A Photographer's Guide to Ogmore-by-Sea

Introduction

A classic dramatic Ogmore sunset. Taken at Black Rocks.

Ogmore-by-Sea has a rugged and varied coast which is very popular with fishermen, due in part to the rocky headlands that jut out into the Bristol Channel, but surprisingly, seemingly less so with photographers.

My love for this stretch of coast began long before my interest in photography, with many childhood Summer afternoons spent losing footballs to the waves and crunching sandy picnics. However, it wasn't until I looked at the beach through a viewfinder and actively sought picturesque details and views that I truly began to see the raw beauty that had been before me for so many years and to a great extent had been taken for granted. I have been hooked on the area visually ever since.

Some topographic and geological features of particular interest

• Wide fine grained sand beaches
• Exposed bedrock strata, some teeming with marine fossils
• Large boulders strewn amongst the intertidal zone
• Pebble storm beaches
• Shingle bays
• Rocky headlands

Special Photographic Features

For the purpose of this guide I will take Ogmore Beach to include the main bay directly adjacent to the mouth of the River Ogmore and the handful of smaller bays that run along the coast for about three quaters of a mile directly below the village of Ogmore-by-Sea. The guide is divided into four mini guides for the four main bays, which are marked on the map and ariel photograph below.

1. The main beach (at higher tides appears to be three or four bays, but at low tide is one clear sweep of sand)
2. Bwlch Gwyn (White Bay)
3. Bwlch y Gro (Gravel Bay)
4. Black Rocks

1 The Main Beach

Situated directly below the car park and with the mouth of the River Ogmore on the Western end seperating Ogmore from Treath y Afon across the river.

The main draw of this area of Ogmore for me is the river mouth itself. At sunset, particularly from late Winter to early Summer it is possible to compose a picture so that the Sun appears to be sinking into the middle of the river itself.

Other features of interest are the wide fine sand beach which when fully exposed at low tide must be around a hundred meters wide from shore to sea and some interesting outcrops of rock along the side of the river.

Whilst the main beach has alot to offer especially at low tide when all of that wet sand acts as a mirror doubling the light available to create with I would implore you to explore the full stretch of coast before setting up in one spot. Personally I have found the most inspiring and interesting views can be found amongst the smaller bays further away from the river mouth. A convenient footpath runs from the bottom left (Southern) corner of the car park along the coast above the smaller bays and rocky headlands that seperate them and it is well worth a stroll.

Sunset at the mouth of the Ogmore River

2 Bwlch Gwyn

This small bay is the first around a rocky headland from the main beach and as with all of the smaller bays is accessed by walking along a path found at the bottom left of the car park. Follow the path until you reach a row of bungalows just the other side of a dry stone wall and turn right down a concrete ramp to the bay.This bay has an awful lot to offer the photographer, but the opportunities are heavily reliant on the tide.

At high tide waves roll up against the pebble beach and create a pleasing s shaped curve as they break. To the South East end interesting rock formations sprout up from the pebbles and can provide a very interesting foreground or a main focal point.

Bwlch Gwyn at high tide

At low tide the bay is transformed. A sand beach is exposed which actually links to the main beach around the headland and more interesting rock formations are exposed at the point where the sand gives way to the pebble storm beach at about the half tide mark.

Bwlch Gwyn at low tide

3 Bwlch y Gro

Gro is Welsh for gravel and that is a good description of this small beach. It is backed by small cliffs and is accessed by jumping down these stepped low cliffs. I have never found a satisfying composition here at high tide, but I dare say others could. For me though this bay is at it's best near low tide when the many large boulders poking up through the gravel are amongst the break water.

Another interesting feature of this cove is the exposed limstone bed to the South East corner which looks particularly eyecatching during sunset at low tide when the warm evening light reflects of the wet surace.

In my experience the headland to the North West of the bay is very popular with fishermen so if you intend to shoot towards the Sun as it sets expect some small figures in your pictures as can be seen in the photo below.

Bwlch y Gro sunset at low tide

4 Black Rocks

The final bay in my little guide and the last bay of this short stretch of coast; Black Rocks is currently my favourite spot to photograph at Sunset.

