David Blakeley Photography

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David Blakeley Photography

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My work is in Gallery8 Teign St, Teignmouth & Pavilions Teignmouth, I attend local events in Teignmouth and Shaldon & my website is www.davidblakeleyphotography.com

01/09/2024

Final Resting Place - Dartmoor National Park, Devon taken on Sunday 11th August 2024.

A week before I took this picture I was stood by this tree with my son Alfie. It was a hot summer day and we were admiring this fallen giant.

Despite being toppled there was so much life still living on the tree. A wonder of Nature.

Fast forward a week and it was cool, damp and very foggy. The conditions were perfect as the fallen tree stood out in the clearing against the merky background.

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28/08/2024

Lucky? - early morning Yarner Wood, East Dartmoor National Nature Reserve, Devon taken on Saturday 24th August 2024.

The rain poored down and patches of fog threatened to develop as I made my way along unfamiliar trails. This was the first time I had been in this section of the wood.

I stopped at an intersection of trails and I could see some thin mist through the trees. I followed the mist as it grew thicker and thicker, but the surroundings were messy and uninspiring.

The mist disappeared, but some old and fallen trees caught my attention. They were located in a dark section with brighter openings beyond. I bent over and began setting up the camera and when I straightened up again the mist was coming back in.

For ten to fifteen minutes the conditions were beautiful. I scrambled over fallen branches trying to make the most of the conditions. The mist then disappeared again and I packed up and decided to call it a day.

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25/08/2024

Sunrise Dawlish Warren, South Devon taken on Sunday 30th July 2023.

I've been having a Spring clean... in Summer! Over the last 16 months I have downloaded on to my computer close to 3,000 pictures. I know shocking!

What's worse is I usually sort them as I go, keeping the one's I really like and getting rid of everything else. However, things had built up to where I couldn't see the wood for the trees (or the Tiffs from the Jpegs).

I remember taking this picture from last summer. The sky was firey well before sunrise. I set up looking down the beach with glimpses of Exmouth in the background.

Mother Nature did the rest and she did it very well 👏

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22/08/2024

Silent Return - Dartmoor National Park taken on Sunday 11th August 2024.

In total I spent four hours on this morning going back and forth photographing this small wood.

The conditions changed from calm and dry (perfect) to wet and windy (not so perfect). What remained throughout was some of the densist fog I had ever seen.

At one point it was so dense I uttered the words I never thought I would say "There's just too much fog!".

As the morning progressed the light changed and at some points the sun threatened to break through. I was set up on this scene just as things brightened up, adding an extra element to the picture.

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20/08/2024

I've spent some time recently updating my website. That has meant losing some old pictures and including some new ones (below). I have also included a new gallery for Dartmoor National Park.

www.davidblakeleyphotography.com

17/08/2024

Fading Light - sunset Haldon Forest, Devon taken on Friday 26th July 2024.

So...here's an interesting story about a man with a "good" idea. To walk deep into Haldon Forest one evening for a sunset.

It started well and I found my desired location. The last light of the day fell on these beautiful ferns and I was happy. I sat for a while, had an apple and reviewed my pictures.

Then came the walk back to the car. I switched on my torch and headed through the old growth section. Here it was fine with light reaching the forest floor and some visibility.

However, I then had to pass through a section of plantation. The trees are tightly packed together and these sections are very dark. I tried to keep my head forward and to keep walking but...

I turned my head and torch into the dark plantation. There were EYES LOOKING AT ME 👀. I didn't stick around to find out who they belonged to.

Eventually I reached the car and decided not to undertake such an adventure again. Well maybe not...

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15/08/2024

Sunrise Holcombe Beach & Head, Teignmouth, South Devon taken on Thursday 27th June 2024.

This is the final picture I captured on that beautiful morning back in June. Thankfully the sunrise times are no longer 5am, so the alarm doesn't need to be set for 3.30am.

The picture was captured about 45 minutes before sunrise when the first glow began to appear in the clouds. It went from subtle purple to brilliant red and orange and was a real pleasure to witness.

