Ashley Corr Photography ~ 2020 Calendar

Welcome back!
I must stop going under the Blogger radar, as I notice my last entry was way back in March of this year. Same old story - not enough hours in the day! Even camera time has taken a hit this year, plus my website updates at www.ashleycorr.com … and don't mention the amount of images and video I've got queued up. Although it's a nice problem to have, I've got more than enough to keep me busy during the fast approaching dark winter nights. Now that I've got that intro out of the way, (a.k.a - poor excuse) I'd like to announce that finally, after being an amateur photographer for almost 40 years, I actually got my arse into gear and created my first ever wall calendar. In the past I've regularly contributed to charity calendars, including St. Benedict's Hospice, Sunderland, amongst others, so it's nice to finally produce my own creation, for 2020.

A couple of weeks back I done some online research, to find out who would be able to print my calendar. I stumbled across 4 potential targets, one of which was Colour Calendars. After a very brief visit to their website I made my mind up instantly that this was the path I was going to go down. They had online design templates, which you could add your images to, as well as company log, contact information, etc. The toolbox was very straightforward and within an hour or so, my calendar was complete. Yeah, it was that simple. I made one or two last minute amendments before I submitted my proof and waited for my free calendar, to check the quality and colour accuracy. Within 48 hours my free proof was in my hands and I was more than impressed with the finished article. I went ahead and ordered 200 copies, which arrived 2 days later. They were individually shrink wrapped and Colour Calendars even added 8 extra copies, free of charge!

Once in my hands, I set about the task of advertising my 2020 calendar through Facebook. I was almost immediately inundated with orders, which was brilliant. Most of the orders were multiple purchases, which was even better. Within 48 hours I had sold 76 copies. I certainly wasn't expecting that!

Here is a few images of my calendar. If you would like to purchase any, please email me at sales@ashleycorr.com. I offer discount for multiple purchases. The calendar is priced at £10.00 plus £2 delivery.

Thanks for dropping by...
Ash

Work, Rest & Play (Part 1) - Alice In Wonderland

Now then!

With another working week behind me it's good to look back on it in terms of perks. By this I mean the added benefit of slotting in some photography at the end of a late shift (3.30pm - 11.20pm). It's been quite some time since I done any after work shots - in fact, almost 4 months. I could rattle on about the reasons behind it, but I'd be writing all day and night, so best give it a swerve. Bottom line is - it's was great to get back on the horse, so to speak, and to take advantage of a couple of clear night skies for more of that thing that is known as astro photography. When conditions aren't ideal I usually head straight home after work and chill out in front of the box for an hour or two, before heading off to bed. When the skies are clear, there's no such luxury, as I head off into the night, which is usually cold and all things considered, I question my sanity haha!! But this photography lark has a way of getting under your skin, especially at night under the stars, when the creative juices start flowing and the fingers and toes start freezing! It's all part of the fun though.

And so to Part 1 of my Work, Rest and Play blog...

Work - that thing where I build cars for 8 hours
Rest - aye, all 15 minutes of it - driving from work to the shooting location
Play - yeah, the best bit, when the camera comes out to play

A giant image, based on the Lewis Carroll book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, has been created on the side of the old science block at Chuter Ede Community Association in South Shields.
The mural is unique in that it is the first outdoor UV piece surrounded by lights and timers to ensure it gives off an ethereal blue glow at night. This exciting development in site-specific street art references Lewis Carroll’s frequent visits to South Tyneside and the street in Biddick Hall named after him, Carroll Walk, is augmented by special UV lighting at dusk. “In a world first, UV paint is illuminated at night. bringing up the detailed portrait of Alice by artist Irony and the calligraffiti by locally-based Frank Styles.” The work shows a giant Alice trying to break out from the surreal work surrounding her. The text around her is a letter about a missing part of the story cut out of the book because the illustrator didn’t want to draw it. Mr Styles said: “Irony had created a few indoor works of art using UV paint, but this is the first time one like this has been made outside. Due to the weather conditions, we were there for a week."

I made the 15 minute journey by car, from the Nissan Car Plant in Washington, to Chuter Ede and made my way inside the grounds, not really knowing where the wall art was located. I found myself walking round and eventually finding 'Alice', tucked away in a shaded area, away from the nearby street lamps. I eyed up the North Star immediately, with star trails in mind, but its position in relation to the nearby light pollution and wall art made it a no-go. I eyed up
plan B in no time, opting for a head on shot up close, with the stars raining down on Alice. I thought this would work well, especially as Alice looked like she was reaching for the stars. I went with this idea.

Pleased with the results! Part 1 ticked off, with part 2 to follow...

Stay tuned, Ash

Good Morning Seaham!

A rare sunrise outing for Mr Corr, on a chilly February morning in the north-east of England. I'd just finished a week of night shifts at the Nissan POW camp and my body clock was again out of fettle, as I woke at 5am and joined the wide awake club once more. With hindsight, I suppose it worked out quite well, as I bagged a decent shot or two - the first shots I 'd actually taken for a number of weeks and my first of 2019. I'd been out of the loop, due to illness and one or two other personal issues, so it was nice to get  back on the horse, so to speak, although I did feel quite rusty and almost had to remind myself how to use my camera ha!

