18 June 2017 - Walk: Torbay (16.7 Miles)

Synopsis: A walk from Paignton to Brixham, and then on out to Berry Head. The express intention being to capture some photos for an HDR experiment. Gorgeous sunny day with many people on the beaches.

Photo Set – Flickr -:- (Map)

GPS Tracklog Download (.gpx) Microsoft OneDrive -:- Google Drive

 

Tracklog and Photos - Google My Map

Tracklog overlay - OSM – ViewRanger -:- OS – WheresThePath

 

Activity Route & Statistics – Runtastic

 

(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)

I have slightly cheated on the walk distance shown above, in that it includes the ferry journey from Brixham to Torquay. Hey! let’s not quibble. A good walk distance all the same, and a pretty reasonable amount of exercise achieved by me today. It had been a hot and sunny summer’s day, perfect for this hike along the coast. A great day to be out and about at the seaside. Many people were taking a day on the beach.

My express intention here was to acquire some photographs suitable for High Dynamic Range (HDR) processing. It was my intention to acquire the Photomatix software and experiment a little with this. I thought I’d set about obtaining some potential source material first, and today seemed the perfect day for it. The majority of the photos I’ve placed in the Flickr photo album for today are HDR processed which is indicated by both the naming and the tagging of the photos. If you should wish to see the original photos for comparison with the HDR processed images, view in my HDR Tone Mapped Comparison (34 photos) photo album on Flickr (please note this link is a Flickr ‘Guest Pass’ which must be used to access this album of comparison photos).

I bought an off-peak day-return rail ticket for the journey from my local railway station of Digby and Sowton to Paignton. Catching the ealiest train out this Sunday morning, I arrived in Paignton a little before 11:00. The train was busy with passengers headed for the beach.

[Paignton]: Roundham Harbour

I made for Paignton Roundham Harbour where I stopped briefly to take my first photo of the day. I could already see it was going to be a hot and glorious day. As I mentioned above, my primary intent today was to capture some photo shots that I could subsequently use for a HDR experiment I wished to conduct. This, and subsequent photos on this post, has been HDR processed using the Photomatix software. I will keep my writings brief.

[Paignton]: Just around the corder from Roundham Harbour

 

I have selected a small sub-set of photos from my Flickr photo album which I think best represent my HDR work (use the link above to see the complete set of photos). This second photo, shot almost directly into the sun, meant that the cliff wall was very dark and with most of the detail and colouring lost. HDR processing has brought back the detail and colour to give a much more pleasing and realistic representation of how the scene looked to the naked eye.

The coastal path between Goodrington and Broadsands, looking out towards Brixham and Berry Head

 

In this shot, taken from the coastal path, looking down on the rail track that runs between Goodrington and Broadsands, much was of the colour and contrast was lost shooting into the bright sun. I aimed for a simple and subtle improvement on the original image, to bring back the colour saturation and the contrast to levels that more accurately reflect the actual scene.

 

 

The coastal path between Broadsands and Brixham

 

As can be imagined when viewing this next image, there was a considerable contrast range from the beach and open sea, to the wooded area encroaching onto the beach to the right. The colours in the bright sunlight were washed out, and the detail of the wood lost in shade. Use of HDR processing has improved both these aspects of this photo. Movement of people in the photo required the use of the de-ghosting feature to clean the image up.

The coastal path between Broadsands and Brixham

This is a stunning view and hardly in need of improvement. But, once again, some of the detail had been lost, particularly that in the shade of the trees to the right. And also, some of the colour saturation and contrast had been lost to the bright sunlight. A small amount of movement of people once again required the use of the de-ghosting feature to clean the image.

 

The view looking westward from Berry Head

 

 

As soon as I saw this image in the HDR software, I was taken with the beauty of it. I feel the colours are so seductive that this shot alone was worth all my efforts on the day, and the subsequent time to process. In particular, it is the deep cobalt blue of the shimmering sea that I find so enticing, and through all my photo tweaking, I was very careful not to lose this. It is such a simple shot, and yet for me, it works perfectly.

[Torquay]: Tropical plants in the gardens below the Rock Walk

This last shot of the day jumped out at me, as something seen will sometimes do. In dashing for my train, it would have been so easy to not have spotted this. The acute rays of the late sun was catching the grasses perfectly making them iridescent. The normally exposed original lost the effect almost entirely, but HDR processing, admittedly quite extreme in this case, makes the shot stunning. There is some chromatic aberration in the colour of the car on the left, but I think that can be excused in this case (this could probably be cleaned up).

 

And so, that was my day at the seaside. Less playing sandcastles, more strolling about and tinkering with photos. I presume that’s the quite-little-bit-grown-up boy in me.

Taking as many HDR photos in one day, and compiling them in this album, is a bit over the top, you’re almost certainly thinking. And it is. Plus there is the fact that I’m a novice with Photomatix, and I realise I’ve yet to achieve true proficiency in the use of this software. A more conventional approach, whilst out and about, would be to spot the occasional scene or two that shouts out for HDR to recover its glory. I do look forward to doing more with this software in the near future. Watch this space!

Walk Statistics:

Total Distance: 26.9 km / 16.7 miles
Moving Time: 7hrs 46min
Stopped Time: 30min
Total Ascent: 312 metres
Maximum Elevation: 73 metres

Buses: (none)
Trains: Digby & Sowton to Paignton – off-peak day return with Devon & Cornwall Railcard: £5:00
…… Normal ticket price, without railcard discount (33%) would have been: £8.30

Train out: 9:29 – 10:54 (1hrs 25mins) – no changes
Train return: 19:00 – 20:03 (1hrs 03mins) – no changes (from Torquay)