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11/08/2024

Four hours spent on Dartmoor this morning in very thick fog. Hopefully I made the most of it.....pictures to follow 🙏

10/08/2024

New House - sunrise Dartmoor National Park, Devon taken on Monday 17th June 2024.

These two windswept trees sit close to the site of the New House ruins. Battered and bent by the unforgiving Dartmoor weather.

On this morning it was a waiting game. The clouds rushed past overhead as the sunlight began to appear. Eventually warm light lit the scene which contrasted nicely with the dark rain laidened clouds.

I hope to try to capture this scene in different seasons.

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03/08/2024

All set up at the Shaldon Water Carnival and my son Alfie lending a hand 😀

02/08/2024

My 2025 Seascape Calendars are now available on my website as well as Gallery8, Teignmouth. I will be bringing plenty along to the Shaldon Water Carnival tomorrow.

30/07/2024

I will have my picture stand at the Shaldon Water Carnival this coming Saturday from 10am. The stand will be located on the beach and it would be fantastic to see you there.

29/07/2024

I make and sell handmade greeting cards, which are available online at www.davidblakeleyphotography.com and in Gallery8, Teignmouth and in Shaldon Village Stores.

The cards are A6 size and made from quality 300gsm board. The images are not printed on, but are high quality fujifilm prints.

The cards show my seascape pictures from Teignmouth, Shaldon, Dawlish Warren and Teign Estuary. There are also a selection of my woodland photos from Haldon Forest.

www.davidblakeleyphotography.com

27/07/2024

Summertide - sunrise over Teignmouth, South Devon taken on Thursday 4th July 2024.

The tide was high and turning and the conditions very calm. It was so clear you could see for miles along the coast.

I have become accustomed to the walk in the dark through Homeyards Botanical Gardens in Shaldon and to the small area of wall where I set up my tripod.

From there I have to wait and see what Mother Nature has to offer. On this occasion it was stunning golden light and beautiful still conditions.

I will be back again at some point in the future and look forward to sharing the results with you.

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18/07/2024

TEIGNMOUTH - Here is a collection of some of the pictures I have captured of Teignmouth over the last three years.

I hope you enjoy them 🙏

Music: I will fly even if

14/07/2024

I have recently re-stocked Gallery8 with lots of new 10"x 8" and 12" x 10" prints, including the pictures in the collage below.

Hope your having a great weekend 😊

14/07/2024

Sea Tangle - sunrise Holcombe Beach, Teignmouth, South Devon taken on Thursday 27th June 2024.

Away off over Holcombe Head the sky was firey and very colourful. As I looked around I noticed some soft pastel colours forming behind this seaweed covered groyne.

These groynes at Holcombe Beach spend the vast majority of the time under water and can only be seen at a very low tide.

I really enjoyed the contrast between the green of the seaweed and the purple colours behind. Add to that a touch of warm light from the glowing sky over Holcombe Head.

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13/07/2024

Light & Shadow ( four) - Emsworthy Mire, Dartmoor National Park, Devon taken on Saturday 25th May 2024.

There are places I photography that seem to pe*****te your sole. Places so beautiful that you never want to leave. You could just sit there and watch one season roll into another.

On this morning the trees were full of birds, sheep wondered between the stone walls and I spent hours finding scenes to photograph.

I liked this scene that led you through and out of Emsworthy Mire.

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07/07/2024

Burn - sunrise Holcombe Head and Beach Teignmouth, South Devon taken on Thursday 27th June 2024.

It's mornings like these that remind me why I do seascape photography. When everything lines up perfectly all you need to do is just be there...hopefully in the right place at the right time.

The elements of water, sand, sky and some interesting subject matter have been attracting me for over twenty years now. When you add the unique and beautiful South Devon coast to that mix, it's perfect.

On this morning it was as good as it gets. What a place to live.

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06/07/2024

Biding Time - sunrise Teignmouth from Homeyards Botanical Gardens, Shaldon, South Devon taken on Thursday 4th July 2024.

