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

Good Evening From The Lake District!

Hello again,

It's been far too long. I keep slipping into 'Blog Neglect' mode and before I know it, it's been 3 months since my last entry. Oh dear, I really need to have a quiet word with myself. Not good enough, not by far.

Oh well, I'm here now, so let's get on with it. A warm welcome back and a blog entry that should redeem myself and my lack of recent efforts on this page. It comes in the way of a recent visit to Lakeland - the beautiful national park we call the Lake District. It was a kind of last minute decision to head west on a Saturday evening in June, when clear skies and a possible Aurora were predicted, and the fact that the North-East region expected cloud, it was a no brainer to turn my back on the North-East and head over to the Lakes, where conditions were most favourable. It was a fine evening, with no breeze and good temperatures. I headed over the A66 and traffic was quiet, so the journey went very smoothly, until the sat-nav notified me of a closure on a section of the road, which diverted me through Kirby Stephen. Hundreds of gypsy caravans lined the approach road, and when I eventually reached the small town of Kirby Stephen, it was like a scene from a movie. The place was overrun with gypsies, gathering outside the pubs in the main street. Horses were tethered to lamp posts - lots of them. Horse drawn carts were everywhere, randomly parked by Stevie Wonder, or so it would appear. I bit of careful negotiating in the Nissan Juke had me through the other side, which came as some relief. It looked as if the place was ready to go up, as gangs of gypsies eyed the 'locals' drinking over the other side of the street. Apparently it was Appleby Horse Fair weekend - really? I thought it was the Cheltenham Gold Cup, me'sel!!!!

I reached Keswick as the sun disappeared over the distant fells. I drove around the edge of Derwentwater, towards Lodore Jetty, the pre-planned location for tonight's photography. As the Jetty was north facing it lined up perfectly with a possible Northern Lights show, which would hopefully arrive tonight. Before dropping anchor at Lodor, I stopped off at Kettlewell, a small car park hidden behind tree's on the edge of the lake. I had a small bag of duck food in the boot of the car, which came in very handy when I spotted a lone Mute Swan on the water. There was some nice post sunset colour in the sky, which made for a lovely backdrop across the water towards Skiddaw, the second highest of the Lakeland fells. Out came the flash gun (and the food), and away I went. A few kids came over and stood behind me as I took my first shots of the bird. They stood right behind me, which seemed to agitate the Swan for a short while, before I turned around and gave them a look that did the trick. They quickly done one.

I 've got to admit - I've photographed lots of Mute Swan's, but this particular character was by far the tamest of the lot, probably due to the fact that it was accustomed to human presence and the perks that it came with it. It must have been the best fed Swan in Lakeland!!  After ten minutes or so I headed back to the car and made the short journey along the road to Lodore Jetty. It was here I bumped into Alan Cook and his wife. Alan is an amateur photographer like myself, who lives in Seaham. We often bump into each other in the dark. There's nowt going on mind - honest! Of all the places we chose to photograph - we both find ourselves at a little known jetty that we'd never previously visited - it's a small world and that was to become even more surprising as the night wore on. More about that later ...

We photographed the Lodore Jetty as darkness fell, with Alan's wife doing her light painting stuff on a Viking style boat the was moored in front of us. It took a few takes before we got the results we wanted. I gave Alan a few pointers with his Sony A7r2, particularly the focus peaking, which he said he hadn't used before. It's something that I swear by, as it takes the spade work out of the equation. One thing I haven't mentioned up to now is the midgey's. NIGHTMARE! Thousands of the bastards, biting away and not the kind of thing you need when you're planning to stand at the same location all night (potentially). Seriously, this was a big problem. Mauled - that's the best way to describe it. I went twelve rounds with those tw@ts and I was on the canvas a few times... oh aye..they might be tiny but they pack a canny punch. Around 11pm a couple arrived with a camera and tripod. Me and Alan had chat with them as we took photographs. Turns out they were stopping across the way at a nearby hotel. A few minutes in and Alan headed off - he too was floored by the midgey's, while his other half took a nap on a bench nearby. Around midnight the midgey's seemed to disperse. The cooler it got, the less midgey's there was. I like that!

