Introduction
The object of this website is to provide you with information and images from throughout Cornwall. On this page you will find information about the building, content, purpose and future of this website. The Magic of Cornwall is being constantly updated and we hope you will visit often for information and to see what has been added recently.
About The Photographer
My name is David Carvey, and I have been taking photographs of Cornwall for about 4 years. My first camera was a compact digital Minolta which I had for about 18 months before graduating to my present camera which is a Nikon D70 DSLR. I have been interested in computers since the early 80's when I had a BBC micro, then an Amiga and finally a PC. I have always liked walking but it has only been recently that I have been able to indulge my interest with more time. A walk can be enhanced if you take photographs of the places you visit and with the advent of the internet I thought it was a good opportunity to put my portfolio online. I have taught myself webbuilding and what you see here is the result of my efforts. I have tried to make it as professional as possible, with an emphasis on ease of use. I hope you will find it interesting and informative.
The Website
This website went live in October 2004 and currently has about 3200 pages available and it takes up about 400 megabytes of server space. Software used in the construction of this website included Dreamweaver 8 for the creation of the individual web pages. Photoshop Elements for the banners, arrows and other web graphics. Photoshop Elements was also used for processing the photos. I hope that the pages will download on to your computer quickly and easily, but please let me know if you experience any difficulties. The site is best viewed with Internet Explorer or Firefox and with a screen resolution of 1024 x 768, however it can be viewed on 800 x 600 screens or larger. I have tested it on other browsers including Internet Explorer , 6 and 7, Firefox 1.5 and 2.0.
Photo Gallery
The Photo Gallery now covers 115 locations and contains in excess of 2000 images. Locations have been chosen to be representative of the county and include coastal, woodland, moorland, towns and villages. I expect the gallery to be useful to people who plan to take a holiday in Cornwall or are thinkiing of relocating. Photographers will also be able to research new locations. As this is an ongoing project new locations are added constantly, so I hope you will visit often. Visit the Photo Gallery Start Page
Old Cornwall
I have affiliated with The Francis Frith Collection to bring you images from around Cornwall, dating from 1885 to 1965. They provide a fascinating insight into Cornish Life from the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. All Frith images are available to purchase from Francis Frith, just click on the link to take you to the relevant page. Visit Old Cornwall Start Page
Cornish History
Cornwall has a rich historical heritage. The land has been shaped from primordeal times by the action of the sea, wind and weather and what you see in the landscape of Cornwall today has taken millions of years to evolve. The Cornish have also made their own contribution to the life and history of Britain, and this section of the site will focus on men and women from Cornwall who have had and impact in the world outside the confines of their home county. There will also be articles about significant buildings and locations which have contibuted to the history of Cornwall. Visit the Cornish History Start Page
The Walks and Cycle Trails
On the walks link I will add selected walks and trails, together with photographs and maps. You will find that none of the walks will be particularly taxing, and can be tackled with confidence by those who are not used to walking long distances. I will record my impressions of the walk along the way and try and point out any features you may find worthy of further investigation. Visit the Walks and Cycle Trails Start Page
Desktop Wallpaper
I will present each month six new photos that you can download on to your computer for use as Desktop Wallpaper. These are available in two screen resolutions - 1024 x 768 and 1280 x 1024 pixels. They will include a caption showing the location of the photograph and the URL of the site for easy reference. Pictures will stay on the site for a maximum of 2 months. Older pictures will be withdrawn without notice, so get them while you can !. You can use the pictures as a screensaver in Windows XP by saving them in a particular folder and then pointing to that folder when setting properties. Visit the Free Wallpaper Start Page
Cornish Links
Here you will find a list of links most of which will have a particular relevance to Cornwall. If you have a website that you would like to see included, then email the details to The Magic of Cornwall. Links must be to sites which have Cornwall as main theme or feature Cornwall. Photographic sites outside the county are also welcome. The Magic of Cornwall will reserve the right not to include sites that are deemed to be offensive, or contain material of a defamatory or libellous nature. Inclusion on our links page will also require a reciprocal link on your website. Visit Cornish Links Page
Bookshop
We have linked up with Amazon.co.uk to bring you a selection of Cornish books which may be of interest. The books are briefly described and you can go from the text or image link for further details about the selected title or make a purchase if you wish. Amazon is the largest internet bookstore in Europe, and run an efficient and secure service.
