he crack of dawn to bag some low-light shots, it was nice to return to some afternoon photography on a mild Autumn day in Durham City. Not that much cloud kicking about to begin with, but very typically that would change as the afternoon turned into early evening.Durham is a great place to visit during the Autumn season and the riverside pathways and walks are quite picturesque, offering plenty of colour when the sun hits against the trees. From a vantage point on Prebends Bridge overlooking the River Wear I spotted a break in the trees ahead of me, just off the river bank. I was drawn to this spot immediately as the ground was covered in golden brown leaves and I noticed a wooden bench in the middle of the plot. I suddenly imagined what view I would get if I were standing on that spot, looking towards Prebends Bridge where I was actually standing at that time. Only one way to find out so I got my arse into gear and headed across, passing a couple of elderly ramblers on the way. After reaching the spot the first thing that struck me was how quiet it was. I sat on the wooden bench for a minute or two and adjusted my camera settings, priming the toy for action. As I took my first couple of shots I was distracted by some movement to my left - a young couple walking along the path towards the bridge. They stopped behind me, looking straight ahead into my field of view and admiring it for what it was. A few whispers were going on and I got the distinct impression they fancied a bit of action - photography, that is!
Well, I got the shot I wanted so it was time to make tracks and head up towards Palace Green and the nearby Durham Castle. As I walked along the riverside path I looked over my shoulder and noticed that the young couple had nicked my position to take photo's of their own, he he. Aye well, it was worth it. I was probably one in a long line of folk who had been at the exact same spot at some point this Autumn, and no doubt not the last.
Ten minutes later I was
amongst the people at Palace Green, a grassy area directly in front of Durham Cathedral. This was my main reason for visiting Durham today as I was after one particular shot of Durham Castle. Some idiot had parked a builders skip exactly where I wanted to take up position, so it was a case of pretending it wasn't there and simply working around it, compsing my shots the best I could . The house in the castle grounds was almost covered in red leaves, giving it that typical Autumn postcard appearance, but there were a lot of visitors kicking about, spoiling the shot. You need a lot of patience in these situations and especially when a pair of fishwives spark up conversation in the place where you least want them. Jesus, I must have waited a good fifteen minutes before they ran out of gas and buggered off, and when that eventually happened the sun went back in!!! Patience kicked in again as I noticed the clouds moving rapidly south - the sun would be out again within minutes. Whe-hey!And it shone brightly, folks. I was just about to raise camera to eye when I noticed the pair of gasbags were walking back down towards the castle and bang-centre of my frame!!! I won't tell you what I was thinking at this point, he he. I quickly fired off a few frames and got out of there - relief - JOB DONE.
Before I knew it I was
travelling back along the A690 towards Houghton. Although the sun was still quite high at this point I decided to pay a quick visit to Lumley Castle on the outskirts of Chester-Le-Street. The castle is tucked away in it's own grounds and is surrounded by tree's of all types, many of which have changed colour as Autumn reached its peak. I parked in the overflow just off the main drive and looked around for a spot to photograph from. I was drawn to a tree near the main lawn which was covered in golden brown leaves, just like the floor beneath it. Seconds later I was lying on the grass underneath said tree and focusing on the castle facade. The shooting angle was critical to the shot and the result I was aiming for - it worked well, as you can see here in the third shot.As always, click on an image to reveal the enlarged version of it.
Thanks again for reading. I'll be back soon...
Ash