Alas, the Aurora never showed up, I chatted to Mr & Mrs Woodley about the whole Aurora thing and they asked me whether I'd seen it before. I told them I had several previous sightings, notably the last one on Mother's Day, in March of this year. They told me they'd also seen it that night, at Souter Lighthouse, near Sunderland. Well what a coincidence, that was the same spot where I had seen and photographed it! I told them this and we all laughed - it's a very small world, or so it would seem. Simon Woodley went on to say him and his wife had watched a time lapse video of that particular Aurora show in their hotel, shortly before they walked to Lodore Jetty, where we now stood. His wife said it was an amazing video and a nice reminder of a fantastic night. At this point I had a feeling that the video they were raving about was mine. His wife said 'Yeah, it was by someone called Ashley. I can't remember his second name'. I replied 'Was it Ashley Corr'... she said 'Yes, that's right - do you know him'...... I said 'That's me'. They both laughed and found it hard to believe, until I described the video in detail. They both stepped forward to shake my hand. Must admit I felt quite humbled. Simon said 'Well, well... the famous Ashley Corr' which I quickly diffused, he he. Lovely couple and I enjoyed their company in the dark. I wouldn't recognise them if I passed them in the street, Lol.

They too headed off, back to their hotel, leaving me alone to fire off a few more shots of the boat and jetty. The eerie mist moved around on the surface of Derwentwater. My last shot shows this (below). And that was that. Back to the car and off home, arriving around 5am. No Aurora shots in the bag, but without doubt my best Mute Swan shots to date were well and truly bagged. A 200 mile round trip that was well worth it in the end. Result!

Cheers, Ash

Tommy, Mission 1101, Seaham Harbour

Hello again,
Another blog entry today - that's four in two days and that's got to be a record for me. My blog page gets neglected every now and again due to other online commitments, such as ashleycorr.com, Facebook, Twitter and more recently ... Instagram! Still finding my feet with some of those social network platforms, but I'll get there eventually. But yes, my Blog page is getting a bit of much needed TLC in the shape of another entry that brings you some of my recent images of Tommy, the very popular wartime sculpture that lives in Seaham Harbour, County Durham. I often find myself drawn to this statue and I've bagged some great shot of him recently. Visitors to my site may well have seen the page I have dedicated to Tommy. Night time visits is what captures my imagination the most and I quite often have the place to myself, unlike day time when visitors flock to see the big man. I've captured Tommy on camera many times, including the Candlelit Vigil image, which still remains my most popular Facebook upload to date, raking in more than 7,000 likes. Then there was the morning of all mornings when I photographed those amazing 'Mother Of Pearl' clouds, as a backdrop. One or two other shots spring to mind, but this blog entry concentrates on more recent night time grabs.

The shots you can see here were captured with two camera's - the trusty Canon 5D3 and a Sony A7S mirrorless affair, which, as the days and weeks pass, is becoming more of a primary body than the Canon. It's no surprise really, as the Sony is a master at pulling in night time shots with little or no noise, is much lighter and easy to handle, plus the manual focus is a dream to work with. I could go on and on, but less of the camera talk and more of the photographs, eh. The village green, where Tommy lives, has shops and a busy road to one side and the North Sea to the other. A cenotaph is situated a few yards away and one night I arrived to find a young girl spinning LED's to accompanying music. I politely asked if I could take a shot or two and she was more than happy to co-operate. One of the shots is shown here.

The Sony camera was shooting from almost ground level for some of my shots, with the tripod legs splayed and the centre column in a horizontal position. At best the camera was around 5 inches from the ground, which was ideal for grabbing a few shots from angles that I wouldn't normally shoot from. I think it all added to the drama and the subject suited it very well. Cars came and went, which is to be expected as the site is situated right next to a car park. Occasionally one car would pull up and face me with it's lights on. No problem really, until the driver decided to leave them on for a good ten minutes or so, ruining my shots. It was one of those 'Feck right off' moments. I bided my time and it wasn't too long before the car went on it's merry way.

Near the end of the row of shops is a fine chippery establishment. Downey's do a rather damn tasty portion of Fish n' Chips. Oh yes. Moolar handed over and it was down the hatch. Weshed down wi Coca Cola, it was time to head home with a belly full of scran. Ah well, all perks of being a wandering Mackem photographer (wink). For anyone who would like to know the background story of Tommy, here is a newspaper article (cut and pasted) to give you an insight into how the statue came to be ...

When his sculpture reflecting the sheer horror of World War One was lowered onto a seafront just a few miles from his hometown, Ray Lonsdale didn’t expect it to receive the welcome it did. The imposing metal sculpture entitled 1101 - owing to the fact the armistice went into effect at 11am on November 11, 1918 - stands 9ft 5ins tall at Seaham, in County Durham. The statue, built out of special corteen steel, was installed to mark the centenary of the start of the Great War and was only expected to remain in place for three months.