So off I went, slipping back into the photography loop, with a ten minute journey eastward, to Seaham Harbour. I had no real plan, to be fair. It was another one of those 'Suck it and see' affairs, where I drive, observe, then choose. The choice wasn't a great one either, as I had two locations on my radar. My first choice was the harbour beach ... the second was the Tommy artwork, on top, at The Green. With sunrise in mind I checked out the sky for inspiration and a clue as to which location to plump for. The harbour won the day, so I headed down the bank and through the overflow car park - eventually reaching the pier parking area, where I dropped anchor. The tide was almost high and with the sun about to rise, I wasted no time in getting sand on my wellies and into position. A lump of driftwood drew me in immediately. It was ideally placed and looking very photogenic, for what it was. I began to feel that things were already piecing together and the prospect of some colour appearing in the sky was very promising. It was now a short waiting game...

I didn't have to wait long to be rewarded. It was a great start to the morning and the pastel shades suddenly appeared in the sky, with the incoming tide lapping against my driftwood prop. To my right hand side I was distracted by a man with a dog … and a short rake. Ah well, he obviously likes his props too, eh. It's just … he wasn't a photographer as such, just a man walking a dog. So why the rake, I asked myself. Not to be distracted any further, I turned away and fired off a couple more shots. The scene unfolding in front of me was rather special!

I looked across to my right once again and noticed said dog walker crafting something in the sand, with his beloved rake. From the angle I observed from, it wasn't easy to see exactly what he was writing, but all became apparent as I stood and watched him taking a photograph of it on his mobile phone. GOOD MORNING … was his greeting in the sand. Well, as I packed up and headed back to the car I grabbed a quick shot of his work, just for the record. I really do need to thank him, as my photo of it appeared on the Tyne-Tees Television weather bulletin later that day!

All things considered, this morning was a return to my photography after a four month exile. I have to say … it was a nice return, which yielded a decent shot or two. I really need to get back into the seascape scene... especially sunrises. If only there was a way around the early morning alarm calls, eh. Now, that would be ideal. I'll just have to make more of an effort to drag me jaxey out of the fart sack more often. Until then …

Catch ya sooner, rather than later.

Ash    

Take Us To Your Leader

Another night under the stars last Sunday (21st October, 2018) after a photography day out in the heart of Middleton in Teesdale. Clear skies were on show as we arrived back in Sunderland around 9pm, so it seemed a good idea to prolong the photography. I would have been working a night shift, but I had booked a holiday in, so I was keen to get the most out of my day off the grind. We headed to the coastal area at South Shields, South Tyneside, to attempt a star trail at an artwork near the Little Haven Hotel. Conversation piece, or The Weebles, as they are known locally, would be the creepy subject of tonight's star trail. It worked well - an hour of the earth's rotation was captured on an increasingly cold night.

The Weebles - copied and pasted from your friend and mine - Wikipedia...

These magnificent statues, affectionately known as the 'weebles', are a firm favourite with visitors and residents alike. Situated next to Little haven Beach at the mouth of the Tyne in South Shields, the 22 mysterious figures stand in various poses; some deep in conversation with one another, others simply gazing out to sea. Each figure is approximately 1.5 metres high and weighs approximately a quarter of a ton. They are a fitting tribute to South Tyneside's glorious coast and a poignant posthumous monument to the work of internationally acclaimed Spanish sculptor Juan Munoz.

Catch ya later … Ash

Escape To The Milky Way

Hello again!
Early October and another road trip into Weardale, to capture more images of the night sky. Within Weardale lies the tiny village of Rookhope, which is on the edge of County Durham. A former lead and fluorspar mining community, it first existed as a group of cattle farms in the 13th Century. It is situated in the Pennines to the north of Weardale. W.H. Auden once called Rookhope 'the most wonderfully desolate of all the dales'. In the 2001 census, Rookhope had a population of 267. The village pub, the Rookhope Inn and the Swallow's Rest on the fell surrounding Rookhope are popular with cyclists on the coast to coast cycling route which runs from Sunderland on the east coast to Whitehaven on the west coast of northern England. The draw for me is undoubtedly down to one simple factor - a dark sky region with very little light pollution, which brings me nicely on to the main objective of this trip - to capture the milky way!

I'd done the obligatory homework beforehand, to determine the position of the milky way in relation to the nearby Rookhope Arch, a local landmark at Lintzgarth, a few hundred yards west up the valley and one of the few remaining parts of the 2 miles Rookhope Chimney. This "horizontal" chimney (parallel to the ground, which actually rises steeply to the moors) was used to carry poisonous flue gases from the Rookhope lead smelting works up onto the high moor. Periodically, lead and silver carried over in the gases and deposited in the chimney were dug out and recovered, rather than going to waste. When driving past the arch, which sits in the middle of a cattle grazing pasture, it simply screams out to be photographed at night. One of those light bulb moments. This is a subject and a half for astro photography.

Me and my brother Chris headed out there on a crystal clear night in early October and we weren't disappointed. Although there were a number of sheep in the field, access was fairly straightforward and nearby parking was also a plus. Negotiating the arch climb was an easy one too, although it was quite breezy up there, once I was ready for my cameo role. I had to position myself on the edge of the arch top so that my full profile could be seen in the shot. Any further forward and the bottom half of my legs would have been cut off from the lens. 15 second exposures were fired off before I descended from this ancient arch. Another job done. The view of the milky way was mesmerising and one of the best experiences since I began my astro photography two years ago. Perched on top of that arch gave me a sense of attachment - that I was almost at touching distance between myself and the galactic Corr (see what I done there?)

A very memorable night and it wasn't over yet. A quick stop off at St. Andrew's Church @ Kiln Pitt Hill was in order, as we cut our journey home in two. St

ay tuned for that one … coming soon!

