though wandering my office (the beach) for that must have photo. If you move to the island or visit, pack a raincoat and a sun cream. Trust me you'll need both. Jack Daniels filled hip flask, is entirely optional.

Same old scene - Skywatch

Why photograph anything else

Still laptop less at the moment and without access to my older images which the defunct (possibly but it's certainly comatosed) suicidal laptop is holding to ransom I have dipped yet again into the recent archives. Slowly we are going to walk along the whole of this river walk each Skywatch unless I get out there with camera and offer you something new. Why bother. I can dine out on these tranquil reflections for the rest of the year. After all we all know I'm the world's laziest photographer, so anything that makes life easier. Had to take my own image from another site I have stashed images away for when laptops throw themselves off tall building when they have had enough, so not the best size and little small, but you get the general idea.



Short and sweet tonight, bit of a rush job. For for more Skywatch images click here.

Solitary Man - Monochrome Weekly

Man in Black

The photographers best friend is not Photoshop. It is serendipity. It is that single solitary moment when the photography gods conspire to deliver into your hands the image naturally that looks awkward when staged. All you have to do is notice it. You can't learn that from a book or be taught it, it's instinct. As you can see I am still making the most of the one and only day of snow we had and again another gift.The man so helpfully dressed from head to toe in black against such a pure white solid blanket of snow. The one raised foot to indicate movement within a frozen frame. Always capture with one foot slightly raised to show the sole. Again it just looks better, right, good and I am not going to bore with any jargon, it's obvious why. Could only be monochrome. Not an image where you stumble around for your setting, or you will loose the composition of the lone figure which is the key element of the image. Just take it or lose it.

Now that was far too sensible. I should really tell you that the mound of land is Sky Hill where there was this huge Lord of The Rings Style Battle (no hobbits, dwarfs or elves) between the locals and invading Viking, but I have done that soooooooooooooooooooo many times before now that I'm sure the link will pop up again or a picture and you can check it out. No today was simply see point and shoot.


For more Monochrome weekly images click here

A cold snap - Skywatch again

Skating on thin ice anyone?

I know I should of called it "frozen" or "ice ice baby"(but I did sneak one song in) but as a photographer, or should I say snapper, it was the obvious title for you to groan at. Well that's the kind of weather we having been having around these parts lately. So long as it doesn't rain (so dreary) I'll take the ice and snow shots any day. Always amazes me the colours and tones frozen water on a cool, crisp, breeze free winter's day can at sundown over Mooragh Lake can produce. Needless to say manual settings of course to capture the colours and not auto which would bleach out the blue hue of the sky and the deeper blue of those obliging clouds rolling into view. Makes a photographer's life so much easier when the sky complies and those clouds sit atop the trees in the icy lake reflection. The golden yellow tones of the setting sun to break up the blue a bonus. Photographer's are often lazy artists, I know I used to draw and my partner is the artist now. Seconds for me to capture, hours for him to paint.


For other skies of the world from sunsets to sunrises you can click here (8pm onwards) and a visit the globe virtually at the click of a mouse.

Snowdrops - My World

Not what you were expecting?

If you are a regular visitor you will no doubt be wincing at the bad pun. Well it's your own fault you asked me to start blogging again. If you have wandered here looking for gardening tips like say, when is the best time to plant your snowdrop bulbs ( I presume bulbs as opposed to seeds, but I'm sure some green fingered enthusiast who has wandered here will let you know) then sadly you are most definitely in the wrong place. Nah, that above is a little slice of creative photography representing my weird little part of the planet. I honestly didn't gather clumps of snow and place them strategically amongst the bare twigs. I'm not that dedicated to the blog. No. I came across this lucky image out and about with the camera, on our one and only snowy day (and yes you are going to see a lot of those images because I'm sick of rainy day ones) and just couldn't resist capturing it, against that palest of cool blue skies. Simple as that.

Other images around the globe can be seen here.

HARBOUR INLET AND A NEW SWIMMING POOL-MY WORLD

Reflecting on the new Swimming Pool

My World

This week is reflection week on this blog. All images will include or be a reflcetion of one kind or another. All images will also have no alterations and shot on a Nikon D50, wide anlge lens. I am trying to show what can be achieved with a camera, not a computer. Here then today is the inner side of Ramsey Habour, the inlet, or " little harbour " as I have heard it refered to by a few locals. As you can see the Harbour was without much water, so reflections were a little thin on the ground, but I prefer it that way. Makes you work harder to find a suitable subject and tease out the photograph.

What can you see?

The buildings on the left are a combination of apartments and bed and breakfast accommodation. Ideal if you like a seaview. The front of those building look onto Mooragh Promenade, beach and Irish Sea featured last week. To the left of me out of shot is Mooragh Park. The strange building with the sloping roof top right is a new addition to the skyline. That's the controversial new swimming pool which has featured before front on in the blog. Controversial as we already had one over the bridge which for varying reasons had to close. The new pool is not as conveniently situated as the old one and the design is not to everyone's taste. I've covered this before, prior to opening and before I do another post I want to(over) hear what people have to say. Honest reactions not just "yes man" noises about how wonderful it is. We can all do posts like that, but that is not an honest representation of the place I live, and that has and always will be my aim of this blog.  You can see for yourselves on other posts the beauty or not of the town. For now I will leave you with a  cool blues winter afternoon reflection of a small part of my world.

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