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Wandering around looking for clouds and puddles
Midwinter Kodak Woolacombe
It was a cold but clear day with mid day sun seasonally low in the sky. Using an experimental (out of date?), film sim for Kodak Ektar 100, I did a photography beach walk. Here are the photos, no wasted hours in front of the computer processing them, just warts and all gritty photos. I […]
Colour My Valley Autumn
November 4, 2025
One of my favourite places to photograph in autumn, luckily, is just on the doorstep. Exmoor rises 1000 feet out of the sea on the North Devon coast and takes the brunt of the Atlantic weather but the area is interlaced with hidden valleys where the trees are more sheltered and the leaves hang on […]
2026 Calendar Now Available
September 30, 2025
It’s here: the 2026 Beautiful North Devon Calendar! The 12th edition features 13 fresh shots taken in the prevoius year in and around Exmoor, Lundy and the beaches of North Devon. Thank you to Kathleen Spears who helped with the agonising decisions to whittle down 30-odd candidates to the final selection, and to the friends […]
Lords of the Boards 2025
August 21, 2025
Boardmasters Surf 2025 was one of my most favouriteists yet and it’s not just for personal reasons, such as working with an outstanding team (as always), but what helped was; the wall to wall sunshine, consistent north Cornwall summer surf that produced – everyday, and an old school vibe back into the ‘surf fans village’ […]
Fleeting flight of the Auks
July 9, 2025
Photographing Puffins in flight can be frustrating; the birds are small and fast, making framing difficult. They flap their wings that are more suited to ‘swimming’ underwater – faster than flying, at up to 400 times a minute – not as fast as a Hummingbird granted, but still requiring a fast shutter speed to freeze […]
Hot Hanmers
July 8, 2025
Lundy time: Joon 2025. We were gutted to hear that our week’s stay in Tibbetts was cancelled due to problems with the new waterpump installation (Tibbetts has its own Well and the quaint but outdated battery waterpump was being upgraded). Instead we were offered Hanmers, a corrugated iron and timber hut built in 1898 by […]
Intimate Exmoor
June 7, 2025
In the summertime, when the weather is fineYou can stretch right up and touch the skyWhen the weather’s fineYou got camping, you got camping on your mind.Have a drink, have a driveGo out and see what you can find. However camping is dangerous. The ground is uneven, the night skies are dark and there are […]
Posted in: Beauty in the familiar, Exmoor
Purple and Lime colours on top
May 24, 2025
Maytime is when Exmoor comes to life, the beech trees and hedges start to show their fabulously fresh, almost florescent lime-green foliage. This year the wow factor has been amplified by the prolonged dry spell (don’t look up), and some fabulous blue skies. The light winds helped the blossom to set and for the next […]
Posted in: Exmoor
Puffins in the Pinks
May 19, 2025
Once more to Lundy Island, this time on a day trip from Bideford. It is an early start to coincide with the high tide, but the bonus is that you get extra hours on the island as the return journey has to align with the next high tide so that the boat can navigate the […]
Highland Capers
May 12, 2025
Easter was late this year and those few extra weeks make such a difference to the weather as winter slips into spring. Especially in the highlands of Scotland, with the snow all but gone the landscape takes on a gentle and softer identity. The unassuming colour palette is full of awesome tones, and the big […]
Posted in: Scotland, Uncategorized
Rainy Day on May
May 10, 2025
The Isle of May, off the Fife coast, is a national nature reserve and home to over 100,000 puffins during the breeding season; which runs from April til June. This small island which has a tremendous variety of wildlife, renowned for its rich bird life, seals and reefs, also has an interesting religious and maritime […]
The old fishing towns of the Fife coast path
May 10, 2025
