Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christmas. Show all posts

Monday 28 December 2015

Durham By Night (Christmas, 2015)

It was the run up to Christmas 2015 and a ten minute drive from home to the historic city of Durham, also known as Land Of The Prince Bishops. Another night out with my new Sony a7s mirrorless camera and further hands on experience in low-light conditions. Up till this point the Sony had only been given a couple of outings - the last one being a notable cloud-out on the Northumberland coast at Dunstanburgh, searching for that elusive Aurora. The other occasion was a lot more nearer to home at the Copt Hill Barrow, Houghton le Spring, when big winds was the major factor in shutting up shop early. The Dunstanburgh outing was a testing affair too, as far as the camera goes. Very low light conditions pushed the Sony to it's limits and focus issues were a major factor, plus the battering winds didn't help matters, so I came away from that experience with the thought of 'keeping at it' as I was yet to see exactly what this camera was capable of.

So off to Durham it was. The riverside path near the Framwelgate Bridge was the first port of call, mainly due to the fact that I had parked nearby and it seemed an obvious starting point for tonight's photography trip. The first shot I pulled in can be seen above, at the edge of the River Wear, shooting across towards the lit castle, perched high on the river bank. The water level was as high as I'd ever seen it, threatening to breach the banks altogether, but for now I was safe in the knowledge that the riverside path was dry and accessible - for now! As the river was very high and flowing at a rate of knots, the noise from it was not to underestimated, so I kept a close eye on each step I took, not wanting to fall victim to an aggressive current. In recent times the river in Durham City Centre has mysteriously claimed the life of a handful of people, under darkness and still to this day remaining unexplained. I certainly didn't want to become another statistic, so I kept my wits about me. Setting aside the perils and pitfalls of the river in front of me, the scene was crying out to be photographed.
The almost full moon shone above Durham Castle and the sound of Christmas Carols could be heard nearby. A perfect setting at Christmas, with the ideal music to accompany it - all that was missing was the snow.

From there I made my was along the riverside path towards Durham Cathedral. As I looked across the river to my left my eyes were immediately drawn to the Lunar Halo surrounding the moon. Now, this I just had to photograph. A natural phenomena that I had only seen a handful of times previously, but this time I was fully equipped and ready to capture it with a camera. This would be my second and last shot along the riverside, as the path in front of me was flooded by the river and completely out of bounds. Ah well, not to complain, the night has started well and the Sony was pulling in sharp, colouful shots at ease. The manual focus peaking is a major feature on the a7s and it worked brilliantly, making my job far easier and almost effortless. All that needed to be done was to compose the shot and nailing the exposure, which was fairly straightforward. A walk over Framwelgate Bridge and up the bank took me past the shopping precinct and into the Market Square. It was quite busy, with groups of folk enjoying a pub crawl, as well as the last few shoppers before closing time. I ran off one or two long exposures, missing out the moving figures, so the Market Square actually looks quite desolate on this shot, despite the fact that the place was quite active. Then it was time for Fish & Chips at Bell's restaurant and takeaway. Possibly the best I've tasted, washed down with Coca-Cola. Very nice indeed.

And what better place to finish off than Durham Cathedral. Palace Green was deserted. The obvious viewpoints stood out, like the entrance to Durham Castle and its converging path towards the main gates, plus the main player which was the majestic Durham Cathedral . I turned the tables on my next shot, opting for reverse shooting with my back to the castle and facing the gates, with the Cathedral in the background. The olde worlde lamps gave the shot that extra bit of character and an almost Dickensian feel to the whole composition. This was a shot with a difference and one I hadn't previously 'seen', despite many visits down the years. Just across the way, back out the entrance to Durham Castle, was a small puddle, with a flat calm reflection. Here is the shot, which I like a lot, I must admit. Again, a different perspective on an iconic landmark.

It was an enjoyable photography outing in Durham, at night, at Christmas - a perfect setting.

Cheers, AC  

Wednesday 22 August 2012

New Postcard Designs

A couple of years ago I received an enquiry from the owner of a local outlet where I display and sell my work, asking whether I produced postcards. At the time I did not, but after a little bit of research I decided to 'dip my feet in the water' and design one or two. As the first design looked quite good I decided to move onto my second creation, with the idea of creating a matching set using a single template. The idea worked well and the cards looked good, in PDF form at least, but going into print was a different matter. Anyway, after shopping around I found a printer that offered great quality cards at very reasonable prices, so the designs were submitted and the wait for the results was on.

A few days later the cards were delivered and I was well impressed, with quality and appearance. Seeing them on a PC monitor is one thing, but having a hard copy in your hands is quite different. The set originally started life as four cards, each featuring a different image of Penshaw Monument, a well known iconic Landmark near Sunderland, but as interest in the cards grew, so did the set itself, as more cards were designed and produced. Two years on and the set consists of 33 postcards! I approached several outlets in the region and was met with plenty of enthusiasm regarding the cards, which has resulted in each outlet buying good quantities from me, and later replenishing their stocks due to popular demand. To date I have sold over 5,000 postcards and that number continues to rise. Only last week I was commissioned to produce another batch, of a different design, all featuring snow scenes of local interest. The cards are to be used on the front of boxes containing biscuits and other confectionery - the packaging is known in the trade as 'Postcard Packs'. Christmas shoppers are the target and here's hoping the boxes will 'fly out'. Should this be the case then I have the option to produce an 'Everyday card' which will replace any unsold stock once the festive season is over, as the actual box does not carry a Christmas theme - the cards rotate, depending on the current season or theme. So, if you're partial to dunking biscuits or chewing toffee, amongst other things, then get yourself along to Clay's Garden Centre in Washington and grab a box while you can. As you have now gathered, I'm on a commission for every box sold, he he.
Just to wrap up this blog entry - here are a couple of pictures of the actual product, along with another  Postcard design, a quad-multi card, featuring four local landmarks, after a good old snowfall.



Catch ya later...

AC