Sunday 25 October 2009

Hugh Town and the harbour, St Mary's

We had one day when it was raining hard enough to keep us indoors. Three of us had similar cameras (Canon G10 and a slightly different Canon). So we spent the time we couldn't be out birding 'playing' with different camera settings. We discovered that you can take shots in sepia! So, the next time I was out and about I decided to take some to see how they would come out. The following few shots are taken around Hugh Town on St Mary's. These islands have such an 'old world' charm that I think these sepia shots suit the place! (-: This one below is looking down onto the harbour area from The Garrison.Walking down from The Garrison into Hugh Town, if you click to enlarge this photo you can see some boats in the harbour. I'm not sure what the bell on top of this archway was used for in the past. Probably something to do with the harbour.
This is the main street in Hugh Town where most of the facilities are based (post office, supermarket, bank and various small shops). The butcher shop here made the most wonderful sandwiches! (-:Beyond these shops and houses is the harbour and quay.If you so wished, this old bus would take you on a tour of the island.This is the view looking back towards Hugh Town from Porth Mellon beach.Back to normal photos now and the following are just various shot of the harbour area on St Mary's.
These next two shots of a dog on the boat were taken within seconds of each other while I was waiting for our boat to St Agnes to leave the quay, but the second photo, taken into the light, gives an entirely different 'feel' to the day. It was overcast certainly, but it looks so much more brooding in the second shot!
This shot is seen above in sepia one day and then here on another day that started out quite misty.Coming back from our second St Agnes trip we docked directly in front of the Scillonian passenger ship. Quite an interesting angle of this ship.While waiting for various boats on the quay during the week, I tried to take some shots of the local feathered residents. This Herring Gull stuck around on the quay for a few shots.
This was one of the better flight shots that I managed. Keep practising I guess!!! (-:I was sitting in the boat waiting to go to St Agnes for the second time when this young Herring Gull alighted above me. Another shot of the backside of Hugh Town houses. On the right hand end is the Mermaid Pub. On my first trip to these islands back in 1998 I spent an evening with my friends in this pub and the weather was very rough. The waves were breaking over those window you can see there! That's what I call atmospheric! (-:I loved these Ruddy Turnstones sitting in a social group on the steps in the harbour. Looks like it might be a daily routine for them.One last shot taken from a boat approaching the harbour to dock. Still more to come from Scilly in my next post.

15 comments:

Sharon said...

I love the Sepia shots Jenny, really adds to the olde worlde look. Sound like you had a great time!

Jenny said...

Hi Sharon, yes I wish I was back there now! I hope I can go again next year.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for taking us along. This looks like a great place to be shooting.

Jenny said...

Hi Steve, yes I know you would make the most of the islands and would put me to shame! (-:

Anonymous said...

The sepia shots are just brilliant Jen.
You can also take black and white as well which looks nice depending on the subject.
Fantastic new header by the way.

Eve said...

These are wonderful Jenny! What a great set of shots both Sepia and color. And the new header is so sweet! It reminds me of my old northern home. Did you see the two dogs sitting perfectly for their trainer at the R. Douglas house? Two very good dogs! I also keep seeing a very spikey plant, do you know what that is?
These posts are well worth the wait!

Jenny said...

Hi Roy, yes, I should have tried some out in B&W too. It seems you can have colour tints too and also stitch photos to make a panarama, I tried that but I don't think I did it right!

Hi Evie, no I didn't notice those two dogs until you mentioned it. Well spotted! Did you notice one of my friends in one of those sepia shots? (-: The climate on the Scillies is quite tropical so there are many succulents and palms and things like that. One of those spikey plants is a Yucca I think. It must be an amazing place in May June time for the flowers!

Rural Rambler said...

Some wonderful pictures Jenny. I love photos in Sepia. The charm of this pretty place you visited, it just oozes charm and character. I can't keep quiet any longer I keep wondering about the FOOD. I have a thing for food and can't help but think there had to be some delicious food on this trip! I bet the sandwiches WERE tasty!

Dog Trot Farm said...

Jenny I agree with Sharon, I love the olde world feel of the sepia photos. This was a lovely visit, thank you.

Jenny said...

Hi Pix, ah foooood! Well, as you might expect, there's alot of seafood available and with the sandwiches you could have them absolutely stuffed with fresh crab or prawns. When my friends go, we rent a house for two weeks and to keep costs down we take it in turns to cook the evening meal (even the blokes!). I have to say the standard is great. We had bangers and mash and onion gravy one night and spaghetti bolognese, and a beautiful steak casserole and baked salmon with salad and rice and veg.......a couple of times we ate out and then had fish and chips one evening....that' about it. There are some fab eating places there, but quite expensive on the whole. Breaky was usually a bowl of cereal and toast and marmalade (was this more than you wanted to know?)(-:

Chris said...

Hi jenny,
This is a beautiful long post with marvelous shots. Me too, I love the sepia style... The scenery and the sepia style give them a beautiful "touch"! Thanks for making us discovering this region.. It appears to be wonderful!

Rural Rambler said...

No Jenny it wasn't TMI. I could look at these vacation photos of yours and talk about food forever! CH wants to know what bangers and mash are and onion gravy. We are totally on the same page with the spagetti bolognese and salmon. I know you love your birds Jenny but we love our FOOD! AND yours!

TonyC said...

Great post Jen. What a great diverse group of followers you have. Who would have thought you can go from Birding to Sepia to Food all in one post LOL!!

Mary said...

Neat experimenting with the sepia...it is perfect for that town and area. But my favorite shot of all of them is the birds on the steps :-) I love that one.

Jenny said...

Hi Chris, I'm glad you're enjoying the posts on the Isles of Scilly, I have a few more to do yet, but not too many I hope! (-:

Hi Pix, Bangers are sausages, mash is mashed potato (I had rice cos I don't like mash) and onion gravy is gravy with onions in it. Hope that helps. (-:

Hi Tony, I feel very lucky to have such a great bunch of commenters on my blog, including yourself! (-:

Hi Mary, I like that shot too. They look so sweet just stood there in rows. I wish I could have got a closer shot, but it wasn't to be.