After winning the hearts of hundreds of visitors to the town, it could now be exhibited permanently. Around £72,000 has been raised to keep the 1.2-tonne statue in the town, and fundraisers are only £12,000 from their target. The Journal included it in its list of 100 great things about the North East - alongside more established landmarks like Hadrian’s Wall and the Tyne Bridge - and regular crowds are flocking to Seaham to take in the artwork. In the process, Ray’s work has been catapulted into the public eye and his journey from metal worker to fully fledged artist has been completed. He said: “There was always a big risk with Tommy because there was no sale for it. It was just a case of me biting the bullet and having hope that someone somewhere would buy it. There was no guarantee that it would have sold and it could have ended up sitting around for sometime.

“Finally great things happened and they are just about there with the money now.”

The artwork, which was installed in May has attracted hundreds of visitors to Seaham, many of whom have donated cash to the Save Tommy campaign. A Facebook page called Mission 1101 has attracted more than 4,000 members with many pledging to support to Tommy, which is situated on Terrace Green. “I was surprised by the level of support 1101 got,” said Ray. “I’ve had a positive reaction to a lot of my work but not by as many people as this. The whole town has pulled together to put money in the buckets and raise cash to keep it here. That is a new experience.”

After leaving school Ray, 49, of South Hetton in County Durham, qualified as a maintenance fitter and began working at Coles Cranes in Sunderland, which closed in 1996. Following the factory’s closure Ray set up his own steel fabrication business, where he produced bins, seats and railings for local authorities and private clients. He always had an interest in art and at school he was always encouraged to go onto to art college.

But it wasn’t until 2007 that Ray decided to start his career in art and changed the name of his business to Two Red Rubber Things. The father-of-two said: “In 2002 I got back into art and drawing on an evening and I decided to try and combine my work and interest. That’s when I produced my first piece. I got into a competition at the Biscuit Factory and I won the competition. “That gave me the confidence to try and do a bit more and over the next five years I completed more and more art work. There was a gradual change-over from steel to artistic steel work. “Someone told me that I would never stand a chance making it in the art industry unless I had a degree in art. I started college but I soon realised it wasn’t for me. “I decided to do things off my own back and that’s how I started and finally things were well received. I didn’t feel I had time to do an art degree. It would take seven years and I felt I would be wasting opportunities. I just wanted to push myself. I’m big on having a go and I never wanted to get to a point in my life where I would think ‘I wish I would have tried that. I kept the steel work going alongside the art work and it wasn’t until 2007 when I changed the name of the business and decided to take a chance with the art.”

Ray now has 30 life size statues under his belt and another six large scale pieces. These include The Big Dance at Gretna Green - a 14ft depiction of a couple’s hands - which was put in place in time for Valentine’s Day, a soldier on a bench at North Bay, Scarborough and the Filey Fisherman, in Filey. Ray, who lives with wife Bev, said: “I like to create work that people can take something from it. Public art should be for the public. I don’t agree that it is an artist’s job to educate the public about art but if they like it then it’s been a success. “I like people to look at it and appreciate it and appreciate the work that’s gone into it. I also like them to look deeper into it and find the story behind it. Previously I would make seats, bins and railings. I had to get used to people buying my work for the way it looked rather than for its functional purpose. It felt strange at first. I realised that people were having a positive reaction to my work and that’s something I got used to, which was nice.”

Ray is keeping quite tight-lipped about his next project but he admits he’s been approached by local authorities. He said: “I have completed a lot of drawings since 1101 and I’ve been approached by a couple of authorities with ideas but nothing has been finalised yet.” Leaving his full-time profession to concentrate on his dream to make it as an artist was a risk but Ray has not looked back since, citing his family’s support for helping make the leap. He said: “Bev has been fully supportive. She had a lot of faith in me when I didn’t. If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be any of this at all.”

