This picture was taken in late summer 2002. I was on holiday in Cornwall, staying in a B&B in Penzance. I couldn't sleep – those goddam seagulls! I woke up and tiptoed out of the building and just started walking. Trusting my instinct (and my distant memories from childhood trips to visit my Grandfather) to direct me into the town centre and down onto the seafront, I strolled through alleyways, across parks and among the deserted streets of Penzance.
It was seven o'clock in the morning and there was barely a soul to be seen. At the harbour there were fishermen lazily packing their gear away after a busy morning – they wolf-whistled as I went by. An early ferry to the Scilly Isles had just finished boarding and was preparing to depart. It was quiet, quite eerily so, only the screech of seagulls breaking the silence. Then the unmistakeable sound of a helicopter rang out across the bay, whisking its passengers off the isles – a lone shape in the otherwise empty skies.
I remember taking this photo before walking back along the promenade. I remember thinking how warm the sun was given that it was only 7am and how calm and inviting the water looked, disturbed only by a single tiny fishing boat. I felt privileged to be able to witness this peaceful, untouched landscape before the rest of the world woke up, and I felt pleased with myself for having remembered to bring the camera! I have always found St. Michael's Mount mesmerising – I find it hard to take my eyes off it. In the distance I can just make out the silhouettes of one or two of the huge satellite dishes on Goonhilly downs.
This post was written for Tara's Photo Gallery with the theme, 'Numbers'.
It was seven o'clock in the morning and there was barely a soul to be seen. At the harbour there were fishermen lazily packing their gear away after a busy morning – they wolf-whistled as I went by. An early ferry to the Scilly Isles had just finished boarding and was preparing to depart. It was quiet, quite eerily so, only the screech of seagulls breaking the silence. Then the unmistakeable sound of a helicopter rang out across the bay, whisking its passengers off the isles – a lone shape in the otherwise empty skies.
I remember taking this photo before walking back along the promenade. I remember thinking how warm the sun was given that it was only 7am and how calm and inviting the water looked, disturbed only by a single tiny fishing boat. I felt privileged to be able to witness this peaceful, untouched landscape before the rest of the world woke up, and I felt pleased with myself for having remembered to bring the camera! I have always found St. Michael's Mount mesmerising – I find it hard to take my eyes off it. In the distance I can just make out the silhouettes of one or two of the huge satellite dishes on Goonhilly downs.
This post was written for Tara's Photo Gallery with the theme, 'Numbers'.
