After parking in Pateley Bridge I set off on a walk up the hill and around Guisecliffe Woods before returning along the River Nidd. It was a lovely walk and I discovered that paying careful attention to the map enabled me to reach areas I’d never previously encountered!
Cooling off by the sea at Horse Shoe Point?
Apparently it is always cooler by the sea where the breeze is cooled by the water. With this in mind I set off to explore a new location on the North Lincolnshire coast. The advantage of this was that my car has effective air conditioning so I would stay cool for most of the day as I navigated my way from deepest Yorkshire.
A Summer Evening on Fraisthorpe Beach
One evening last week I had an irresistible urge to go to Saltwick Bay but having consulted the tide timetables I realised that it wasn’t going to happen. So where to go? As time was limited I decided to drive to Fraisthorpe as it is the nearest beach with the easiest access so I could fully enjoy beach and the evening light.
Outdoor Photography Magazine: Extreme Locations
In the March issue of Outdoor Photographer we were invited to submit photographs from extreme locations. There was a joke that I’d never been to anywhere extreme but I have proved my doubters to be wrong.
Story of a sunset: Plemont Bay, Jersey
After a day of low cloud on Monday the weather improved on Tuesday to provide light cloud and sunshine by late afternoon. At dinner I decided to pass on my pudding and set off with my kit to Plemont Bay and see what sunset brought. I checked the tidal runes and saw that the tide was rising but I reckoned that there would be enough time to work the beach before the light went and the sea covered the sand.
#Sheclicks Meet at Bempton Cliffs
#Sheclicks is a social media group on Facebook for female photographers. It has a friendly, informative vibe where we can seek advice or just chat with like-minded people. It's open to anyone who is interested in photography in any form. In addition there are meets organised so that we can take part in shoots and get to know each other face to face.
Summer Trees in the Lake District
I have just returned from a week in the Lake District and for once the weather was extremely unreliable. This wasn’t a problem as I don’t like wall to wall hot sunshine, but the rain did make me rethink where to venture with my camera.
Alpine Mountains
Part of our trip around the Italian Lakes involved a visit to Zermatt and the Matterhorn. The coach took us over the Simplon Pass which was very exciting as there had been a fall of snow overnight. There is a restaurant at the summit where we took a pit stop. However, I togged up and spent 20 minutes running around admiring the views and trying to capture the details in the mountains.
The Borromean Islands
Once a year my friend, Liz, and I go on an organised tour and this May we visited the Italian Lakes and the Borromean Islands on Lake Maggiore. We were based in Stresa in a glorious hotel overlooking the Borromean Islands and most evenings we enjoyed aperitifs and nibbles on the balcony. We also visited them all during the course of the tour.
YPS President's Night Presentation
This week I gave the second, and last, presentation of my photographs as President of YPS. It has been a really enjoyable two years and I have been privileged to be President of such a talented group of photographers. It didn’t take me long to decide upon the topics I wanted to show but actually selecting the photographs and putting them into an order that told a logical story took considerably longer.
Storm Wave!
I have recently returned from a wonderful ‘Tides and Tempests’ workshop with Rachael Talibart on the south coast. Whilst we were there strong gale force winds of 50mph blew in from across the Atlantic and hit the coast at Newhaven. Once I had covered my camera with a huge plastic bag and lens hood I scampered across the shale beach to watch the waves.
A day out in Keld
I felt the need to head to the hills for the day and my original plan was to visit High Force and to walk round the south side of the falls. However, having given a fair impression of Quasimodo at YPS the evening before this wasn’t a good idea. 2 miles with full camera kit was going to be a struggle so I decided to got to Keld instead and have a waterfall fest.
Frosty Skipwith Common
After a long stretch of boring winter weather the day dawned with some interesting mist and hoar frost on the trees. I spent a while working out which location would provide me with trees that would separate out from the landscape but also provide diminishing layers. Skipwith Common got my vote.
Saltwick Bay
If it is January then I must be in Whitby. It is always my first holiday of the year and one that I enjoy very much. It is always quiet down on the front and on the piers and I am only a five minute drive from the delights of Saltwick Bay.
This year I made two trips to the bay. I, along with a few other togs, visited pre-dawn on Sunday morning and then I returned a couple of days later to explore the area around Saltwick Nab. The light on Sunday morning wasn’t particularity promising but fortunately the sunlight shone through the bank of cloud for a few minutes before rising up out of sight.
Upper Wharfedale
I recently met up with Ruth Grindrod for a day’s photography in the Yorkshire Dales. We have chatted on Facebook for a while so it was really nice to actually meet up and for me to show Ruth a few new locations.
An afternoon at Bamburgh
I have just returned from a week’s holiday in Northumberland and as usual I spent my days entirely on the coast. As the week progressed the weather deteriorated but once I was togged up in my waterproofs I still ventured forth onto the beach so that I could watch the waves breaking offshore and on the sand.
RPS - Long Exposures on the Wirral
Having recently joined the RPS Landscape Group I decided to sign up for a day’s shoot on the Wirral Peninsula. We visited three locations; the Perch Rock lighthouse, New Brighton groynes and the West Kirby Marine Lake.
Arran Light
The weather on Arran was extremely variable which meant that apart from rain dodging we were able to enjoy some stunning light offshore. Here are some of my favourite photographs from the week on Arran.
Pirates Cove, Isle of Arran
A friend at York Photographic Society kindly wrote on my 2nd hand OS map some of the locations and walks not to be missed on my recent visit to the Isle of Arran. As I was travelling with a good friend who wouldn’t want to stand behind me in the cold whilst I took photographs I usually set off early morning with my camera and returned to the house in time for breakfast.
A Week in Grasmere
At the end of August I set off on my annual holiday to Grasmere where I was due to help at Grasmere Sports and then to enjoy a few days with my camera.