Cheers, Ash

My Kingdom For A Qashqai

Yes, don't adjust your monitors, it really is another blog update, despite another long absence. I believe I said in an earlier post that I'd endeavour to get my shit together - well, that didn't gather much steam, did it. I can only apologise once again for an acute lack of activity on my blog page, mainly due to keeping my head above water with ashleycorr.com, my two Facebook pages, printing and framing, as well as the odd outing with my camera's. Oh, and there's the other commitments known as work and family, which are always the No.1 priority. So, let's try again. I promise to update my blog on a more regular basis in futu---------------------------CUT !!! I aint even gonna bother with that one, ha!

So, I'm here with a short write-up and one or two accompanying images from a recent outing, after finishing work at 11.20pm a few nights ago. Earlier that day I picked up my new Nissan Qashqai and what a motor it is. Of course, many of you will know that I work at the Nissan Car Plant in Washington, Tyne & Wear. I've been doing this for the past 27 years. Got knows how many cars I've helped to build in that time. The mind boggles. So, to get my own keys of a Sunderland built Qashqai … well, it was a nice moment, to say the least. Gone is the Vauxhall Insignia and in comes the QQ. My thought process went something like this ...While it's brand new and straight out of the box, so to speak, I think I'll head down the East End of Sunderland and park up next to some urban graffiti. I first noticed the graffiti a few months ago, when I parked up to visit the Sunderland Tall Ships. This graffiti would provide the perfect backdrop for my Qashqai, as my photographs prove. What a find!!!

Now, was it William Shakespeare who proclaimed … 'A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse'
A popular quote indeed, but in this case the wording is altered by urban graffiti artist Frank Styles, as he puts a different slant on it when replacing the horse with a Qashqai. Well, we do live in motor town after all. The wording may have changed, but the horse still remains, as it gallops along at some speed - its main blowing as it ticks off the yards. Let's do it. Ignition on and car strategically placed in front of the wall art. Local scrotes walk on by at half past midnight, asking if I would like my new car discreetly removed for insurance purposes. Burnt out, I think the words were. No thanks lads, just jog on with your carrier bag full of Oranjeboom and let me tick this shoot off, eh. Cheers!

No disrespect, but the East End of Sunderland is not the best place to be in the small hours. They'd nick the steam off your shite owa there. Not all of them mind, but a good 90% of them would lol. Aye well, despite the late night visit, and a cold one at that, I may still return to photograph more graffiti that has appeared since my last visit a couple of years ago. You really need to be in and out as quick as a flash to avoid the shirt being nicked from your back. Rumour has it that one guy had his £2000 alloys wheels stolen in Hendon - he was travelling at 30mph at the time!!

And that is that. Hope you like the images above. I'm liking the new Qashqai … oh yes, I'm gonna enjoy many a photo outing in this thing, make no mistake about that one. Working at Tenko has its perks after all.

Cheers, until the next time, folks.

AC 

Lakes Weekender With The Mrs

Welcome back!

A couple of weeks ago me and the Mrs paid a visit to the Lake District and stayed and in a rather comfy hotel on the edge of Derwentwater. The weather was fine, the scenery was it's usual breath taking self and the food and drink was top notch too. It was definitely a weekend to remember … and not even a camera in sight. Well … not strictly true … I did have my mobile phone, so I managed to grab a few shots of our accommodation. We stayed at Merewood Country House, a 4 star hotel and restaurant, set in an elevated position and overlooking Windermere, England’s longest and most beautiful lake, you will find Merewood Country House Hotel.  Dating back to 1812, the hotel has retained much of its historical charm with many of the original features lovingly restored, including the panelled hall and reception.

Our room was very spacious and comfortable, with en-suite and four poster bed, as well as a fantastic view from the front of the hotel and over the grounds towards the lake. The Kipling Suite was one of the best rooms we have stayed in during many weekends away, and I would definitely recommend this hotel for anyone who fancies a weekend away in probably the most scenic part of England. We had a couple of drinks in the lounge and sat at the bay window overlooking Derwentwater. It was even better that we had the room to ourselves, with only soft music for company. We could have sat there all night.

The restaurant food was excellent, as was the breakfast, which definitely set us up for the day ahead. We had a trip into Keswick and looked around the lakeside and market stalls before dropping anchor at the Lake Road Inn, off the main street. With the sun beating down it was nice to sit and watch the world go by, enjoying a drink or two at the same time. From there we headed off to Ambleside and then on to Bowness. There was very little in the way of photography, but it wasn't one of those weekends. Just nice to spend some time with Amanda, to do what we enjoy doing. Another great weekend away with the wife. Until the next one …

Ash (and Amanda)
 

When The Bird Flew The Nest

Welcome back!

A couple of weeks ago I decided it was 'high' time to upgrade my drone. I'd been eyeing up a more portable option to the Phantom 3 series drone that I bought two years ago, mainly due to the fact that I tried to hump a camera backpack and drone case around at the same time and it just didn't work. My Phantom 3 Advanced drone certainly gave me a good return during the two years I owned it and my completed video's and aerial images can be found on my website - www.ashleycorr.com. Fast forward two years from the purchase date and here I was, advertising it for sale, in mint condition. Within 48 hours it was sold, alongside 4 batteries and a host of accessories. I was chuffed to get the asking price of £500, plus the fact that it was a quick sale and sold locally, with no silly offtakes, which would have been the case had I gone down the eBay route. So the bird flies the nest ...