I packed away my camera and walked back through the gardens to the car. I knew I would pass this spot and kept my fingers crossed.

I have stood here many times trying to make an image work. All the elements seemed to have aligned...calm sea, hardened summer leaves and wonderful golden light.

There were still challenges to overcome. There were swaying branches, trying to get both the near trees and Teignmouth sharpe and hiding the very bright sunlight behind some branches.

All of a sudden there was a moment of calm. The trees were still and the shutter was pressed.

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30/06/2024

Hush - sunrise Holcombe Beach & Head, Teignmouth, South Devon taken on Thursday 27th June 2024.

TIMELINE:
3.30am - alarm goes off, up, dressed, grab camera gear, make flask of coffee.

3.45am - leave the house and set off to Holcombe Beach, Teignmouth.

4.05am - drive down the narrow lane to Holcombe Beach and park up. Quick cup of coffee, water shoes on and head off under the railway arches.

4.15am - located the groynes I came to shoot. Sky looks amazing and begin the process of finding compositions.

4.30am - "Ohhh the water is cold" as a small wave hits me in the back of the legs. The sky is now burning red and purple and it is stunning.

4.40am - just stood knee deep in the water with the tripod and camera and taking in the virtual silence....and people ask "why do you get up so early?"

5.10am - with various pictures in the bag it's time to call it a day and head back to the car. Another quick coffee as I dry off my feet.

Another morning in glorious South Devon ❤️

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29/06/2024

Determined - sunrise Dartmoor National Park, Devon taken on Monday 17th June 2024.

As soon as I saw this tree I knew I wanted to photograph it. I had been here a week earlier, but the sky was clear and lacked drama. To capture the tree at this angle I needed a moody sky and some fog would be good.

On this morning the fog and low cloud moved in and out of the scene. The sun had risen and now I needed all the elements to coincide.

The fog began to engulf Rippon Tor in the background as sunlight burst over the ridge and filled the scene.

However, the star of the show was this incredible tree. Twisted and battered by the elements, but still looking beautiful.

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23/06/2024

Sunrise Boat Cove, Dawlish, South Devon taken on Wednesday 17th April 2024.

I had not photographed Boat Cove for a while and historically I have struggled to make images at this location.

Determined to change that, I picked a morning where I knew bands of rain would be passing through.

The sky went from perfect, to clear and then to dramatic as I stood on the beach. You could see the rain falling on the horizon as beautiful light caught the foreground rocks.

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20/06/2024

Hidden Away - early morning Emsworthy Mire, Dartmoor National Park, Devon taken on Saturday 25th May 2024.

I had spent quite some time around the barn and had decided it was time to go home. One thing I have learnt from photography is to always turn round. There's usually something interesting going on.

As I stopped on my walk up the hill this beautiful scene greeted me. I managed to find this spot under the tree, which seemed to encompass all the best elements.

I sat for a while until the wind stopped moving the bluebells and then took this picture.

If you didn't know it was there, you could quite easily miss Emsworthy Mire as it is tucked away. It is one of my favourite locations.

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16/06/2024

Evergreen - Ideford, South Devon taken on Wednesday 8th May 2024.

This old pine tree is stunning and has been on my to-do-list for some time. I knew I needed a really nice sky as a backdrop, but those don't turn up every day.

On this morning I had two or three possible locations in mind, but as I drove past the scene I knew today was the day.

There was a bit of a scramble through some uncomfortable brambles, but eventually I got there. Mother Nature played ball with a stunning light show and the shutter was pressed.

I'll be back here in other conditions throughout the year.

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13/06/2024

Light & Shadow ( three) - Emsworthy Mire, Dartmoor National Park, Devon taken on Saturday 25th May 2024.

I was drawn to this location by the time of year and the bluebells. However, I wanted to try and capture something different from the other pictures I had seen.

The midges kept me on my toes, but eventually I returned to this composition, which included a glimpse of the bluebells over the stone wall.

As I was setting up the camera, cloud began to roll in to block the harsh light of the clear sky. It added some drama to the sky, whilst the early morning sunlight continued to stream into the scene.