Not as up and down as the salt path which goes past my front door but that’s not a bad thing… The 100 mile route links the Forth and Tay estuaries and wanders along miles of golden beaches, attractive woods and nature reserves, but the route also threads its way through industrial towns and and […]
Biggest day of the year so far
May 7, 2025
As the summer flat spell has kicked in very early this year, and several important surf contests have been postponed til the autumn, I am posting these snapshots of the biggest day of the year so far here in North Devon. Least we forget that this winter has pumped; from Xmas day til that high […]
Calendar debrief
May 5, 2025
Thank you to all who bought the 2025 Calendar and for your continued support on my calendar journey with another sell out. I am a bit late with my usual blog about some of the stories behind the photos that made the 5th edition of the Beautiful North Devon Calendar. Let’s jump straight into it […]
Autumnal Phototherapy
November 16, 2024
Autumn is a golden time for landscape photographers and here in North Devon the stars of the show are the mighty beech trees, especially on the top of Exmoor. As always you have to dance with the weather and an early season gale can strip the trees of all their jewels. This year, […]
Ocktober Lundy 2024
October 12, 2024
Dance dance dance to the Ocktorbro radio .. Last minute bolt to the rock for some birthday fresh air. End of season vibes The black shed and a corrugated iron building, ( A man walks into a swedish chemist …etc New pony welcome And lens lick. Still autumnal skies and autumnal puddles. Plenty of birds […]
Posted in: Lundy, The Essential Contentment of Futile Wanderings
September shines on the sunroof
September 23, 2024
How prophetic the photo of a misty beach sunset was of September in last years ‘Beautiful North Devon Calendar’, it’s been a lovely little Indian summer and gratefully embraced after what has been, generally, a miserable summer. Time to get the camping gear out of the back of the shed, And journey up onto the […]
Posted in: Exmoor
Beautiful North Devon Calendar 2025
September 9, 2024
Update: The 2025 calendar has arrived and is available for purchase now. It should be available in time for the Woolacombe art fair in October, where locals can pick up a copy at ‘local’ prices. The calendar is printed on heavyweight, glossy photo paper and A4 size opening up to A3. It features 12 fresh […]
Posted in: Calendar, North Devon
Boardmasters Surf pix24
August 11, 2024
Many moons ago I was a professional sports photographer and at this years Boardmasters surf contest I had the opportunity to shoot some of the finals in perfect 2-3 foot surf with offshore winds and clear blue skies. Long gone is the old heavyweight 600mm f4 and ID mk2 and tripod with snow shoes & […]
Posted in: Boardmasters, Surfing
Summer smooths time at home
August 2, 2024
Times they are a changing; the planet is becoming uninhabitable and no one seems to care enough to do anything about it, social media is fueling a rise of hatred between communities and the awful self inflicted wound that is brexit is still the elephant in the room. The song remains the same. Out with […]
Waving at the Waverley
June 18, 2024
The paddle steamer Waverley was built on the Clyde and launched in 1946, as a cruise ship to take day trippers through the Scottish lochs. By 1973 she was the last seagoing paddle steamer in the world and due for retirement but in a magnificent leap of faith was sold by the owners ( Caledonian […]
Puffins Galore
June 11, 2024
When everything else in life is going tits up, it’s nice to be able to report a heart warming success story from our very shores across the water at Lundy Island. Back at the turn of this century when everyone else was worrying about a non-existent ‘millennium bug” and dancing to Britany Spears (no relation), […]
Mid summer moods at Tibbetts
June 10, 2024
Racked up my 21st stay at Tibbetts in June 2024, and if you think of each stay as a year in the life of your Tibbetts experience; this year, the wild teen years have given way to a more mature approach with melancholic moods. There is a hint of nostalgia for the old ways, however […]
Posted in: Lundy, The Essential Contentment of Futile Wanderings