Enter stage left, the all new shiny Mavic Air. The Flymore combo weighs in with 3 batteries at a cost of £849.00. Take a look at the photo (shown here) of the Mavic Air in my hand. Yeah, you get the picture. A foldable portable drone with a host of new tech, all wrapped in a tiny box and ready to send into the sky. This thing looks awesome! Let's hope it flies and captures photo and video just as well. As yet I haven't had time to give my new toy its first real flight. I did load the aircraft and remote controller with the latest firmware and carried out a few settings adjustments via the DJI GO 4 app, before sending it on its maiden flight, albeit a very brief one. This was simply to check that everything worked as it should, which it did, before bringing it back to the home position. So it's all systems go and I'll be recording more aerial video very soon. Stay tuned ...

Cheers, Ash

 

Update - All Things Photography

Hello again and welcome to another rare blog entry. I keep slipping into virtual anonymity on this page from time to time, mainly due to other commitments and the diversion my photography takes me. Yeah, if I'm not out there with the camera's or updating my website and social media pages, then you'll probably find that I've gone AWOL ... again!!!

Not to worry though, as there is plenty of activity behind the scenes, in the shape of -

* New photographs
* New drone footage
* New video's/vlogs
* New slideshows
* New website pages/galleries
* New blog entries

So, as you can see, there's plenty to come at www.ashleycorr.com and the recent spell of poor weather has meant I have spent more time indoors ... often behind the keyboard and monitor, to bring you lots of site updates. I've got lots of new ideas floating around, so hopefully they will come to fruition, sooner rather than later. The priority in recent weeks has been my TV and AERIAL pages on my website. After looking through the content to date I felt that both pages needed beefing up ,with new video's/ slideshows etc, mainly provided by my archive hard drive and the many hidden files that found a home on it. Many of them haven't seen the light of day and really need to be out there, making a contribution to my online portfolio, especially the aerial video's that were recently archived.

In a nutshell, please stay tuned to the next instalments at www.ashleycorr.com and all my social media platforms. The introduction of video logs, or Vlogs as they are most commonly known, is a completely new area that I'm hoping to explore, especially as I'm usually behind the camera and not in front of it. But hey, some of the places I'm gonna take you will need a fair bit of introduction and story telling along the way. It might not be my thing, and it may not work at all, but I'm all for trying and making something work if it does feel right. We'll soon see, eh.

And that's about it, folks. Just a quick hello and an outline of what's to come in the forthcoming weeks and months ahead.

 Catch ya soon, A.C   

TV Aerial

Hello again and welcome to another blog entry, albeit a short one. I'd like to give you an update on the Aerial section of my website. Over the last week I've been editing lots of HD video footage from the SD card in my drone. Some of the footage was captured at the beginning of 2017, so as you can imagine, it was beginning to form a backlog and I didn't want to fall back any further with it. The upshot is, there's a handful of new video's on my site, all aerial, and there is more in the pipeline. I've got a tick list here and it has several locations on it, all of which I want to visit with the drone, during the next few weeks. I'll not give too much away though - that would be spoiling it, so if you would like to be informed of my latest video's, feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel. You'll receive instant notifications of any new uploads from myself.

I still feel like a complete novice when flying, despite a good ten hours of flying time under my belt over the last year or so. I'm gonna have to become more adventurous with the joysticks and crank up the speed and flight paths of my Phantom 3. Most of the royalty free soundtracks I have preferred to use are fairly low tempo ambient affairs, which I love, so I like to match the tempo of the flights with it, which works well I reckon. As my flights become more intense, so will the music, to match, but that's all in theory of course. The proof is in the pudding. Let's see what I can conjure up during the next couple of flights. So many places to visit, and lots of ideas floating around, as long as I stick to the guidelines.

So stay tuned and I'll be sure to bring you any more developments on my aerial photography.

Chocks away!

A.C

RAF Spadeadam - The Recce Visit

The whole attraction of blogging about my photography outings is the opportunity it gives me to document more than just photographs, but the story behind them and the 'Behind the scenes' photo's too. Today's blog entry is a perfect example of an idea I had, which was put into practise beforehand with a recce visit, which would hopefully lead to a revisit at night to photograph the stars and milky way. The whole idea came about after I saw a photograph online of an abandoned aircraft. The location was RAF Spadeadam, a military base on the outskirts of Gilsland in Cumbria, not far from Carlisle. From my home in Houghton le Spring, a round trip is in the region of 140 miles, with an each way duration of around 70 minutes in the car. Not exactly on the doorstep, but it was a location that I just had to visit, so the distance wasn't a problem at all. So, across the A69 I went, with my brother Chris, who was just as keen as I was to see the Lockheed Shooting Star, in situ on a vast wasteland. The site is accessible to the public on non-firing days, so after checking their website it was all systems go on a Bank Holiday Monday. It was indeed ... MAYDAY!!  MAYDAY!!

It was a nice afternoon for it, with blue sky and the odd cloud here and there. We arrived and parked up at the roadside near a field where the airframe was located. We'd heard plenty about the access route to the plane - a rather boggy field with rotten, fallen tree's everywhere. It took around 10-15 minutes to reach the plane and it wasn't without it's drama, as we dodged one pot hole after another, plus the ditches and puddles. All part of the fun though. I was only carrying my small backpack, so it wasn't too much of an effort to slug it across the field. Mind you, the plan included revisiting at night with a fully laden large backpack, so that is bound to be interesting. On arrival the plane looked remarkably sound. I wasn't expecting it to be in such good shape, especially when it had been there for over 30 years. The cockpit was stripped of all instruments. Only wires and framework remained, as well as the odd switch and name plate. Guesswork would tell me the plane was around 10 metres in length. The paintwork was in good condition, although it may well have been repainted during the years it has spent in the field.