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08/06/2024

Light & Shadow (two) - Haldon Forest, Devon taken on Saturday 11th May 2024.

I'm not always successful when I go out to capture a picture. Probably 50% of the time I come back with something I am happy with.

April 2024 was the exception. I went out seven straight times during the month and came back with NOTHING!!!! As we moved into May I hoped the change of month would change my fortunes.

I switched locations from the coast to Haldon Forest and arrived early at some beautiful trees I know. I'd never been there is Spring and was pleasantly surprised by the grasses in the understory. It was a question of lining things up and waiting for the sun to enter stage left.

An almost clear sky meant when the light came, it lit the shadowy scene perfectly. Balancing exposure of the light and shadows was tricky, but I won the battle.

Let's hope it’s seven straight successful photo shoots next.

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18/05/2024

Ambience - Haldon Forest, Devon taken on Saturday 4th May 2024.

I was captivated by a scene in the other direction to this tree and spent some time trying to get it to work.

I could see the sun had finally risen high enough to start catching the trees and then realised I had dropped my lens cloth.

I turned to see if it was behind me and was greeted with this. The low ground fog was now being illuminated by the early morning sun.

I shuffled around a bit to avoid unsightly objects and then hit the shutter button. I later found my lens cloth and thanked it for it's assistance.

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15/05/2024

Three - sunrise Shaldon Beach & The Ness, South Devon taken on Friday 16th February 2024.

This picture is the third and final image I captured on that beautiful winter morning at Shaldon Beach.

I remember standing there for ages waiting for the boats to line up as they were moved around by the changing tides. Eventually they lined up just as the sun peaked over the cloud bank.

One of the ferries can be seen near the horizon, moored just off The Point, Teignmouth.

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12/05/2024

Light & Shadow (one) - Haldon Forest, Devon taken on Monday 6th May 2024.

I drove from home along the coast and down to Shaldon. The sky was clear but bland, so I carried on through Teignmouth and up to Haldon Forest.

I headed straight for an area I had shot numerous times before. This time there was no Autumn colours or fog. Instead there were fresh green leaves everywhere.

Underneath the dense canopy it was dark, except for patches of light breaking through the edge of the forest. I moved around until I found some nice foreground in the warm sunlight.

The patches of light moved as the sun rose. Eventually the sun became too harsh and I packed up the gear and sat for a while enjoying the dawn chorus.

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Videos

TEIGNMOUTH - Here is a collection of some of the pictures I have captured of Teignmouth over the last three years. I hope you enjoy them 🙏 Music: I will fly even if

Yearly Review - I been looking through the pictures I have captured this year and wondering what went wrong!!! Then I remembered... It's been an "interesting" year. A year ago this evening I came out of hospital and began the long recovery from pneumonia and sepsis. I had not been out with my camera for the first three months as I was just too unwell. Then around April/May I started to pick up and venture out to take pictures. I then fell in the River Dart, managed to climb out, but lost my camera, tripod, etc. That was more down time as I had to replace lost equipment. By the Summer I was feeling well enough to run my picture stand at craft events. The Shaldon Water Carnival was cancelled due to a storm. Later in the year I was unable to attend the Teignmouth Pavilions Xmas weekend Fayre as I had a chest infection. In between everything I have been out taking some photos. I have been on the coast, at Haldon Forest and more recently at Dartmoor. Here is a slide show of my favourite twelve pictures I have captured this year. Let's hope 2024 is less eventful. I hope you have a wonderful New Year and wish you all the very best. David x

Beautiful conditions at Haldon Forest this morning.

All set up at the Shaldon Water Carnival and the weather is amazing 👏

Sunrise Shaldon

Amazing light this morning at sunrise. I was stood on top of the cliffs looking down towards Shaldon and then Teignmouth. Who needs sleep!!!!

Sunrise Churston, Paignton

A fantastic sunrise at an amazing location this morning in Churston, Paignton. This cave can only be accessed with great care and at a very low tide. Looking forward to reviewing the pictures. Enjoy the sunshine 🌞