Until we meet again ...
AC

Another Fine Sunset - Copt Hill Barrow

'Family Trees'

One of my favourite photography locations is Copt Hill Barrow, Houghton le Spring, Tyne & Wear. Also known locally as the Seven Sisters (although there is actually only SIX trees), this Neolithical burial ground has many urban myths attached to it, so what is fact and what is fiction - who knows? One thing is certain though, at least in my humble opinion - this place is one of the most photogenic of locations, especially during the winter months when the trees have shed their leaves and take on an eye-catching silhouette, at the top of a local wasteland in my home town. Facing east at sunset is a 'must see' - especially when you're rewarded with a colourful sunset backdrop. Not much to ask for, you might well be thinking, but surprisingly enough there has been many of them over the 16 or so years that I have been making the short journey up there. Tonight was another of those occasions.

I arrived with plenty time to prepare, which is never a bad thing. At least four other photographers were strategically placed, eager for a slice of the cake, so to speak. I made up the numbers and fancied some of that cake too, so I waited it out and hoped for the best. It didn't disappoint. I grabbed a few shots before and after sunset, by which time everyone else had cleared off and I had the place to myself. A bit of field craft and the use of a filter brought me the best shot of the night. Combine that with the sudden arrival of a family walking over the mound and the magic was about to have its second coming. They seen me from a short distance and after a brief exchange they were soon posing for my
camera. How nice! And here it is, one of my favourite shots of the Copt Hill Barrow @ sunset, with the inclusion of a family to give a nice sense of scale to the shot ...

Ash

Astro Exploration - Hadrian's Wall Country

Hello again,
Another short blog entry for you today, as I catch up with a backlog of images from recent outings with the camera(s). My latest installment is another first for me - a visit to Cawfields, in Hadrian's Wall Country. With clear skies predicted we headed out and arrived around 7pm, parking at the edge of the water, with a fine rocky backdrop and a partially clear sky. The Milky Way could easily be identified as it arched above us and off into the distance. The place was deserted, which was no surprise. A nearby toilet block cast the only available light around us, which was ideal on a night like this. It really was supposed to be cold, yet I hardly felt a nip in the air. It probably was cold, as it should be on a mid February evening, yet it wasn't noticable once the camera came out to play. I think you switch off to these things once the cam is switched on! The stars shone very brightly indeed and many could be seen reflecting in the water in front of me. The Plough was easily identifiable, as was Orion's Belt and the Andromeda Galaxy, amongst others. Still water offered an ideal opportunity to grab a lovely reflection shot, with a nice cloud formation adding to the composition.

This is another place that I will most definitely revisit, for more of the same. It was a nice experience, treading where Roman's once did. An historic place in every sense.

Ash

Sunrise - Trow Rocks, South Shields

A rare sunrise outing for me in 2016. The location - Trow Rocks, a small cove near Graham Sands, South Shields. Another first, despite a previous visit to this location during an afternoon last Spring, this was to be my first attempt at capturing the sun rising to the west. It was a very mild morning and as soon as I walked out of my front door at 5.10am, I knew it wasn't gonna be one of those biting cold mornings that I usually associate with sunrise outings. Almost half an hour later I was on location at Trow Rocks and ready to capture another sunrise. The sky looked promising and as time slowly ebbed away I could sense this was going to be a productive morning. Not a great deal of cloud to the west, but just enough to breath some colour into a partially clear sky. The waiting game was on!

An elderly couple joined me as sunrise approached. I was more than happy to have what appeared to be prime spot in front of the jagged rock formation, so I quickly got to work and ran off a few test shots. The tide was high and it coincided with sunrise - a single factor that brought me to this spot today. Standing with my back up against the rock face, I was shooting as wide as possible without vignetting, due to the stack of filters I was using to balance exposure and capture the tide with a slow shutter speed. It worked well and it was another sunrise location ticked off. Here is two shots - one before, and one after sunrise. Only one task was left to complete - a visit to McDonald's for a breakfast wrap and a nice caramel latte. Needless to say, this was another box ticked and I then it was a simple case of driving home. Short, but very sweet.

Ash

Mother Of Pearl Clouds - Part Two

And so to the second and concluding part of 'Mother Of Pearl Clouds'. If you read the first part of my blog you'll be aware of how amazed I was to see this rare natural phenomenon, let alone photograph it. Even now, a few weeks later, I still look back in amazement at something I will probably never see again in my lifetime, so I feel priveleged to have witnessed it on my doorstep, so to speak. I apologise for not giving my readers an insight into how these clouds form, and why. So, without further ado here is a bit of cut and paste magic, courtesy of those trusty people at Wikipedia ...

