Not literally of course - wouldn't want to give you nightmares, he he. During May I visited the Northumberland Coast once again. My favourite stretch of coastline is Dunstanburgh to Holy Island, but my latest trip up north saw me dropping anchor at Dunstanburgh Steads. The approach road from the A1(M) reaches a cul-de-sac near the golf course which sits at the edge of the coastal walk between Embleton and Dunstanburgh Castle. After parking up I walked across the sand dunes towards Dunstanburgh Heughs, a place I've visited a few times during the last couple of years. There's a section of coastline that has a boulder field for a good half mile - thousands of almost sphere like black rocks that draw you in for a decent photograph. I timed my visit to coincide with the high tide in an attempt to try out my new set of ND filters. These filters are basically darkened glass, similar to polarizing filters, which reduce the amount of light that passes through the lens, which in turn allows very slow shutter speeds in very bright, sunny conditions. The slow shutter speed would enable me to blur the motion of the incoming tide, giving a kind of milky effect to the water. I like this kind of photography and I was hopeful of getting the shots I wanted.
Of course, slippery rocks
and incoming tide aren't ideal conditions - first and foremost there's the safety aspect, followed by the risk of water damage to your gear should the force of the tide turn nasty. A few photographers have become casualties of this well known stretch of coastline, including Terry Cavner, a local photographer who slipped and broke his leg before being airlifted to hospital. 'Tread carefully' I kept reminding myself. The weather was spot on. Warm, sunny, a slight breeze and barely a cloud in the sky. The tide was playing ball too - almost full tide when I arrived at Dunstanburgh Heughs. Time to play. After negotiating the boulder field with the aid of an extended tripod as a walking stick, I was in position and taking my first shots around mid-afternoon. There were a few walkers on the path to my right but no-one on the rocks in front of me, which was ideal - don't want any intruders spoiling my shots, eh. At one point I had three filters fitted to my wide angle lens - ended up with slight vignetting but eliminated it by increasing focal length of the lens, just slightly. After half an hour my legs were on the end of a good soaking from the incoming tide. I wasn't too bothered though as there's always a small price to pay when taking this type of photograph. Push your luck too much and the price could be higher! It's all about common sense really - not pushing the limits. Making pictures in dicey conditions is fine along as you know where to draw the line. I cut in a few times as the tide started to surround my feet - A simple case of staying one step ahead of the game.
After 45 minutes or so I chucked the towel in.
Well, not quite, but if I'd got my hands on a towel it would have been handy - I'd been well soaked by this time. I packed up my gear and headed off the boulder field to the safer, dry land. Eyed up a couple of new positions to photograph from, just below Lilburn Tower which sat on the crag above. A grazing field nearby had recently become a pond - something I'd never seen on my previous visits. Steam sat on the water, offering a nice photo into the bargain. A lone fence drew me in as I looked for a reflection of Lilburn Tower in the still water. This is what I saw - shot 3. A nice little composition. A couple of people with camera's came over and nicked my position, not that I minded of course. It was probably the best viewpoint along this coastal stretch. Might as well capture it while you can.
And that's all for now. From the relaxed peaceful setting of Dunstanburgh to the eerie setting of Hillside Cemetary in Houghton le Spring. That's my next blog entry - coming soon. An interesting one to say the least!!!
Until then, see ya. Ash
and incoming tide aren't ideal conditions - first and foremost there's the safety aspect, followed by the risk of water damage to your gear should the force of the tide turn nasty. A few photographers have become casualties of this well known stretch of coastline, including Terry Cavner, a local photographer who slipped and broke his leg before being airlifted to hospital. 'Tread carefully' I kept reminding myself. The weather was spot on. Warm, sunny, a slight breeze and barely a cloud in the sky. The tide was playing ball too - almost full tide when I arrived at Dunstanburgh Heughs. Time to play. After negotiating the boulder field with the aid of an extended tripod as a walking stick, I was in position and taking my first shots around mid-afternoon. There were a few walkers on the path to my right but no-one on the rocks in front of me, which was ideal - don't want any intruders spoiling my shots, eh. At one point I had three filters fitted to my wide angle lens - ended up with slight vignetting but eliminated it by increasing focal length of the lens, just slightly. After half an hour my legs were on the end of a good soaking from the incoming tide. I wasn't too bothered though as there's always a small price to pay when taking this type of photograph. Push your luck too much and the price could be higher! It's all about common sense really - not pushing the limits. Making pictures in dicey conditions is fine along as you know where to draw the line. I cut in a few times as the tide started to surround my feet - A simple case of staying one step ahead of the game. After 45 minutes or so I chucked the towel in.
Well, not quite, but if I'd got my hands on a towel it would have been handy - I'd been well soaked by this time. I packed up my gear and headed off the boulder field to the safer, dry land. Eyed up a couple of new positions to photograph from, just below Lilburn Tower which sat on the crag above. A grazing field nearby had recently become a pond - something I'd never seen on my previous visits. Steam sat on the water, offering a nice photo into the bargain. A lone fence drew me in as I looked for a reflection of Lilburn Tower in the still water. This is what I saw - shot 3. A nice little composition. A couple of people with camera's came over and nicked my position, not that I minded of course. It was probably the best viewpoint along this coastal stretch. Might as well capture it while you can.
I returned home later that evening and watched a new drama series called Vera, about a Geordie investigator and the pilot episode was shot on the Dunstanburgh coastline where I'd been a few hours earlier. It was interesting stuff. I'd more or less traced their steps.
And that's all for now. From the relaxed peaceful setting of Dunstanburgh to the eerie setting of Hillside Cemetary in Houghton le Spring. That's my next blog entry - coming soon. An interesting one to say the least!!!
Until then, see ya. Ash
