centre is one of those places you just never get sick of visiting. Steeped in history, Durham is also known as the 'Land Of The Prince Bishops' and Christmas time brings the best out of this idyllic picturesque setting, especially when snow has fallen.I was up bright and early for this one. There was a thick covering of snow and I was looking for one shot in particular. Step back in time to August 2009, when I was in the grounds of Durham Cathedral taking a hatful of photographs. At the rear of the Cathedral, near Priors Hall, stands a large conifer tree.
I was looking at the tree and imagining a snow scene with it's branches covered in thick white snow, with the perfect backdrop of Durham Cathedral in the shot. Just then, I realized it was a hot Summers day and that I would hold my idea in the memory bank, 'For future reference' as they say.Step forward in time, to the present day - 21st December 2009. Here I am once again in the grounds of Durham Cathedral but there's no short sleeve t-shirt and sun glasses. Oh no, although the sun is shining once again and there's another clear blue sky, it's bitterly cold. But who cares eh, that imaginary snow scene that I picured in my head just a few months ago, well, it's standing right in front of me!
And there it was, just as I had imagined it. The conifer tree was covered alright, and the ground was a carpet of thick white snow. The backdrop of Durham Cathedral dominated the Christmas scene in front of me, and all things considered, this was going to make a lovely photograph. I was soon off and running, firing off at least twenty shots in high-resolution RAW format, each weighing in at a massive 28 megabytes!
With the shots in the bag I then made my way through the Cloisters and into the Cathedral. There is a strict 'No Photography Allowed' policy within the cathedral, which is a pity because I could have done some real 'Damage' in there with my camera. Never mind, you can't have everything. After leaving the Cathedral and entering the nearby Palace Green I was greeted by a Robin eating bread on a nearby seat.
A quick pitstop and my short lens was replaced by a 300mm effort, which was more than capable of pulling in some decent wildlife shots. The Robin swiftly ate the bread before flying off and perching itself on a nearby branch. I fired off three quick shots before it flew off into the grounds of Durham Castle.From Palace Green I headed off down to the banks of the River Wear for some more photography. I was surprised that the area was so quiet. I only recall passing half a dozen walkers on my way back to the car.
Once I was back in the car it was a case of 'Heaters on full throttle' to take the chill off me. I was bloody nithered! But hey, what's a bit of sub-zero temperatures between friends, eh!
Thanks again, Ash