Polar stratospheric clouds or PSCs, also known as nacreous clouds, or mother of pearl, due to its iridescence), are clouds in the winter polar stratosphere at altitudes of 15,000–25,000 meters (49,000–82,000 ft). They are best observed during civil twilight when the sun is between 1 and 6 degrees below the horizon. They are implicated in the formation of ozone holes. The effects on ozone depletion arise because they support chemical reactions that produce active chlorine which catalyzes ozone destruction, and also because they remove gaseous nitric acid, perturbing nitrogen and chlorine cycles in a way which increases ozone destruction.  The stratosphere is very dry; unlike the troposphere, it rarely allows clouds to form. In the extreme cold of the polar winter, however, stratospheric clouds of different types may form, which are classified according to their physical state and chemical composition. Due to their high altitude and the curvature of the surface of the Earth, these clouds will receive sunlight from below the horizon and reflect it to the ground, shining brightly well before dawn or after dusk.

After a quick stop off at High Sharpley Wind Farm, I was back in the car and driving towards Seaham Harbour, a coastal town in the county of Durham. Within a little under ten minutes I was parked up at The Green, home of Tommy 1101, the corteen steel sculpture of a soldier, commemorating the first minute of armistice. Indeed another fine subject to use as a silhouette in front of the Nacreous Clouds. I had the place to myself, which was a surprise, so I set about the task of grabbing what would prove to be my last batch of photo's before the cloud show ended. The sun rose directly ahead of me, so I used Tommy to obscure it from view as I took my first shots. The last colours of the clouds diminished quickly as the sun rose next to them. The game was almost up. The blinding bright sun killed them off within two or three minutes, but by this time it was job done. I was more than happy to grab an hour's worth of shots, so it was time to find a petrol station, and quickly. The fuel gauge was well and truly in the red zone and me arse was twitching somewhat. Didn't fancy konking out and having to walk to the nearest station, especially as I had no idea where the nearest one was located.

I managed to reach Morrisons at Doxford Park, filled up and got myself home. Quick cup of tea then off to bed. Well... that was the plan, but plans rarely come to fruition, and that is exactly what happened. I t was after mid-day before I eventually hit the fart sack. A press guy messaged me via Facebook, wanting to use my images on the Daily Mail website, which was a first for me, so some quick editing took place and off the images went. It was great to one of my Seven Sisters shots appear on their web page later the same day. And that was that. It was all over and well worth reflecting on. Here is a small selection of the clouds at Seaham Harbour on that memorable morning in early February, 2016. My shots went down very well on Facebook, as you can see in the screenshot here. It's always an added bonus to be able to share my work and receive nice feedback in the process.

So, until the next time....AC

Mother Of Pearl Clouds - Part One

Photography is all about capturing the moment and I've been lucky enough to capture many special moments over the years. My recent interest in Aurora chasing has given me some very memorable experiences when photographing the sky, especially so near to home, which was something I never imagined possible. However, my recent sighting of rare Nacreous Clouds, also known as 'Mother Of Pearl', was something that eclipsed all of my Aurora sightings, without a doubt, so to capture it on camera was extra special and I'd like to share my experience with you, on my blog page. This rare event lasted a couple of hours at the most, but that was more than enough time to visit three locations close to home on a cold February morning in 2016. Luck was definitely on my side as the clouds appeared before and after sunrise, just as I was finishing a gruelling night shift at the Nissan Car Plant in Washington. I'd pre-planned a sunrise stop off before returning home, so my camera bag was already in the car as I left Nissan at 7.10am - good planning that gave me those precious extra minutes to grab some shots before the clouds disappeared.

As I drove out of the Nissan works car park I could see the commotion above, with a scattering of Nacreous Clouds sitting very high in the sky. I can only describe it as an oil spill in the sky, as rainbow coloured clouds presented themselves and this was a once in a lifetime experience for me and probably for everyone else I passed on the journey out of Washington. I saw many random passers by pointing towards the clouds in amazement, who, like myself, were in awe of the spectacle in the sky. As I exited the slip road from the A1231 I headed east, towards Shiney Row. The sky was particulary light for this time of morning, which was a surprise as the morning before was very dark, even 45 minutes before sunrise. Maybe the Nacreous Clouds were to blame. As I approached the roundabout at Shiney Row I was in two minds whether to turn left and head along to Herrington Country Park, or drive straight on and make my way towards the Seven Sisters in Houghton le Spring. I was aware that it was a massive decision and one that I had to get right. The hastily arranged plan was capture the clouds with foreground interest and I wasn't confident that the Country Park would offer what was needed, so as I drove onto the roundabout I made the instant decision to drive straight on. My choice had been made and there was no turning back!!!