Chris climbed into the cockpit for the benefit of a photo memento or two. I set my Go Pro up on a tripod and began to capture a time lapse video of our 40 minute stay at RAF Spadeadam. It was interesting to gather as much info as I could about the site, especially as the plan was to capture as star trail, facing north towards Polaris. The orientation of the plane was perfect for this, offering a great angle of the aircraft when looking northwards. It was all good - just waiting for a clear night to put the plan into practise. I was hoping for a decent moon phase too, which would light the foreground, meaning we wouldn't have to light paint it to suit. It was time return to base and wait for a night with ideal conditions to execute the idea and pull in a nice star trail or two.

Mission accomplished!

A 7 minute video of our visit can be found on YouTube if you click this link. It was shot on my GoPro in High Definition and also includes photographs and a time lapse sequence at the end. Stay tuned for the next instalment - a night time visit to Spade, under the stars! Until then, thanks for reading.

Ash

Ludworth Tower - After Midnight

And it's more Astrophotography on a freezing cold, blustery night in County Durham. I finished work at 11.20pm and drove to Spider Towers to pick my brother up. We were heading over to Ludworth Tower - a fifteen minute drive from Gilley Law, Sunderland. The plan - to photograph Ludworth Tower under the stars. Aye it was well chilly, but we were well layered and prepared for a couple of hours out in the sticks. The beauty about this location, especially in sub zero temperature, is the privilege of sitting in the car as the camera works its magic. I dropped anchor at the kissing gate, where access to the tower is at hand. From there it's literally a 10 second walk to the tower. Once in position we set up our camera's and walked back to the car. We sat there for an hour or so, listening to the radio and keeping out of the cold. There's not too many locations where you're afforded that basic luxury when photographing the stars, but this was definitely one of them.

Ludworth is a pit village in County Durham, England situated between Durham and Peterlee. It consists of just over 350 houses in three main housing estates (Barnard Avenue, Moor Crescent and Springfield Meadows) and a few smaller streets. Ludworth has one post office, a school, a community centre and a printers. The village used to have two churches and a fish shop, most of which were destroyed in a fire. The public house of Ludworth has been closed for some years.
Ludworth Tower was originally a medieval manor house, founded by the de Ludworth family. In 1422, Thomas Holden added a rectangular pele tower, when he was granted licence to crenellate his manorial complex, by Cardinal Langley. The only surviving remains are the barrel-vaulted basement, the three storey west wall and fragments of a first floor spiral stair in the south wall. The remains can be seen located on the left as you are coming into the village from Shadforth.

As well as running off a start trail sequence I finished off with a single exposure of my brother Chris, standing on the ancient arch next to the tower. Here is both shots from that night ...

Cheers, AC

A Nice Surprise!

Hello again,

Occasionally I send the odd photo to Tyne-Tees Television, in the hope they will show it on the daily weather bulletins. Over the last few years I've had quite a bit of success in this area and I continue to have my work shown on TV today. If you CLICK HERE you will find my archive weather photo collection, which features video clips of my photographs that have been shown on TV.

Yesterday I received an email from Ross Hutchinson, one of the weather presenters on Tyne-Tees Television. He told me he had been contacted by someone who had seen one of my photographs on his weather bulletin and they wanted a copy of it. An elderly couple, currently living in Yorkshire, they had gone to the trouble of hand writing a letter to him as they don't use email, before visiting the post office to send the letter on its way. I was quite touched by this and arranged for a print to be forwarded to them, free of charge, with the help of Ross. Great stuff and nice to see my work being appreciated, even if it sometimes flashes up on the TV for a couple of seconds.

Here is the actual correspondence, including the hand written letter ...

Cheers, Ash


Hello Ashley,

Odd question but I've had a lovely letter from an elderly couple in Yorkshire, attached- they liked this photo so much they wanted a copy!

Their request is for your address or phone number so they can try and organise this (they don't have email for a digital copy). 

I know it's a bit weird but shows how well liked your pics are! If you are happy to give them a copy but would rather not give out your details I'm sure I can arrange for us to get one printed (with your permission)

Completely up to you - but thought I would pass on the kind words/request.

Thanks for all the pictures!

Ross

 

 

FAST CAR - Night Time Drive Lapse Video

Hello again,

A quick one tonight. I was messing about with my awesome little GoPro camera a few days ago and came up with a short time lapse video of my journey to and from work in my trusty Vauxhall Insignia. I propped up my tripod between the front headrests and sat the Hero 5 Black on the tripod plate to ready itself for action. The 30 minute round trip was recorded in 1080p, capturing a photograph every 2 seconds - an approximate total of 800. The time lapse video was assembled in camera, which was great as it meant I had no post processing to do. All I had to do was import the 2 video's and add some opening titles, end credits and a soundtrack. Very impressed with the final result. I think I'm going to have lots of fun with this little camera. Stay tuned for more video's in high definition and maybe the odd 4k production thrown in for good measure.

Cheers!   Ash

Click here to see FAST CAR - Night Time Drive Lapse, via YouTube

Twitching On Death Rocks, Northumberland

Hello again,

Welcome to another blog entry form the Roaming Mackem Photographer.