Please remember you are not restricted to just buying Cornish Books from Amazon, but can also purchase other books, music and DVDs. Any purchase you make as a result of linking from the bookshop pages will help to finance further improvements to the website. Thank you for your consideration, I hope you will find the service useful. Visit the Bookshop Start Page
Stock Photography
I can supply any image from my Photo Gallery as a Stock Image for commercial use. Please go to the Stock Photography page for more information.
Commissions
Commissions are invited to supply images for your project at very competitive daily rates. Please enquire using my contact form for a quotation.
Print & Card Shop
The Magic of Cornwall can now offer selected prints and cards for sale in a number of sizes and formats. Prints are produced on photographic paper for maximum archival life and are sent in stout packaging for protection. Prints up to 12" x 8" are supplied mounted in an off-white cardboard mount with a bevel-cut aperture for the picture. Prints of 15" x 10" are supplied as prints only. Payment may be made by secure credit card transaction over the internet using the popular PayPal system. UK customers can order by mail, using a form provided on the site and payment made by cheque drawn on a UK bank. Please email or write if you require a print in a special format. Further details are available by Visiting the Print Shop
Search Facility
A Google search facility is available to enable you to search the site to find the images or information you require. You can search using keywords to find the page or pages which contain the material you require. All pages have a search bar to enable you to make searches from that page so click on Search in the header of each page and enter your query. Visit the Search Page
Privacy Policy
The Magic of Cornwall do not disclose information about our visitors or customers to third parties. Cookies are used on our shopping site only to speed up your shopping experience and keep track of the contents of your shopping basket once you have selected an item.
If you place an order with us then we collect from you the following information: Billing name and address, Shipping name and address, Shipping phone number and e-mail address. Credit Card information is processed on a secure server by PayPal and we do not have access to this information. We only use these details to keep you up to date with the progress of your order and deliver your products. We of course adhere to the requirements of the UK Data Protection Acts 1984 and 1998.
We will from time to time send an e-mail to you in the form of a newsletter to keep you up to date with major additions to the site, special offers and new features. However this will be not be on a regular basis and you will have the opportunity to opt out of receiving further e-mails if you so wish. We will respect your wishes and your name will be removed from our mailing list immediately. You can be sure that we will not sell, trade or otherwise dispose of your personal information to a third party.
If you have any concerns or comments about our Privacy Policy then please contact The Magic of Cornwall directly by e-mail.
Photography
The digital photographs on this website, prior to September 2005 were taken with a Minolta S304 digital camera. This camera has a resolution of 3.1 million pixels and the jpegs produced are 2048 x 1640 pixels. Images captured after September 2004 were taken with a Nikon D70 Digital SLR, which has a resolution of 6.1 megabytes and the raw files produced are 3006 x 2048 pixels. The photographs are cropped and processed in Photoshop, reduced in size, and the final jpegs made web-ready with an average size of 50 to 60 thousand bytes.
Copyright
Copyright of all the digital colour photographs is retained by The Magic of Cornwall. I can supply images for commercial use. If you require a particular image please go to my Stock Library Page for further information and a guide to prices. Please contact me if you have a query about the use of a particular image(s).
Acknowledgements
A word of thanks goes to Tony Pearce and Graham Rose and Brian Lawrie who have have been a constant source of advice and encouragement. I would also like to acknowlede the invaluable contribution of my late friend Helen Swan who suggested the name "The Magic of Cornwall" to me.
Finally a thank you to Paul Boag and Marcus Lillington whose series of web design podcasts I have found invaluable in the building of this site.