Looking for bluebells, found Dippers
April 27, 2024
After the rain we were presented with a calm and sunny weekend here in North Devon. Time to get out on the moor for the first time in ages in search of bluebells. The woods along Hoar Oak Water were filled with the smell of wild garlic. The trees were showing off their fresh leaves, […]
The high lands
April 8, 2024
Road trip. Go with the flow, follow the road and see where it takes you. Click on your favourite image, as ever, this blog is best viewed on a big screen. Crabber in a loch Red Deer everywhere Castle of the McKays The shepherd off Sandwood Bay, near Cape Wrath. Chocolate box Scotland This enigmatic, […]
Thurso 2024
April 7, 2024
I’ve been coming up to this part of Scotland since the eighties, firstly a trip with Rudi & Teen in a Type 2 VW, where we surfed Brimms and East, on our own and were immediately captivated by firstly the quality of the surf and secondly by the remote and unpublished secret of this corner […]
Spring on the Rock
March 17, 2024
Back to Lundy island for a spring visit on the helicopter, it’s been a wet winter and conditions on the Rock reflected those on Exmoor; wet, wet, bog and more wet. There are however, signs that spring is in the air with mild temperatures, daffodils, blackthorn blossom and puffins! This years accommodation was in the […]
Posted in: Lundy, The Essential Contentment of Futile Wanderings
Black Rock Project
February 28, 2024
I’ve been photographing this rock at my local beach for the past month or so and am still not completely happy with the results. So I thought I’d share my best photos so far, and explain my vision for this spot. The conditions needed are part of the jigsaw to get the image, firstly there […]
Birds in the mud
February 21, 2024
Vellator quay mud to be precise, and the river Caen as it meanders across the great field and into the Taw estuary. There’s a multitude of birds that use this habitat, some are included here showing well, from a few mid winter wanderings.. Vellator boats Little Grebe A mallard and a […]
Posted in: Birds
Damp and green and mizzley
February 4, 2024
Another Sunday and another tramp across the moor and down into the, not so hidden, valleys. Damp under foot, mizzle in the air, rivers in full flood and the mossy tree trunks in magnificent saturated green. Hoar Oak Water Fall The fishing lodge Oak spagetti Big boys wondering why we’re not watching the Sunday afternoon […]
Posted in: Exmoor, The Essential Contentment of Futile Wanderings
After the rain
January 6, 2024
As the planet warms up, there will be more moisture in the air and therefore more rain. This winter has been exceptionally wet so far here in North Devon. It can be fair to say that it has rained every day for the past 10 weeks… However, when the rain stops then a muddy plod […]
BTS; the story of Calendar 24
December 15, 2023
If you are new round here, welcome to the photo blog. Maybe you had the Beautiful North Devon Calendar as a Christmas present and are scrolling? Well, you are in the right place if you are calendar curious, photography curious and/or North Devon curious. The is the Behind The Scenes blog about the story of […]
Bimble from Brendon to the Sea
December 11, 2023
Friends are the oxygen of contentment in the christmas pickled onions of your brief existence on this lovely blue planet, we call home. Here’s some photos of a futile wander down the East Lyn to Hoar Oak Water and onwards down to Lynmouth. Where there is a house they called the Rising Sun, it’s been […]
Foam Party
November 2, 2023
Autumn storm Ciaran brought havoc and floods to many parts of the UK, here in North Devon we had a quiet night with light winds as we sat in the eye of the storm. The wind and rain came at day break along with massive onshore waves. I popped down to Barricane, the curry beach, […]
Combe Thursdays
October 26, 2023
A few drinks in the Welly then on to a fab curry, recommended, at Tandori Nights (bottom of Oxford Grove), with some old folks. iphone 7, cracked screen, shit battery, outdated o/s And you can buy me a coffee at -> https://ko-fi.com/esterspears Thank you
Oh what fun we had ….