When you approach along the coastal path it seems as though there is no easy way down to the shingle bay, but carry on past it and just as you come to a warning sign saying the lower coastal path is not safe past this point turn right towards the sea and you should see a little slope down to the bed rock which at this point is a few metres above the sea level. Walk down this slope onto the rock and turn right walking down the dipping rock strata and it will take you down into the bay itself.

As with Bwlch y Gro I find this location is best at mid to low tide when the shingle and adjacent limestone rock beds are exposed. At the water's edge the bedrock seems to have been thrust up trough the shingle and at low tide with the waves washing around the rock there is always a good composition to be found. As with Bwlch y Gro I find mid to low tide to be the most fruitful conditions with receeding tide leaving intricate swirls in the shingle and the glistening bedrock disappearing into the Bristol Channel. At very low tide a pebble beach is exposed in the North Western corner of the bay. It is also possible to take some interesting pictures of the bay from above if you set up on top of the rocky cliffs at the back of the bay.

Outcropping bed rock at Black Rocks

Further notes

I have only adressed the four bays that I see as the most interesting along this coast, but there is interest all the way along the sea front.

The rocky headlands themselves providing some striking angular formations next to rounded polished rock. There are many small rock pools and fossils nestled amongst the rock.

Also there are other very small coves some easily accessable others only after a tricky descent of steep rock that I have not mentioned, so I would urge you to walk the full length of the coast before deciding on a location to photograph and don't just stick to those I have mentioned.

Night Photography

I've taken many night time photographs at Ogmore by Sea and while it's true that there's alot of light pollution in the sky to the North, above Porthcawl, I see this as an opportunity rather than a hinderence.

Facing South there is little artificial light in the sky, but it is a view that I find uninspiring. I am sure there must be good photos to be had though.

Nightfall at Bwlch Gwyn

Special Equipment

• Tripod essential for long exposures and helpful for carefully composing your pictures in any event.
• Filters: You may wish to use a polarizing filter to cut down reflections on wet rocks or increase contrast in the sky. I often use a three stop neutral density filter to prolong exposures in brighter light and record movement in the waves. Graduate neutral density filters are essential at sunset to balance the brightness of the sky and land or water.
• Torch very useful if you plan to be at the beach untill after sunset as some of the rocky parts of the coast can be very uneven under foot.
• Lens cloth very handy especially on more blustery days when sea spray can be a real nuisance.

Best Time of Day and Year

As you can probably tell if you have read this far I have only really photographed here at sunset so can say little about sunrise or daytime, but it's a location full of promise at sunset. As it faces mainly South West during the Summer the Sun provides more sidelighting to the coast as it is further South in the sky.

Tidal Information

As with all of the coast along the Bristol channel Ogmore is under the influence of the second highest tidal range in the world, some twelve metres of varience. As I've mentioned my favourite tidal condition in which to photograph the area is a receeding tide around half way out or lower, but there are opportunities at all tide levels.

I check the coastal/tidal observations on the BBC weather website (www.bbc.co.uk/weather) before any visit so I know what to expect. Just look at the tide tables for Porthcawl which is the nearest place information is given for.

Wind Information

This entire stercth of coast is rather exposed in three directions; North, South and West and is most often subject to sometimes strong South Westerlys blowing in off the Atlantic. At higher tides moderate gusts of wind can send sea spray a long way so take a lens cloth and if possible position your body between the camera and the sea during exposures, to sheild the lens from the worst of it.

Getting There

1.	Head west on Exit 35	0.1 mi
2.	At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto A473 heading to Bridgend/Pen-y-bont/Porthcawl Go through 2 roundabouts	3.0 mi
3.	At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto A48/By Pass Rd Go through 1 roundabout	0.7 mi
4.	At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto B4265/Ewenny Rd Continue to follow B4265	0.9 mi
5.	Turn right at B4524/Ogmore Rd Continue to follow B4524

6. As you reach the crest of the hill overlooking the river mouth and just after a cattle grid turn right down a steep road into the car park above the main beach.

