Sunrise and Silhouettes

                              Good morning

After leaving the beach, to catch the sunrise, I came across the rising sun peeking through the foliage of a neighbouring garden. To pretty not to photograph. Intense oranges and silhouette foliage, makes it look more of a tropical sun baked island view, than the windy rain soaked island in the middle of the Irish Sea. 


Image part of Skywatch, and other images around the  world can be see here

Isle of Man, Skywatch sunset

                Brighten up my Northen Sky
 

The sun rises over the beach in Ramsey (the North East of the island) which is brilliant for seascape sunrises, but unfortunately not for seascape sunsets. So, I do the reverse of the morning capture and wander onto the beach as far out as I can (tide times allowing) and look back towards the town itself and capture the setting sun over the Ramsey landscape. Either way I get wet feet. Small price to pay for natural beauty.
  

Skywatch is a community of bloggers, and enthusiasts showing you their part of the world each week, via the sky. You can find them here.

Living on an island - My World

Dave, this is why

Yes I have been off the blog again. Sometimes it's called having a life, other times it's when the server is being erratic here and I have no time to sit and wait for it to behave. Sometimes that pile of ironing will not iron it's self, and however much I beg the fairy folk here to help with the housework they point blank refuse. A little of all of those things. Island life for you. Has it's upside and certainly it's down.

Good things about living on an island can be many, safety for one. We joke here we live in a time warp. Well who wouldn't want to live in the past a little when today's UK crime rate is at it's peak(despite how they massage the figures)and you still know names of local police, you can walk streets home at night, you do not fear sitting upstairs on public transport. You know your neighbour. Your house will be watched over when you are on holiday. It's quiet. Quieter than big bustling cities. People have time for each other. The scenery in places is stunning. Beaches, woodlands, parks. We have local shops, local produce. Smaller schools. Our news is not dominated with bad things, but community spirited events. Laid back. Time enough as they say here, but of course there is a flip side.

It can be cloying. Everyone knows everyone. It can be hard for new people to integrate into such tight knit communities. Sometimes you want to splurge the cash, or you really need something for the home that is not provided on the island. You need the Internet for these, but the net is not always reliable. Transportation costs to get off the island are astronomical. Cost of living, housing too. To be an artist, a photographer is hard. The market is small, and if you come over like us then the help, the buyers, the clients back away. We need the worldwide market, but as I said the Internet can be erratic. It can be hard to survive, financially. It can be hard to survive emotionally isolated. I am lucky, I did not come over alone, I have the artist. Sometimes you just get cabin fever and crave the anonymity of the suburbs, the big neon garish city Then you see the beach, the woods, breathe the fresh air or take a walk chasing rabbits to photograph by the river and it passes.

Dedicated to my long lost friend Dave. That's why and not why.

For more of others My world's clickety click here