An English Summer, a photo from Devon, England

Photographer's Note

Beer used to be a smugglers cove and is a lovely small fishing village to visit. The Devon coast is beautiful and its south-east area forms part of the Jurassic coastline which extends into Dorset. Englands first natural World Heritage Site is 95 long and famous for the fossils that can be found here because of the crumbling Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous cliffs.

In good weather Beer is a lovely sheltered beach but we visited on a day when wind and rain made it considerably less inviting. The photo is intended to be bleak and not an advert for South Devon!

tyro, CLODO, macjake, macjake, Gigidusud, Royaldevon, bayno, kasianowak, adores, ourania has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

tyro (13557) 2013-01-17 3:54

Good morning Ann,

We complain about British weather all the time but the unpredictable nature of it can be a godsend to the photographer who wishes to capture all four of the seasons in the course of a single day!

Not exactly July weather in Devon, but nonetheless a wonderful photograph demonstrating the windy condiitons perfectly. And very well composed too, the oblique line of the water's edge leading us from the wind-battered deckchairs to the couple huddled under their umbrella as shelter from the rain - and onward to the horizon, sharp as a razor against the bleached out sky.

The rain on the pebbles of the beach has given them some lively colours and, of course, the lady's red jacket (a feature of just about every photograph from Gunnar [saxo042]) is an added bonus too.

Lovely colours, fine soft light, perfect exposure and excellent details and sharpness.

Smashing!

Kind Regards,

John.

CLODO (24894) 2013-01-17 4:30

hi Ann

You're right, tourists won't come if they see your picture! Though the weather is not pleasant, walkers visit the stony beach, and passing by the deckchairs. It's really have been taken at mid july!
Well, I prefer to visit my daughter in Manchester in March!!
Cheers
CLODO

willperrett (3049) 2013-01-17 4:57

Hello Ann
Yep that's how I remember Summer, although I note you didn't make the photograph this year. Nicely composed, with the red coat balancing the pile of blue deckchairs. The English Riviera at its most characteristic!
Regards
Will

macjake (39932) 2013-01-17 5:11

Hi Ann
time to get our bathing suits on!
haha
....mmmm maybe not!
you're message is read loud and clear on this one.
but good on ya for being creative and coming up with an interesting and humorus photo despite the weather conditions.
well done indeed
Cheers
craig

Sergiom (40107) 2013-01-17 5:54

Bonjour Ann

Pour dire que même au mois de juillet la température peut-être froide au Royaume Uni. Les vêtements chauds des marcheurs et les chaises vides en sont la preuve.J'aime beaucoup la ligne d'horizon.

Amicalement

Serge

holmertz (27182) 2013-01-17 7:55

Hello Ann,
This is a superb composition, and the view looks almost as bad as a Swedish summer, at least the one we experienced last year. I love the brown diagonal, the grey horizon and the gloomy atmosphere. The well dressed people protected by the umbrella and the abandoned deckchairs are perfect symbols of a miserable summer.
Kind regards,
Gert

mjw364 (4032) 2013-01-17 9:03

Hello Ann

Yes summer was on a Wednesday this year! Nice geometric lines and sharp image. Visual point of interest provided by the couple on the beach but what fascinates me more - and I would have entitled the image thus - is the English pyramids in the foreground!

The Egyptians made their's of stone but in this age of austerity and saving of public spending we came up with a unique solution to try to reinvigorate the constuction industry! You see - that's what puts the Great in Britain!

TFS

Mike

Gigidusud (8322) 2013-01-17 10:19

Hello Ann
This is not the southern sun, but it's a nice photo with beautiful light, the couple brings a romantic touch.Well done!
Best regards,
Ghislaine.

Royaldevon (18315) 2013-01-17 10:54

Hello Ann,

It took a while for me to make sense of this as I was interpreting 'Beer' as the liquid. I've never heard of the town Beer, before!

Your photograph made me smile. It's like a comic postcard: 'Come to sunny Devon!'
Despite the lack of sunshine, it is a very interesting and well taken shot. You have composed it beautifully, with the stacked deck-chairs strongly positioned, a lovely diagonal guide line and a natural flow from the deck chairs to the focal figures.
The inferred movement is lovely, from the billowing seat covers to the crunching footfalls.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

lousat (58404) 2013-01-17 13:20

Hi Ann,great capture of this tipical day of the english summer,the sunny days are very rare and this is usual to see...ehhee.very very nice and a bit funny,i like it!Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

dkmurphys (37377) 2013-01-17 22:45

Hi Ann,
Well, this is the summer I don't like. The place looks great, you have quite an artistic composition but the bad weather doesn't fits my taste.:P.
Good shot, I like the diagonal and the foreground details.
Enjoy the weekend.