Nearby Photographic Opportunites

Dunraven Bay Southerndown is another great spot for photographers, especially those hooked on coastal landscapes, like myself. See Rob Hudson's guide here fro more information. http://knol.google.com/k/rob-hudson/a-photographers-guide-to-dunraven-bay/cd5mu2qxlvy6/2#view

Ogmore castle is a 12th century ruin about half a mile upriver from the Ogmore River mouth.

Google reveals exec salary deal

Google has seen its shares soar since listing

Search engine giant Google only paid its three executives salaries of $1 (50p) in 2006, accounts show.

But chief executive Eric Schmidt and co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin saw their combined Google shares worth $31.5bn by the end of the year.

Mr Schmidt's "other compensation", was $555,742 while Mr Page's hit $36,795. For both men, much of this went towards personal security.

One perk was Mr Schmidt's corporate jet, also used by other executives.

Strong shares

Of Mr Schmidt's "other compensation", over 95% - $532,755 - was for personal security.

All three executives saw bonuses of $1,723, but Mr Brin, president of technology, did not receive "other compensation".

However, his shares in Google were worth $13.2bn, while Mr Page had shares totalling $13.4bn and Mr Schmidt's were worth $4.9bn by year end.

Since listing in August 2004 shares in the internet giant have risen from $85 to $460.48 last year.

While the three men's salaries were only a $1 apiece, this was not the case for other employees in key positions.

Four vice presidents - George Reyes, Shona Brown, David Drummond and Jonathan Rosenberg - all saw salaries of $250,000 last year.

Google unveils UK payments system

The core of Google's business is selling advertising

Search giant Google has launched its payment service, Google Checkout, in the UK.

Checkout will compete with both the mainstream card processing services used by many online merchants and auction site eBay's Paypal service.

It is designed to boost Google's core money-maker, the selling of online adverts, by offering cheap order processing for its advertisers.

Until now, Checkout has only been available to US buyers and sellers.

"The starting point is our core products," said Google's UK consumer marketing chief, Obi Felton.

Checkout "is the conclusion of the transaction cycle" of consumers finding retailers through searches and advertising.

Google was unwilling to say when the service might expand into the rest of Europe.

Speculation

Google's dominance of the search market has led it to revenues of $7.1bn in 2006 - not to mention the evolution of its name into a synonym for internet searches.

Even so, its other services have yet to make anything like as much of a splash in market share terms.

Rumours were rife about a Google payments service - dubbed "GBuy" by bloggers - well ahead of Checkout's US launch in June 2006.

Checkout's history to date has been a bit like Paypal's evolution on steroids Ed Kountz, Jupiter Research

Much of the speculation focused on whether Google could use its search muscle to produce a "Paypal killer", to rival the way that eBay has used its dominant presence in online auctions to help drive Paypal's reach.

"If Google Checkout was positioned to kill Paypal in year one, they've got a long way to go," said Ed Kountz, senior analyst at Jupiter Research.

"But if their goal was to establish themselves in the market and work out the kinks (in the service), they've certainly done that."

Google staff are keen to play down the "Paypal killer" chatter - even in retrospect.

"There were plenty of sleepless nights going up to the launch," said Jerry Dischler, now Checkout's senior product manager for Europe but one of the launch team in June last year.

"We were moving forward so fast that (the rumour mill) didn't really touch us."

Leader of the pack

Still, Paypal remains the dominant single payments player in the US.

A Jupiter Research survey carried out in November and December 2006 found the majority of payments are still credit or debit card transactions processed through retailers' own systems.

Of end-to-end payments services - those which try to smooth the process of shopping online by storing payment information centrally - Paypal led the pack, with about 25% of the US online payments market.

Other players such as Billmelater took about 5-6% and Google Checkout was on 2%.

But Ed Kountz pointed out that if eBay transactions were taken out of the picture, the non-eBay share for Paypal drops to an estimated 8%-9% - still a comfortable lead, but less overwhelming.

"Checkout's history to date has been a bit like Paypal's evolution on steroids," he said.

