Wembury, Devon. Idyl 1975.

I was in France last week, having moved much of my photographic equipment there, and looked through some of my old B&W negs.

It amazes me to think it is now 35 years since I lived with Marie near Wembury through the summer of 1975 - memorable in the UK as one of the hottest ever . Climbing over the rocks to the east of the village we found a deserted stretch of coastline completely cut off except at low tide.




There we spent countless days swimming in the refreshing Atlantic which was quite calm on that stretch of coast. The sea seemed to move languidly, like mercury, glinting in the sun.






Our favorite spot was a little rocky inlet we named Mermaid Bay - this photo shows it at low tide but later the sea would come right up to the massive slate boulders which had been worn smooth...


... making them very comfortable to lie on...



... or lean against.

They also acted as giant reflectors making it very luxurious to warm up after a cold swim:


We often took picnics or made a small barbecue out of driftwood so we could stay for hours until the next low tide, clambering over the stones, exploring rock pools and snorkeling in the shallow water, meeting the same fish time and again.

All the summer created marvelous opportunities for photography though in the direct sunlight the contrast was quite difficult.




For some pictures I just tried to capture the dazzling effect of looking into the light where you could see almost nothing in the shadows.





For this one I had the sun behind me creating a kind of "direct flash" effect - I had climbed the rocks and looking back saw Marie reading the paper having put some oil on her skin making some nice textures contrasting with the rocks.

All the summer we only encountered one man and a quite elderly couple who just waved and wandered on by - they all seemed to have taken the opportunity to become unofficial naturists as well.




These photos, some taken on Ilford FP4 or HP5 and some converted to B&W from rather faded Kodachromes, are my memories of that wonderful idyllic time. More can be seen on my gallery JonathanCharlesPhoto.com.

New location: Gourvillete, Charente Maritime, France

We have finally settled on a wonderful old house in the pretty village of Gourvillette. It lies in the peaceful vineyard countryside about 10 miles north of Cognac in the Charente Maritime region of France.



It has the great advantage of not being on the way to anywhere so there is virtually no traffic apart from the occasional tractor. The mild disadvantage is having no shops apart from the Moutarderie or mustard museum:

run by Jerôme and Sylvie, but you can try to catch the croissant / bread van if you are quick or cycle to nearby Cressé or Beauvais (20 minutes at a leisurely pace). The nearest town is Matha, a short drive along a beautiful meandering little road with no name.

Both the village...

... and the surrounding countryside ...

... are very beautiful and a perfect setting for photography - more will be posted soon.

Birthday suit

I had an interesting commission last summer, from Debbie who wanted to celebrate her birthday by having some nude photos taken on a Cornish beach as she had always felt a strong affinity for this coastline. We had not met before but she had seen my photos on the net and said she liked the way they linked the subjects with the landscape making the nudity seem quite natural.

After several discussions by email & phone we met at Gorran Haven (nr. St. Austell) at just before 5 a.m. and walked round to Little Perhaver Beach which was deserted apart from a boat moored offshore (they were either asleep or keeping a low profile). It was a bit chilly but we were lucky with a beautiful clear dawn - it is an east-facing beach. Marie (my wife, muse and best critic) was on hand with posing suggestions and warm water to wash off unwanted sand.

I had chosen a day when the dawn coincided with low tide so we had a great opportunity to use reflections in the calm water and wet sand...

...and the sun when it came up:



After pausing for refreshments (she had thoughtfully brought a bottle of champagne with her)...



we then moved along to the rocks for some different shots eg:



By this time the sun was getting warm and Debbie was enjoying being at one with nature so much that she was quite reluctant to get dressed ...


... and didn't seem too concerned that the people on the boat would be waking up!

By around 7 a.m. people started to appear at the other end of the beach so we packed up for the morning and after some breakfast Debbie went to look around Mevagissey. Later we met up again to take some evening shots at Vault Beach. This is south of Gorran Haven, reached by walking along the coastal path around the headland. The far end has been unofficially "clothes optional" for many years so the plan was to head that way. When we got to the beach we found it was deserted so I was able to photograph Debbie as she explored the rocks and pools of this new-to-her part of the Cornish coast.

She looked very much at ease clambering over the rocks and found a wonderful pool teeming with shrimps and tiny fish...

As it was low tide some of the rocks were covered in soft, bright green seaweed allowing her to lie on them comfortably, catching the last rays of the sun:

... she almost seemed to merge with the beach - which is just how she felt about it.

It turned out the beach was not quite deserted - one gentleman walked past with a dog on his way back to Gorran Haven and gave us a cheery wave; by the time we saw him it was too late for Debbie to get dressed so we just waved back!

* * * * *

She was very pleased with the results and said it had been "the most enjoyable day of my life"

I was also delighted with the pics - some of them have been posted with her permission on photo.net and can be seen larger there, via my front page at JonathanCharlesPhoto.com and on Flickr.

Art Photography

Art Photography doesn't just mean pretentious photography, it is the use of photographic techniques to express a visual idea rather than just objectively recording a scene or subject. Obviously it is a direction, not a strict category: all non-automatic photography involves some element of choice by the photographer but in art photography the resulting image has no claim of objctivity or physical "truth" but deliberately represents his or her personal view or experience.



For more, see my first draft website: http://www.JonathanCharlesPhoto.com.