As I drove through Herrington Burn, the sight above was quite surreal. More people could be seen standing at bus stops, facing the opposite way of oncoming traffic to marvel at the rainbow clouds above. Many others drove by, seemingly oblivious to what was going on, and probably not even bothered in the slightest had someone pointed it out to them. I was soon entering God's Country (Houghton le Spring) and preparing myself for my first opportunity to photograph the Mother Of Pearl Clouds. As the clock ticked down I was mindful that the spectacle could die off at any given moment. I mean, just how long would these clouds last before disappearing? I hadn't a clue, after all, I knew absolutely nothing about them, apart from the fact that they looked immense and this was a first for me and probably a last. Time to unleash the camera. I was now parked up at the Copt Hill watering hole, in my own back yard. What a place to photograph the phenomenon above, in my own home town! I legged it across the busy road and into the field, almost gannin' arse owa tit on the muddy path. And here I was, after a long hard night shift on a high speed production line, stuck in the middle of a pasture seeing the unbelievable with my own eyes. I'd gone from one extreme to another. When I was building cars at 6.45am and blowing out of my arse on the last bit of energy I could muster, I never imagined what I 'd be experiencing just one hour later!!! That's what I love about my hobby - expect the unexpected.

Bingo! I had made it - now on location at the Seven Sisters (Copt Hill Barrow), a Neolithical burial ground and an ideal focal point to throw into silhouette with an amazing backdrop of colour. It really doesn't come much better than this, and if it does, then I haven't been there yet. Surprisingly I had the place to myself, clicking away like the proverbial happy snapper. I was happy alright, make no mistake on that score. The wind was up and I had to press down on my tripod as I took my first batch of shots. I was shooting on relatively high shutter speeds and didn't really need the legs, but I was so engrossed in the moment that I simply carried on regardless and bagged shot after shot. I thought about jumping into the scene myself and firing off a selfie, but the winds would have surely blown the tripod over, so I back heeled the idea.

After 15 minutes or so I made the short drive along the road to a quarry entrance on the approach to High Sharpley Wind Farm. It was from this view point I could see right across to the horizon and the full show of Nacreous Clouds. This was the best yet - what a view to behold. I captured more silhouettes in the shape of the wind turbines, plus a man walking a dog along a bridleway. Good job I'd packed the long lens - a godsend! I hope you like the pictures as much I liked making them. They are shown here as Part One of my Nacreous Clouds blog entry, with the sequel coming next, featuring more shots that I captured at Seaham Harbour, home to Tommy, Mission 1101, which you know I have an affinity with through my photography. Stay tuned for that one. Coming very soon!

Thanks for visiting my blog page...
Ash

 

Facebook Photography Page Banners x2

A quick post on the subject of Facebook photography pages and their header banners. The photography pages I regularly visit often rotate their banner images every couple of weeks, usually with images captured by its members. Often the banner image is chosen as the winner of a competition on a chosen subject or theme. I've never had an interest in submitting my work in the past, nor do I feel inclined to do it in future. I'm more than happy to visit pages to browse the content, add my own and more often than not, leave my own comments. I was surprised recently when two of my images appeared on separate Facebook pages as banners. Obviously they were chosen randomly, as my shots caught the eye of the page admins, which is nice to know. Ah well, never a bad thing. That's all really - just a feeble excuse to update my blog once again as I'm trying to restore it to former glories by hitting the '70 posts per year' mark once again. That's one more ticked off (wink).

Ash

Surfed Up A Treat (Part 2)

Welcome back to the Ashley Corr Photography blog page - a roaming Mackem in the North-East of England. Today's offering comes in the shape of 'Surfed Up a Treat (Part 2), the sequel to my recent blog entry which brought you all the action from Seaham Harbour, County Durham. The first instalment covered all the action on the day, so all that remains is for me to deliver the public reaction on social media to the set of photographs that I uploaded to Facebook. I actually thought twice before uploading any photographs at all, to be honest, as I didn't think the photographs were any better than my previous efforts on the coast in similar conditions. As 2016 was only a few days old I decided to post the photo's regardless, as it would have been my first post of the new year. As well as posting them on my own Facebook page, I also posted them to 'Seaham Have Your Say' and 'Let's Talk Photography North-East'. The reaction was quite overwhelming, with over 1,000 likes and many positive comments, so the decision to post them was in fact a wise one.
In addition to this, one of my shots was used as the banner image on 'Let's Talk Photography North-East', which came as a surprise and a nice one at that. The icing on the cake was the appearance of the same shot on Tyne-Tees Television the following day - not bad for one hours work on the coast. I'd like to thank everyone again for the great support on social media, which is building as each day passes. THANK YOU!