Discounts

There had been early hitches with returns and cancelled orders.

These were factors, according to a JP Morgan report in January of this year, which led to relatively low US customer satisfaction with Checkout's service.

Still, the presence of Google in the payments market has driven a frenzy of offers and promotions, from Paypal, Google and their competitors.

Paypal remains the biggest name in online payments

The US holiday season, for instance, saw Google offering free processing till the end of 2007 for retailers, and sizable discounts to consumers.

UK retailers will get the same offer, as well as the standard price break of £10 of orders processed for free for each £1 a retailer spends buying advertising through Google.

Competition

Google is also trying to take advantage of what could be Paypal's biggest reputational risk.

As market leader and provider of a fully-integrated payments system - running transactions and transferring money directly between buyers' and sellers' bank accounts - Paypal is by far the biggest target for fraudsters and abuse of its service.

Google Checkout, in contrast, works solely as a wrapper for regular credit and debit card transactions, offering to simplify the process by storing card data and shipping information centrally.

Its staff promise that they will "make buyers whole" if they suffer fraud, as well as representing retailers when they face the risk of losing money when a deal goes wrong.

And Google's Obi Felton is also at pains to stress that Google Checkout buttons tend to sit alongside retailers' other payment methods when it comes time for the customer to pay, rather than trying to supplant them.

Google tops global brand league

Google knocked Microsoft into third place for brand value

Google has knocked Microsoft off the top spot in the annual Brandz Top 100 Most Powerful Brands ranking.

Google's brand value of $66.4bn (£33.1bn) was top, ahead of General Electric and Microsoft, which was pushed into third place.

The total value of the Top 100 brands has increased by 10.6% in the past year to $1.6 trillion.

In the UK, mobile giant Vodafone was the most valuable brand, followed by HSBC bank and supermarket Tesco.

Top 10 Brands 1 Google 2 General Electric 3 Microsoft 4 Coca-Cola 5 China Mobile 6 Marlboro 7 Wal-Mart 8 Citi 9 IBM 10 Toyota Source: Millward Brown

The biggest riser was Marks & Spencer, which tripled its brand value to take the number 68 spot globally and fourth place in the UK.

The Brandz Top 100 is compiled by the consultancy Millward Brown, which combines balance sheet values with consumer sentiment.

The report says that the past year has seen companies such as BP and Toyota boost their brand value with the promise of more environmentally friendly policies and products.

Personal touch to Google homepage

Increasingly people want to publish their own content online

Google is reinventing its simple homepage to offer users greater scope for personalisation.

The search giant is introducing features to allow users to publish their own content on a personalised Google homepage.

It represents Google's latest move towards a more user-centric web.

The changes come as Google dismissed Viacom's copyright claims and argued that its litigation threatened the very foundations of social networking.

iGoogle

In its $1bn lawsuit, entertainment giant Viacom alleged that Google-owned video-sharing website YouTube has used around 160,000 unauthorised clips.

In an official response filed with the US District Court in New York, Google argued that the lawsuit threatens the whole social networking eco-system.

"By seeking to make carriers and hosting providers liable for internet communications, Viacom's complaint threatens the way hundreds of millions of people legitimately exchange information, news, entertainment and political and artistic expression," it said.

Google's whole-hearted embracing of social networking was cemented by the release of new features that could see an end to the traditional uncluttered Google homepage.

Under the umbrella term iGoogle, users will be able to share their own writings, photos and lists as well as getting a personalised view of the web based on geographical location and search history.

To encourage users to share their creative work, Google is introducing Gadget Maker, which allows users who do not know how to code to publish content simply.

There will be seven templates that can be used for personalisation, including ones that allow for the publishing of photos, sending virtual greeting cards or creating lists of favourite songs or films.

Google is also giving users the option to tailor their search to their geographic location.

Users who give their home location on Google Maps will receive search results based on that specific location.

"I look at personalised search and I think it is one of the biggest advance we have had in the last couple of years," said Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of user experience in a news briefing.

According to Ms Mayer, tens of millions of users have signed up for the personalised approach to search since Google introduced it two years ago.

