The evenings are drawing in

[bunn]

And it turns out that if you canoe upstream when the tide is coming in, you can travel a surprising distance before the light goes, and then, if the tide is still coming in, it can be rather hard work to make your way back down to the slipway where you launched.  And putting the canoe back on top of the car in darkness is a bit of a fiddle.

On the other hand, you get to see the sunset, the twilight, the moon-reflections and the bats, and hear the owls calling across the river.

I think the camera has exaggerated the darkness in these next two photos for effect.
Yes, it's Calstock Viaduct again.  As viaducts go, it's a particularly well-located one.



This is an abandoned village and port called New Quay.  There was just enough light to still see the huge granite walls of the old quayside and the roofless houses as we paddled past

But as we came up to Morwellham Quay, the light had almost gone.


It was time to turn around.

No photos of the long paddle home under the moon and stars: a canoe is not the natural setup for long-exposure night photography.  

We slipped secretly back past houses in the darkness, peering in through the lit windows like a stealthy swan, albeit one with rather stiff and aching arms.

Comments

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

What beautiful photos. There is something lovely and meditative about canoeing.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

A bit less meditative when trying to paddle against the tide -- but the tides do add an interesting feeling of natural cycles going on to the hobby.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

Beautiful.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

... a canoe is not the natural setup for long-exposure night photography...

heh!

But those fading light pictures are fabulous. And the moon-reflections and owls and bats - it all sounds wonderful...

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I did try one shot of the reflected moon, but as you can imagine, it came out with many moons all over the place! Even though we were gliding very gently at that point.

[topum.livejournal.com]

Now I have this irrational urge to visit New Quay and I will do so when I am back to England. Your photos are so subtle and atmospheric, almost the opposite of my oversaturated fully focused on the subject ones and that's probably why I like yours so much, they are so different from mine.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

You frequent places where there is lots of action to photograph, I think...

This New Quay is on the Devon bank of the Tamar, near Gawton --it's not the prosperous seaside town in Cornwall, which is much easier to find. Morwellham quay, next door is a sort of heritage tourist attraction thing, but you can get to New Quay from Gawton without going there.

[dhampyresa.livejournal.com]

Such beautiful photos!

[timetiger.livejournal.com]

Mmmm . . . lovely.

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

Absolutely stunning pictures.

[jane-somebody.livejournal.com]

Lovely photos! It reminds me just a little of late-evening coming back in the dark puntmoots, back when they used to let you do that sort of thing. And at least you didn't have to shout "Tumunzahar" to find friends in a lost companion canoe!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

It was very much like that, yes :-)