St Ives Hilltop

I took this shot down in St Ives, a beautiful seaside village on the tip of Cornwall, United Kingdom. A keen photographer I am used to using my Canon or trusty Nikon however on this day I kicked myself to only have had my iPhone X in my pocket. Nonetheless I took plenty of shots that day, the light was dreamy for early March, if a little chilly and surprisingly my little iPhone managed to produce some lovely images including this one. Having walked up a big hill to the side of the beautiful town of St Ives I came to the peak and peered back down to the view below.. hey presto! A beautiful beach scene lay in front of me, already perfectly framed by the hill leading down to the waters edge, the grass rippling in the wind and the golden sand and an almost mediterreanean looking blue sea awaiting me in the background. With virtually nobody else around apart from my loyal canine companion it was a moment of complete surreal serenity. When you are confronted with extreme natural beauty, for me anyway, it made me think about how small we are on the face of the Earth, yet how we become so engulfed in the bubble of our day to day life, trials and tribulations that often we forget to stop and take in the natural wonders that lay around us. It also made me consider how us humans have such an enormous impact on our planet and it's climate. How we all need to do more to protect the Earth, it's air and it's oceans - including the wildlife it sustains. It made me appreciate being alive, even just having the ability to take the fresh sea air deep into my lungs - I felt both very small and also very blessed to be stood there in that moment. It brought back memories of childhood holidays in the UK with my grandparents, which were even along the same stretch of Cornwall coast. What it also made me realise was my old ideas that only the very best cameras could take images worthy of anyone's attention was totally wrong. With the right setting, the right framing, the right light - all you need is that smart phone you carry around all day in your pocket. I used a square frame pre set for those instagram worthy shots, and using in-app settings amped up some of the colour and sharpness of the image..hey presto. Regrettably it is not the most high resolution image having been tweaked but still a lovely image in my opinion nonetheless and looks great on my instagram page! With the worldwide pandemic upon us it has given many people time to reflect, reassess parts of their lives and excitedly make plans for the future be it with family, friends or a loved one. It has been tough at times, but once we all pull through - the place we call home will be duly waiting for us to enjoy its timeless beauty. We must all do whatever we can to help preserve it for our children and their children after that. Post lockdown - I intend to visit some more of Englands natural landscapes and wonders - IPhone firmly in hand whenever I don't have the energy to lug around a tank of a camera or two! Modern technology allows us to instantaneously capture a special memory, a perfect moment in time or just a ruddy good picture! It gives us the immense power of instantly sharing our images, videos and creativity with our friends, our family and the rest of the world beyond.. all with a few effortless swipes and taps!