The Northumberland coast is a wonderful place to visit and explore and since it was 2 years since my last visit another trip was long overdue. I was based in Amble and during my week I visited some of my old favourites but also discovered some fabulous new locations.
Autumn Woodlands
This autumn I have been out and about in different woods following the development of autumn and the many colours and falling of the leaves.
I find that photographing woodland is difficult as you literally have to pick out the wood from the trees and quite often there isn't a lot of space in which to give the image space to breathe
Storm Ophelia
I have recently had the pleasure of attending a workshop run by both Mark Littlejohn and Joe Cornish and the outstanding feature of the first day was the impending arrival of Storm Ophelia.
A Tide Tale at Saltwick Bay
Last week I realised that I hadn't been to Whitby and Saltwick Bay for months so it was high time that I drove across the North York Moors again. Low tide was scheduled for 16:08 but I decided for a change to arrive a few hours before low tide and capture the sea as it retreated over the ledge.
Pottering around the Lake District
As usual I went to stay in Grasmere for a week at the end of August to help my good friend Chris Shaw with the children's races at Grasmere sports. Once they were complete I was free to wander around with my camera visiting locations old and new.
Two Lake District Sunrises
Whilst in the Lake District at the end of August I experienced 2 sunrises which were both beautiful but different. On the last full day I set the alarm for 4.15am in order to give myself time to drive over the Kirkstone Pass to Ullswater and arrive an hour before sunrise.
The Seated Man
The Seated Man is a 3m high, bronze sculpture situated on the North York Moors, near Westerdale. Apparently it is the first public sculpture to be placed in the North York Moors National Park and it will be resident there for 5 years
Spurn Head
Having spent an entire day trapped inside the house doing organisational stuff and other jobs I felt the need to get out to the coast and take some photographs. It is almost 3 years since I last visited Spurn and I remembered that there were lots of shoreline features and big skies on which to play with long exposure photographs.
LPOTY Failure: A few thoughts
I have read quite a few comments on social media about the judging of the Landscape Photographer of the Year and thought I would add a few comments of my own.
Les Minquieres
Whilst on holiday in Jersey I decided to book a trip out to Les Minquieres (The Minkies) which is a group of islands about 12 miles south of Jersey and is the most southerly place in the UK. Maitresse Island is the largest island and is the only one to have buildings and summer visitors. It boasts the most southerly public toilet in the UK
La Corbiére and Plemont
It is many years since I was on holiday with my family in Jersey and I was far too young to have any taken any photographs to aid my memory.
Having undertaken quite a lot of research I decided that the most fruitful areas for sunset photography would be La Corbiére Lighthouse in the southwest corner and Plémont beach in the northwest. These are the two locations for these photographs.
A Week in Borrowdale
During my recent holiday near Grange, in addition to standing and sitting on Ashness Jetty I was able to explore other parts of the Borrowdale valley and the area around Derwentwater and Buttermere.
Eboracum Roman Festival 2017
This morning I decided to go and look at the Eboracum Roman Festival which is in it's 2nd year. The centurions gathered in the Yorkshire Museum Gardens and were inspected by the York Civic Party before setting off around York on a military parade.
Cloud Inversion over Derwentwater
Whilst staying in Borrowdale I happened to wake up at 5.30am and noticed that there was a huge bank of cloud hanging over the valley and Derwentwater. I dressed and grabbed my camera bag and raced up to Kettlewell Car Park and Ashness Bridge to photograph the cloud as the sun burned it off the water.
Snowy Sandaig
Whilst the weather in Scotland in mid April was fairly horrible it did have the advantage of providing much snow and atmosphere in the area around Plockton. My main expedition on the mainland was to Glenelg and the beach at Sandaig in particular.
Skye: A brief visit
When I was on holiday in Plockton my plan was to spend half my time on the mainland and the other three full days on Skye. As I only had a short time I could only explore a few of the more popular locations: Old Man of Storr, Elgol and The Fairy Pools.
Plockton: Jewel of The Highlands
Many years ago I fleetingly passed through Plockton but I immediately knew that it was somewhere that I wanted to return and explore. I recently booked myself a small cottage in the village itself so that I had a good base for driving round the mainland and venturing onto Skye
Street Photography
York Photographic Society have set a challenge to try some photography 'out of your comfort zone' so I have decided to hit the streets with my camera. Those of you that know my work will be aware that I rarely include people and actively avoid them most of the time
Two Walks in the Yorkshire Dales
Once it had stopped hammering with rain I put on my boots and set off further afield with my camera. I've been to Kettlewell many times but until last week I had never walked up Dowber Gill Beck. This valley provides a route up Great Whernside but I got as far as Providence Pot before heading back to Hag Dyke and the views towards Diamond Hill.
Wensleydale Waterfalls
The rain was trapped in Wharfedale and our plans to enjoy some photography were thwarted until we drove over the hill into Bishopdale and Wensleydale where it was dry and relatively sunny.
Sara and I have communicated quite a few times on Twitter so it was lovely to actually meet up and go out in her territory together.