Two weeks later and I'm still receiving orders for photo prints and canvas, all featuring the Seaham Waves. It's all good stuff! Right now I'm suffering from a bad back after a recent fall down stairs at home. Haway...don't laugh! It feels like I've been kicked all owa off a horse. Oh aye, can barely move at times. Can't be on with this. Had an invite for a night trip to Glencoe, Scotland today, which I've had to back heel because of my gammy back. Typical eh. Oh well, no time to cry over spilled milk. Onwards and upwards. Hopefully it won't be too long before I'm brushing the cobwebs off my camera. Now, there's a first!

Ash

Surfed Up a Treat (Part 1)

Welcome back to the blog page of the wandering Mackem photographer. So far 2016 has been a complete washout as far as the weather has been concerned, with overcast skies and rain in abundance, so I'm far from surprised at the typical English weather January has delivered up to now. Photography isn't all about blue skies and a red hot sun, as any decent tog will tell you, it's all about capturing the moment in all weather, which is the beauty of my hobby - every season has something new to offer. Sunday January 3rd typified a miserable cold and windy day in the North-East of England. Looking out the window at home I saw nothing to get excited about, so after sitting down to a lovely Sunday roast I decided to park my backside once again and out came the ipad. I had a quick browse through Facebook and noticed a set of photographs by a local press photographer, Owen Humphrey's, who'd captured some big wave action at Seaham Harbour, a 15 minute drive from my home. At that point I thought about taking myself across there to see if the surf was still kicking hell out of the North Pier wall. Although I'd missed high tide by a couple of hours I still expected the show to be gathering momentum, so off I went with my Canon and telephoto lens.

It wasn't long before I arrived at the coast, swinging right after the Seaham Hall turn off and seeing how rough the sea was at Vane Tempest. I was most definitely in luck. I headed straight down to the harbour and parked near the end of the North Pier - a front row seat as far as entertainment goes. Well I wasn't gonna bag the shots I wanted from the car window and I had no intention of staying off the sand, so off I went, with tool bag and tripod for company. There was a few people dotted about on the small section of sand in the Harbour. At first I set my camera up on the tripod and aimed in straight at the lighthouse, which was clearly the focal point of the composition and a subject that was clearly receiving major abuse from the cruel North Sea. This was Mother Nature at her best, or worst, whichever side of the fence you prefer. Kids ran around on the sand in front of me, adding some much needed foreground interest. Weather photographs, especially in adverse conditions, are most eye-catching with an added human element, so it was my task to pull in a few action shots to depict an aspect of fearless photography. More on that later.

I ran off a few shots remotely, observing the waves and pressing the button when the big boys gave the pier a back-hander. What a sight! Only two days previously I witnessed a fine Aurora display by Mother Nature and here I was, literally a few hours later, watching her carve out some magic once again. A Canon 5D3 was used to pull in the shots, combined with a 75-300mm lens, which was ideal and up to the task in front of me. Focus lock on was instant, as it should be, and when more people showed up on the beach I took the camera off the legs and shot handheld for the remainder of the hour or so I was on location. I got chatting to a fellow photographer, Alan Cook, who I 'd met previously at Penshaw Hill, Sunderland. Great bloke and we had a laugh in between shots. Still running handheld, it was ideal, swinging the camera here, then there, not wanting to miss a slice of the action. The gloves were still at home though - not sure what I was thinking about there, but I do know my hands were heading towards Numb Street, a very long street at that. I was friggin' freezing!!!! What to do eh, other than grit ones teeth and suck a lemon.

Then the star turn arrived. Now, this had to be seen to be believed. A pair of adrenaline junkies from a local kayak club decided to wade in and compete with the surf. Oh dear, surely this was a David and Goliath scenario, with only one outcome. Me and Alan gave each other an odd look when the pair headed into the water, albeit for a very short time before being tipped out and onto their arses. Surely they were risking their lives! And this is where the fearless photography comes in. Their determination was to be admired, but that was easily overshadowed by the thought in my head that these two blokes had mentally lost the plot. I wondered whether it really was two blokes out there, or John & Ann Darwin, in disguise - click here for the connection.  It wasn't long before they attempted another entry, only to be thrown over once again, resulting in the pair giving up the ghost completely. A blessing in disguise, if ya ask me. How on earth they thought they'd beat the adverse weather conditions is beyond me. God loves a trier, but this was just plain idiotic!