Today I'm gonna cover another outing with my camera - a recent visit to Dunstanburgh Castle, on a stunning stretch of coatline in Northumberland. The location is just over an hours drive from my home in Houghton le Spring, so that would give me time to wake up properly after a 5.15am alarm call after a night on the lager. I didn't have much of a hangover, to be honest, and nowt that a McDonald's breakfast wouldn't fettle. So a wash and a quick cup of coffee was in order, before hoying my gear into the car and heading out. The camera bag was organised and ready the night before, and all batteries fully charged. Nowt left to do but pick my brother up and head north out of God's Country. It was 6.15am and we were on the A1(M) - a straight road to our turn off, one hour up the road.

On arrival we dropped anchor near Dunstanburgh Steads, a small holding with surrounding houses, just south of Embleton. A dirt track reaches a dead end near a golf course, so we dropped anchor and I changed into wellies for the assault across Death Rocks and the outgoing tide. Another car pulled in next to us. A guy got out and we greeted each other with the obligatory 'Good Morning' salute. He saw me with my wellies on and asked if it was muddy where we were heading. I told him it was going to be very wet, hence the footwear, and he just laughed. I asked him if he was here to take photographs, which he was. I then asked if travelled far. He replied 'I'm from MANSFIELD' !!!   'Bloody hell' I replied ... 'You're keen aren't ya'. He then said he hadn't travelled from there, he was staying nearby for a few days. Oh well, that makes more sense, ha ha.

So, we headed off near sand dunes towards Death Rocks, laden with camera gear, tripods, drone, etc. Oh aye, the drone was along for the ride too. No show without Punch. We walked along the edge of the golf course towards the castle, which was far easier than negotiating the heavy sand dunes with all that weight on our backs. It was from here that I took a first good look at the dawn sky backdrop of the castle. After all, this is where my camera is going to be pointing towards, and also being the purpose of this morning's trip north. Plan A, to photograph the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle @ Sunrise. Plans are never that straightforward though, are they? We can but try. But this particular plan involved a scramble across a rather tricky boulder field, known as DEATH ROCKS! Without further ado ...

After a ten minute walk across the golf course we headed down towards the sea, which was rolling in quite aggressively. Quite big waves were crashing in, which was a reminder that what was about to unfold was going to be no walk in the walk. This brings me nicely on to the title of this blog entry. Twitching, eh. Oh, he's gone out to look at sea birds through his binoculars, you said. Gulls, cormorants and Shags, you said. Ticking them off on a nerdy tick list with his little pencil, you said. Oh no, not in the slightest. You see folks, when I say 'Twitching' I refer to the actions of my arse. Yes, ya know when you're shitting bricks and sweating profusely at your actions? Well, that's what I'm talking about. This was nee chilled out stroll along the beach, whistling merrily with a smile on my face. It was more akin to walking across slippery rocks like Bambi on ice. Oh yes, I wish I could see myself. Is that really me? In my defence I hasted to add, these rocks aint called DEATH ROCKS for nowt. No doubt I was following in the footsteps of many a tog. I remember a fellow tog called Terry Cavner (from Blyth) being airlifted off the rocks by a rescue chopper, when he fell and broke a leg. Hopefully I wasn't about to do a 'Terry' me'sel!

I was in position on the rocks around 30 minutes before sunrise. As the tide retreated I found myself moving further out with it, as I wanted to catch some water movement when the sun finally showed up. A couple of other togs joined us, pitching nearby and both waiting for some nice colour in the sky. Just then a freak wave crashed in and around us, spilling over my welly tops and giving my feet a nice north sea welcome. The tripod stayed upright ... just! One of the blokes lost his tripod bag. I noticed it floating away with the receding tide. Unlucky eh. I was lucky myself. My camera bag was sat on a nearby rock when that wave came in. I managed to lift it up at the last second to avoid the wave. Now, that would have been messy ... and expensive! Get the bloody bag on your back, I told myself. Can't be dealing with another wave like that. Oh yes, me arse was twitching again. Bloody mad. The things ya do for a decent shot. Well that put paid to me pushing the envelope. I wasn't gonna move out with the tide, I was staying put - water movement or not. Guess I'll just settle for some rocky foreground and hope for some colour in the sky.

A few minutes later a hint of red showed up amongst the clouds behind the castle. That'll do nicely. A few minutes later there were nice red ripples spreading out, offering a great backdrop. Time to start shooting that scene in front of me. I was cold and very wet from the waist down, but what the hell, eh. Par for the course, I told myself, in a consoling way. In a flash the colourful sky had diminished and the sun was up behind Dunstanburgh Castle. By this time I had my shot in the bag, so it was another job done - time to get off those ghastly rocks. Bye bye, see you again soon ...NOT!

The wind had picked up quite a lot, so I decided not to send the done up. Maybe next time. All that was left to do was head back to the car and get those feet warmed up. Heaters on full pelt, off in a flash and back onto the A1(M). Not for lang though, as we stopped off at McDonalds near Alnwick, to refuel, so to speak. Hey that coffee and breakfast wrap was summat else. You better believe it. I felt like laughing when I was drinking that liquid life saving lotion that is hot coffee. Odd behaviour, granted, but when in a state of semi-hysteria, this is what happens to me LOL. Much needed, especially after freezing me balls off on a cold December morning by the north sea. I hope you like the photographic fruits of my labour. I think it was worth it. The sky could have been a lot worse, unlike those rocks and waves, but all part of the fun. A couple of weeks on and I'm glad to report that my arse has finally stopped twitching. It was an experience, to put it mildly. All in a days work of the Roaming Mackem Photographer. Until the next time folks ...