Daniel

saxo042 (31856) 2013-01-18 3:18

Hi Ann,
I see that this picture was taken in July, but it seems like this place just had closed for summer, the tourist are walking away, dressed for autumn. A simple composition with this attractive pattern of all the chairs. The couple add life and colours. The red jacket is particularly good.
Kind regards
Gunnar

bayno (16395) 2013-01-18 7:51

Simple, Clean and beautiful shot Ann...
you perfectly composed your image with nice tones abd sharp...the linee of the orizzont is like a razor....
my best regards,
Valter

JFS (32425) 2013-01-18 8:37

Very good shot, as always but suprised me the it is taken in summer!!! It looks like right now! Very well composed!
Cheers,
Juan

karacabeylis (1289) 2013-01-18 15:10

great composition together with a great engineering on color arrangement.

kasianowak (2459) 2013-01-19 4:21

Hi Ann
British seaside classic! Deck chairs on an overcast rainy day. :)
Very well composed and perfect timing for the couple with the umbrella.
Enjoy the weekend
Kasia

adores (28528) 2013-01-19 18:12

Hi Ann!
Even with the bad weather, you got a very nice shot! I like the diagonal and the deckchairs and the couple so well placed. Very good colours and atmosphere!

ACL1978 (6091) 2013-01-21 12:50

Certainly not what most would picture as a summer spot, Ann, but a well realized shot with the two strong lines and colorful features along the coast. The folded, windblown chairs make a wonderful foreground subject, their blue and white lines creating some nice busyness in an otherwise serene shot. And of course the two beachwalkers under one umbrella are a perfect counterbalance. Lovely shot!

Andrew

wolf38 (28280) 2013-01-21 23:31

Hi Ann. English summer :-)) When I saw the photo, I thought first of the winter time. But of course there is also the summer cloudy and cold days. The walkers on the beach and the empty deck chairs are well combined.
Rgds, Wolfgang.

ourania (13047) 2013-01-22 13:36

Hello Ann,
this is a great composition with the horizon, the people with the umbrella and the deck chairs excellently placed in the frame. Together with the moody light and colours they all narrate a story in a simple, elegant and effective way. I like very much how the more vivid colours stand out and catch our attention contrasting and challenging the mood. I love the interaction between the dominating horizontal line and the strong diagonal which also define different textures and colours. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a good night,
Ourania

cornejo (18688) 2013-01-28 11:23

Hi Ann, very good pov chosen to show us this lovely and interesting composition of this beautiful and interesting scene on a beach. A beautiful picture nicely framed, with good sharpness, depth, light and color. Chaming job perfectly done, congratulations my friend. Thanks for sharing this beautiful work.

Good night and happy week.
Best wishes from southern Spain.
Angel.

chrisvek (5645) 2013-02-01 3:43

Hello Ann

Very good composition and so clever look.Nice colors and superb atmosphere.Great framing and POV too.

Have a nice day
Chris

carlo62 (13484) 2013-02-04 15:04

Ciao Ann
questa foto mi era sfuggita.
Bella composizione e bella realizzazione, mi piace l'idea e come l'hai messa in pratica.
I colori contrastano molto bene e le sdraie accatastate disordinatamente, contrastano con la quiete e l'odine della natura.
Saluti
Carlo

smarcell (19875) 2013-02-18 2:27

Funny ! It would fit very well in a "sea in winter" series. Nice diagonal and very good positioning of the subjects
Regards
Stefano

sevy (13365) 2013-02-24 2:13

I previously missed this one. I like a lot the modd thanks to the soft lightning and the grey winter sky, but there is also a strong graphism with the lonely couple and the stripped chairs put along the diagonale line of the shore.

Yves.

fabbs99 (6254) 2013-04-06 14:04

Hello Anna,

Great shot with exceptional sharpness and framing.Superb light management and clarity of the shot.Excellent composition, very well done, TFS.

Regards
Farhat

adidas5nb (1646) 2013-04-08 0:05

love the diagonal coastline against the horizon.the couple walking with the umbrella on a cloudy day.and this amazing structure n shape on the right frame with the blue and white color,that is what caught my eyes.love the mood and the atmosphere in the pic
regards
dwaipayan