After an hour of photography I called it a day and headed back to the car, where a nice cup of coffee was waiting. Very much needed. I sat in the car as I downed it and watched the last of the surf before heading back home. Later that evening I had a look through the shots on the back of my camera - they looked quite good, so it was mission accomplished. It wasn't until I viewed them on the laptop that I decided to post one or two on Facebook. I was a bit unsure at first, but decided to upload them as my first post of the new year. The response I received was very flattering and I was quite surprised, to be honest. I added a set of 5 shots to three different pages, which raked in over 1,000 likes, as well as many positive comments, which was very nice. The best thing though was witnessing such a spectacular show at Seaham Harbour. Mother Nature throws up some interesting events, with this being up there with the best of them. 2016 kicked off in fine style. Part 2 of this episode is coming soon. Stay tuned!
Thanks again for visiting my blog.

Ash

Welcome to 2016, Aurora Style!

Hot on the heels of my last blog entry is another Aurora experience to share on my blog page. The Aurora Borealis, more commonly known as the Northern Lights, made it's last appearance of 2015 and a first for 2016, a spectacle that coincided with a firework display at midnight to see in the new year. And what an experience it was! Throughout the day of December 31st, Aurora prediction alerts were bombarding my mobile phone via an app, grabbing my attention once again. Being New Years Eve and all, any chance of getting out with the camera would usually be a bit tricky due to other commitments, but this time round no plans were made in advance, so a couple of hours were spent on the causeway at St. Mary's Lighthouse, Whitley Bay, in anticipation of seeing a show that was worthy of a New Year's Eve/Day spectacular. And it certainly didn't disappoint. What a way to see in the new year. Does it get much better than this?

Well, once again it was a case of 'Suck it and see'. My last blog entry covered the 'Dunstanburgh Aurora Chase' that never really materialised, despite the KP8 predictions and the BZ reading hitting South in a massive way. So would the New Year;s Eve bash follow suit? Time to find out. Upon arrival I was amazed to see the car park almost empty, but when checking out the night sky it quickly beacame apparent as to why that was. The clouds were calling all the shots once again as the weather front ruled. At this point I'm thinking 'Aye...here we go again, Dunstanburgh part 2'. The wind was strong too, as I stood at the causeway at high tide, looking across to the Lighthouse. A northerly direction held no clues at this point as to whether the Aurora was about to kick off. Above the horizon it was completely clouded out and I wasn't too impressed. another photographer showed up at this point - Jake Cook. We chatted for a while, which was the only option, before heading back to our cars to play the waiting game. It was nice to get out of the cold for a while, with the heaters on full pelt, checking Facebook for any Aurora sightings in the area. Twenty minutes passed and suddenly there was a loud knock on my car window. Why man.....ah neely shat me'sel!!!!!!  It was Jake Cook, I rolled the window down and he showed me a photo on his camera that he had just taken. The Aurora was showing. That was it. Leaving our cars behind we were back on the causeway within a matter of seconds!

Within twenty minutes a green glowing arc could be seen on the horizon, stretching across the sky behind the lighthouse. The camera was working at this point. Can't be missing any of the action eh. The word Aurora must have spread quickly, as car after car arrived at St. Mary's. It wasn't long before the place was crawling with photographers, all keen to bag a slice of the action. A few of them joined us on the causeway, including Alison Leddy, who I hadn't previously met but had seen many of her fine photographs on the TV and internet. I did have one previous 'encounter' with Alison back in 2014 - click here to find out all about it.

On the stroke of midnight the sky was filled with fireworks and everyone around wished eachother a Happy New Year. The noise from the fireworks added to the atmosphere as well as the obvious colour in the sky behind us. However, the midnight firework spectacle that was got out played by the Aurora to the north. What was the chance of that happening? This was undoubtedly the most eye-catching Aurora chase I've been involved in during my relatively short 18 months involvement in the game. It doesn't come any better than this - does it? And on that note I shallwith everyone a belated Happy New Year. All the best!

Ash

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