Be good, AC

(thanks to Chris Corr for 3 photo's of me, when the tide had backed off)

A Night With The Stars - Terris Novalis

Hello again!

Sitting here on the sofa, telly off, can on, and another blog entry to pass the time away. Just as well I'm currently chilling out indoors as tonight's night sky is offering nothing to the amateur photographer, but not to complain eh - I've had my fair share of clear skies during the recent Xmas break. And on the subject of clear skies, it brings me nicely to the subject of tonight's blog write-up, my first night time visit to the Terris Novalis artwork, located in Consett, County Durham, a 25 minute drive from my base. In customary style, I've harvested a few words from my trusty old friend Mrs Google, which you'll find below in the form of a brief insight of Terris Novalis, cheers Mrs G ...

Terris Novalis in Consett was sculpted by Tony Cragg and won the Turner Prize. The sculpture is 20 foot (6 metres) high and is made entirely of stainless steel; it is 20 times the size of the actual surveying instruments. The sculpture symbolises the economic regeneration of the Consett area. It can be found on the Coast to Coast cycle route.

Late December 2016, a combined visit to Weardale, ending with a stop off at Consett to photograph the starry sky above Terris Novalis, which is situated just outside the town centre. As you'd probably gather, dark night skies and built up areas aren't a good combo, especially when you're relying on as little light pollution as possible to make those little sparkly things look as prominent as poss. On this occasion I made the most of what was in front of me, which is all you can do as a photographer, so the final position of the camera was vital in pulling in some acceptable results. The actual sculptures are positioned perfectly for astro photography, it has to be said. The most photogenic angle has street lighting to my back and fields in front, without surrounding light. Perfecto!

Running alongside the sculptures is the coast 2 coast cycle path, so visitors could show up at any moment, despite it being very dark and very cold. Oh aye, me clackers were feeling the pinch alright, make no mistake of that. Hopefully no-one would interrupt tonight's star trail with guiding lights. We'll see eh, sods law and all that jazz. And away the camera went - click, click, click ...

Nowt to do but stand around getting colder. I had my brother Chris along with me, doing pretty much the same thing, so company was at hand, which is a godsend when you're standing there twiddling the owld thumbs. Ten minutes in and two young girls, no older than 15, came waltzing by, supping blue WKD. They plonked there arses on one of the sculptures and sat there for a good hour. Typical eh. Then their mobile phones came out and they were waving them about in front of the camera, giggling their arses off. Looks like I 'll have to stop the camera, eh!!!!! One of them asked if I was taking photo's - I felt like replying "Why Like, are you taking the piss" 

Anyway, when they buggered off and we regained our territory, the camera had been running for an hour or so. Time to switch off and head to Consett main street for a bit of scran. Tonights supper - Kebab meat and chips, with garlic sauce and EXTRA CHILLI. Now, this gear warmed the cockles alright. Oh yes, this was hot stuff and I just knew instantly that me jaxey would resemble the Japanese flag the next morning. But hey, the scran was rather damn tasty to say the least, so let's forget about tomorrow morning's nuclear 'Fall out' eh. Just savour the flavour. Delicious!!! These road trips with the camera always involve a takeaway at some point, and why not, it's a nice way to round the night off before heading home to put the feet up and pour a glass of cold lager down me Gregory Peck. There is every need to over indulge, and why not - it is Christmas after all!

It wasn't long before I was dropping Chris off at his place then heading back along the A690 to AC Towers. That tin of lager was calling out my name and it time to put it out its misery. Tonight was a good one, very productive in more ways than one. It won't be too long before I'm back to work, so best enjoy what's left of the Christmas break by planning some more nights out with Mr Canon. The show aint over yet. January can wait, for the time being at least.

Thanks for reading my prattle. There's plenty more where this came from. Cheers, Ash

Groverake Mine, Weardale, County Durham

Welcome to another blog entry at ashleycorr.com

A few months ago I found out about an abandoned mine on the outskirts of County Durham. I asked my friend Wikipedia for a brief insight to Groverake and this is what he came back with ...

The Groverake mine site is pretty much located at the convergence of three major veins, Greencleugh, Groverake and Red. The Burtree Pasture vein also continues to this point.
Mining at Groverake probably started in the 18th century, but it was the Beaumont Company who first developed major mining operations at the site at the end of the 1810's and they continued working the mine until the early 1880's. They drove adits and the two major shafts on the site that reached the Great Limestone. At their time they where mining for lead ore, but this was not that successful in terms of output. When the Weardale Lead Company took over the mine in the mid 1880's they had more success with mining for lead and they also mined for fluorspar. The spar operations had problems in the removal of silica and this limited its success. The mine changed hands a number of times until the 1940's.

It was not until the Second World War when the Blanchland Fluor Mines Ltd took over operations and eventually British Steel Corporation that the production of fluorspar ramped up with improved treatment techniques. These companies took Groverake to being the leading fluorspar producer in the ore field. British Steel drove a new level and extended the existing shafts. The Rake level was re-driven to give access to the upper levels of the veins and the Firestone level driven for access to the lower levels. The Drawing Shaft was sunk further into the Great Limestone to a depth of 91m. The Whimsey Shaft was sunk to the Three Year Limestone to a total depth of 165m.

In the late 1980's the Weardale Minerals and Processing Company acquired the mine, but in 1991 its parent company went into receivership resulting in another change of hands. The mine was then operated by Sherburn Minerals and worked until 1999. At the time of its final closure, Groverake was the last commercial fluorspar mine operating in the North Pennines.

