Hello once again!
Blog entries have been few and far between lately, mainly due to me setting up a Facebook page and dedicating more time to that than this. It's a bit of a juggling act at the moment but normal service will resume fairly soon, so rest assured my blog page will return to its rightful pecking order. To be honest, I'm way behind on all things blog, so I'll have to get my arse in to gear and bring you those Summer shots from around the Med, when I visited places like Majorca, Menorca, Italy, Corsica, and Sardinia, taking in places like Rome, Venice, Naples & Amalfi Coast, Mahon, Palma and Cagliari, amongst others. Then there's the doorstep photographs - Sunderland, Seaham, Durham, etc. There's plenty of photo's queued up and they'll be here shortly. Website overhauls are dominating most of my PC time though - it'll take me many hours to revamp the pages, but I'm whipping through them at a rate of knots, with a third of them completed up to now. Only 30 more pages to go!!!
So, what's been happening lately? I've been making regular visits into Sunderland over the last month or so, as I seem to be neglecting my hometown with the camera. Time to change all that. Twilight visits into the city centre took me along Nile Street, near the East End, where a collection of street art has appeared over a short period of time. Many buildings have been transformed into a colourful montage, as well as stand alone designs like the ones below. Urban Graffiti, or Street Art, may not be everyone's cup of tea, but this lot has captured the imagination of many Sunderland folk, who have given it the 'Thumbs Up' in recent weeks. I think it's the dogs bollocks, to be quite candid. Brilliant works of art, make no mistake. And so off I went, with Chris in tow, to photograph them 'My Way'.
Here they are...
Ash
Going back a few months in time to June 2014 and my visit to the banks of the River Wear, Sunderland. The exact location where this batch of photo's were taken was the rooftop of the National Glass Centre, near the University Campus on the north side of the water. It was an ideal day for photography, with blue sky and broken clouds, just the ticket for some picture postcard shots of the city's East End. It was a Saturday afternoon and the area was quiet, give or take the odd fisherman, although a fair few cycle riders went past on the final hurdle of the classic Coast 2 Coast route. 
The roof of the National Glass Centre wasn't an easy one to negotiate, especially when you're not too keen on heights and you can see directly below through the plain glass you're walking on. Oh dear, my walk across must have provided a laugh or six for anyone who was watching. I've took on far worse heights in the past, so this was a doddle in comparison. Well, maybe not, he he. Once in position, I ran off a few frames and was satisfied with the results. My vantage point was by far the best position along this stretch of the river at this particular time, and even though I got the shots I wanted, I wasn't done yet. From the roof to the ground, I was soon on a comfortable footing and scouting about near the Uni Campus for more shooting positions. This location has been on my list of places to visit at night too, so I'll be heading down there again during the darker evenings that are round the corner. Not long now. So, until then, here are a few shots to be going on with...
Ash