October 16, 2023
On Lundy Island for my third trip of the year to Tibbetts, this time with a rag tag bunch of family and dear friends to celebrate my birthday, my retirement and my bus pass! I didn’t take too many photos because I was laughing so much, however these few will trigger memories of the most […]
Posted in: Lundy, The Essential Contentment of Futile Wanderings
Beautiful North Devon Calendar 2024
September 27, 2023
It’s here the latest edition (and best so far) of the Beautiful North Devon calendar. Twelve stunning and crispy fresh new images taken over the last year in North Devon, Exmoor and Lundy. Putsborough Exe head Lundy Woolacombe Exmoor South Light Saunton East Lyn River A4 fold out to A3 The early-bird price to my […]
Posted in: Calendar
Fish supper on Woolacombe beach
July 17, 2023
What a sight as over 800 herring guls feed on sand eel in the shallows of Woolacombe beach. If you click and enlarge this foto you can see the sand eel, small silver fish, jumping in the surf Like this A single black backed gul joined the party As well as some back headed guls […]
Posted in: Birds, Woolacombe
Night Moves, Purring Crickets and Goatsuckers
July 12, 2023
Very privileged to be shown a nightjar spot on Exmoor. Night jars arrive from Africa in the spring and are gone by late August, ancient folk tales refer to them as goat suckers as they were meant to steal milk from your goats at night. In actual fact they eat mostly moths and bugs. In […]
Diving with seals
July 10, 2023
One of the great results of the No Take Zone, (as well as the Conservation of Seals act 1970) is the expanding population of the Atlantic grey seals on Lundy, Britain has 40% of the worlds grey seal population which amounts to about 100,000 and Lundy has a breeding population of over 60 of those, […]
All quiet on the rock
July 4, 2023
It’s not very often that you visit Lundy when it’s not windy, it is a lump of rock stuck out in the middle of the Bristol channel after all but when it’s calm, it’s beguiling. All the noise is stripped away and you can hear the subtle sounds of the island, not just the shouters, […]
Lundy Summer Seabirds
July 3, 2023
LSS (Splitters!). I’ve been lucky enough to have my second stay in Tibbetts this year, and on a hot week in June, it was a joy; not only as a mid season break from work but to test the XT-5 and it’s new auto-focus algorithms – especially on the seabirds population. It’s not all about […]
The Party
June 12, 2023
Good turn out from the village for Steve and Teresa’s wedding reception, held at the meadow, Woolacombe. […]
Posted in: Estpix Photography, Weddings
Steve & Teresa’s Wedding
June 12, 2023
In photos. A couple of posts from a fabulous weekend in the village, first the Wedding: Congratulations Steve and Teresa. View on a big screen and Click on the image. Fujifilm
All aboard the Skylark
May 22, 2023
Tucked away in an hidden corner on the edge of Exmoor, near the highest sea cliffs in England, is Skylark Cabin. Perfectly isolated in the wooded pastures and big skies of never ever heard anyone land. A rustic cabin with an outside bath, built mainly of recycled materials and a perfect antidote to all the […]
Winter into Spring on the Moor
May 8, 2023
Moss, mud and much to appreciate In search of spring in three walks in three weeks along the river Barle, Baggery waters and a camping trip near the source of the Exe. Green, green my world is green. Except when it’s blue. Bells near Whithypool> Barle Beach hedge, 200 years later. Spring beach. Exmoor orchids. […]
Thurso streets
April 10, 2023
Thurso, Caithness. A street photography essay. Photos of a bimble around the town on a rainy day off. Sir John square park Sinclair street doorways Main road Johnston Cake Shop Comm Bar Thurso Bridal Scrabster through the alley Post […]
Here we go again
March 20, 2023
Back to the island for my 25th stay since my first one (at Old Light Upper) back in 2012, nineteen of those stays have been at Tibbetts, the solid granite lookout built in 1909 and a retreat loved by a small group of fugitives and absconders from the modern digital world, known amongst themselves as […]
Deep and Crisp on top
March 5, 2023
and even too. An early season dump on the roof and some pristine conditions with variable December light.. A short hike to the source of the Exe. Plenty of wildlife looking for opportunities to feed And some classic architectural trees coated in power Some timeless vistas with some nice light FUJI Film
Posted in: Exmoor, The Essential Contentment of Futile Wanderings
In the shadow of Dunkery: Snowdrops.
February 19, 2023
The highest point on Exmoor (and Somerset) is an ideal winter wander. Dunkery. It’s either in cloud and mist and you cannot see the expected views of Bodmin or, it’s in cloud and mist and you ….. etc etc To the north is the ancient Horner Wood and dramatic vistas whatever the weather . And […]
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Copyright © Ester Spears
esterspears 
November 20, 2025
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