The site is approximately a one hour drive from my home, through the heart of County Durham and into the sticks that is the countryside of Weardale. There is still remnants of our mining heritage scattered around the county today, and the route to Groverake exposed quite a few ruins and reminders of yesteryear, which was fascinating to see. This was my first visit into Weardale with the camera, so I was quite excited to make some pictures of the area, especially Groverake Mine, which was the focal point of this visit. I drove through Stanley, Annfield Plain and Tow Law, before closing in on Frosterley, Eastgate and Rookhope. From here it was only a short drive to the mine, passing the ruins of Wolf Cleugh Farm, along the valley. We parked at the top of the valley that overlooks the site, which is dominated by the remaining winding gear, which was a rusting hulk of structure that had withstood the test of time.

As the site is public access, it was a simple case of undoing the latch on  the gate before walking down the bank and into an olde worlde existence, despite its desolation. You could almost hear a pin drop. I stood for a moment to reflect. I almost felt like I'd been transported back through the decades to a time when this place was thriving. I could almost hear the noise of workers and the smell of industry, the operation in full flow, just as it would have been. Horses and carts, bellowing chimneys on the nearby stone houses. Then I reminded myself for a split second ... of the death that happened in 1989, and my work was not done. It was almost a pilgrimage of sorts, a visit to understand what went on here and why it no longer operates. A sign of the times, let there be no doubt. Time stops for no man.

I explored the site for an hour or so, often sitting down and simply looking at what lay before me. I could here the loose corrugated metal rattling every time the wind got up, which added to the feeling that was quite sad in a way. The workers quarters stood to my left, minus a roof, plus a set of lockers. On closer inspection I noticed reminders of the past, including an old pair of steel capped boots, cigarette boxes, clocking in cards and a bash hat. Rafters above my head threatened to collapse at any given moment - that was obvious. Not wanting to become a victim, I got out of there and continued to explore. This place was going take more than one or even two visits to get around properly, so I took a few shots and made my way back to the car. It was indeed an eye-opener, a fascinating place steeped in mining history. I must return and return soon. Unfinished business!

Ash

Welcome To Aerial Photography!

Hello again,

It's not often I get to introduce a totally different perspective to my photography, until now. This comes in the shape of my new toy - a DJI Phantom 3 Advanced Quadcopter, with an on board camera, which is capable of capturing 12 megapixel stills and amazing HD video footage. I looked at these toys last year, after seeing some amazing aerial photographs, but after quite a lot of research I canned the idea in favour of a new camera purchase. Fast forward another year and I found myself looking at drones once again, this time with more than a vested interest. It was time to take the plunge. I had to get my hands on one of these, not so much for the photography side of it, for video, surprisingly enough. Idea's were coming thick and fast, even before I parted with my money, so it was nice when I arrived home with a P3A and an excitement at what was around the corner, so to speak.

My first test flight was near Penshaw Monument, Sunderland. It was nerve racking, I have to confess. I'd read stories of fly aways and malfunctions, etc, so that thought was always going to creep in now and again, but all went well during my maiden 20 minute flight. I played safe and kept the aircraft within sight at all times, monitoring its position on my mobile phone, which was attached to the remote controller. Live video streaming is a brilliant thing and the DJI GO app was very simple and straightforward to use. I was well impressed with the stability of the aircraft, even at high altitude with a stiff breeze. Everything was in place and the tools were there at my disposal - all that remained was the job of pulling in some nice video and photographs. I got to grips with the intelligent flight mode, which allowed me to program the aircraft to fly in around an object in a perfect circle - auto pilot at its best. The first flight flew over (pun intentional) and it wasn't long before I brought the drone back to its home position, allowing it to hover at around 5 feet from the ground, before catching it with one hand and shutting down the props. Job done. Phew, it was back in one piece!

Here is a few shots of my maiden flight - the first of many ...

Cheers, Ash

Sunrise - Herrington Country Park, Sunderland

What can I say - I've been AWOL once again and this time it's been longer than ever. My blog page has been put on the back burner over the last few months due to other commitments, but I'm back once again and hopefully it won't be a fleeting visit.

Strangely enough, I'm taking off where I left off, with more Mute Swan images. This time it's a sunrise visit to Herrington Country Park, Sunderland on a mild morning in early December 2016. I had the place to myself, give or take the odd dog walker here and there. The warm colours were beginning to show on the horizon when I arrived at the park, around 7.30am, so I had a feeling this was going to be a productive outing. No filters or long lenses, just a Canon 5D3 and a flash gun, including the chosen lens, a 24-105L.

As anticipated, the sky kicked off with some fine colour just before sunrise, so I set to work knowing it wouldn't last too long. It's a game of patience waiting for the swans to take up the ideal position for the composition I wanted. As there was a pair of swans I waited for a gap between the two before hitting the shutter button. When one bird obscures the other it doesn't make for a good photo and I also try to capture them with a side profile or head on, rather than the back of a head. It's a tricky game, it has to be said. I can easily run off a dozen frames before I finally bag a keeper, but it's all part of the fun and the challenge. The swans are at ease with the flashgun and are more bothered about whether they're gonna get fed or not, which they always do. It's the very least I can do when they're willing to pose for the camera, but throwing food to them always attracts a posse of ducks, which I don't want in my shots as they're nothing but a distraction.

Here is a few shots from this morning's visit. Glad I made the effort to lift my arse out of bed today!

Back soon, Ash