Last week Google introduced a feature that allowed users who have given Google prior permission to store their web surfing patterns to refer back to their personal web history from the last few years.

Personalisation will play a huge part in allowing marketers to target advertisements, but Ms Mayer said that iGoogle will remain non-commercial for the foreseeable future.

s People walk past a Google logo The news archive search is one of several new Google services Web giant Google is further expanding its online empire

The new view gives a global view of search results

Google is overhauling its search system so it returns "universal" results not just those from webpages.

The change means users will also get results from news sites, blogs, video services and other relevant places.

Before now the different categories have been separate which meant searches had to be repeated to pick up all possible results.

The expanded results will be available via a series of tabs that will appear on the results page.

Drilling down

"It's breaking down the silos of information that have been built up," said Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of search and user experience.

"It's a broad, long-term vision that will unfold over the next few years," she said.

Initially the changes only affect searches done on Google.com in English.

The change means when users carry out a search, it will also be run in the background on all the other categories of information that Google indexes.

A series of tabs will appear between the search box and the results that let users navigate to other categories.

Clicking on a tab will let people drill down into a specific category of results such as patents or products.

Results returned in other categories, such as blogs or video, will not just be from companies that Google owns.

As well as the changes to searches, the firm is introducing drop-down lists that let users quickly switch to other Google properties, such as GMail, and search for results there.

By making the move Google is following other search sites such as Amazon's A9 and Ask which let users navigate quickly to other categories of information or relevant results.

Google opens up 200 years of news

The news archive search is one of several new Google services

Web giant Google is further expanding its online empire with the launch of the Google News Archive Search.

The web-based tool allows users to explore existing digitised newspaper articles spanning the last 200 years and more recent online content.

People using the search are shown results from both free and subscription-based news outlets.

Partners in the project include the websites of US newspaper the New York Times and the Guardian from the UK.

Other sources include news aggregators, websites which collect and display news stories from multiple sources.

"The goal here is to be able to explore history as it unfolded," said Anurag Acharya, an engineer at Google and one of the team behind the project.

"It's fascinating to see how people's attitudes and emotions have changed through time."

History lesson

The new service searches hundreds of different news sources to answer a user's query. The exact number of sources is confidential.

Results are presented in similar fashion to a Google News search, with "related" articles about the same event grouped together. Free and charged-for articles are displayed side by side.

The ability to browse this historical overview allows users to identify key time periods and get some sense of the flow of events Anurag Acharya Google's empire

With pages from commercial websites, the cost of viewing them is also shown. Google says search results are based on relevance, not partnerships with companies.

Users can also view articles using a timeline that displays key dates associated with a story.

So the first Moon landing would highlight 1969 as a key date, but also identify other years when lunar landings took place or when the topic was in the news.

"The ability to browse this historical overview allows users to identify key time periods and get some sense of the flow of events," said Mr Acharya.

The earliest known searchable story is, he said, from "somewhere in the mid-1700s" - considerably older than the current 30-day archive offered through Google News.

The service is accessed through the news archive website or the Google news page. It is also activated when it can provide relevant results to a user's search on google.com.

In this case, links to the most relevant historical news articles are displayed separately above the normal search results.

Historical challenge

The launch of the news archive search extends Google's influence over how the world's information is indexed, searched and accessed.

The way we access information is changing

According to online research firm Nielsen/NetRatings, more than 380 million people used the search engine every month in 2005.

The company is also expanding into areas other than search. In August it announced plans to offer consumers the chance to download and print classic novels free of charge.

"I'm strongly in favour of the democratisation of access to historical documents, but also cautious about how much information Google now controls," said Professor Roy Rosenzweig, a historian from the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University in the US.

He says that increasingly the model of how we access information and what information we have access to is changing, as public archives such as libraries are replaced by private companies. But, he says, he is "extremely excited" about Google's latest offering.

"As a scholar and historian I want as much information as possible, accessible to as many people as possible at the least cost, and the extent to which Google is doing that is compelling."

Google says it plans to launch the news archive search service on other international Google sites soon.