Fire In The Sky - Houghton le Spring

Hello once again!

Back for a brief update here on Blogger. With a folder full of backdated images to get through, I tick another batch off as I bring you my latest writings on all things photography. December 2108 and one of those 'Shall I' or 'Shall I not' pop out for an hour with the camera. It was a Saturday afternoon and the sky was brewing up quite nicely as sunset approached. I lost count of how many times I looked out my back window to check the sky. Each time I saw it I was nudging ever closer to grabbing my camera and heading out. With sunset looming I knew I wouldn't have time to go too far, so it would be another one of those very local trips like ... yeah, that ... the Copt Hill Barrow. Why not, it's in my own back yard and it's always a nice thing to pull in great shots from this location. I've lost count on the number of visits I've made, but hey ... two visits are never the same, let alone fifty!

And so it was to be ... the five minute car ride up the hill and across the field to those Seven Sisters. I got there around 30 minutes before sunset and the early indication was that this was gonna be a good one. Already the sky was taking on a colourful canopy - a one that would play an ideal role as backdrop for the Seven Sisters. Another photographer turned up, setting his gear close by. We'd met before. It was Ken Foulds, who lives across the way in Belmont, on the outskirts of Durham. Strangely enough, our first meeting was at this very same spot. Great minds think alike. I grabbed a couple of shots of Ken as I photographed his own scene, both of which are shown here. As the sky started to kick off I dotted around the Copt Hill, capturing the scene from various angles. The sky was definitely living up to its earlier billing, as the colour presented itself and seemed to linger for an age. This wasn't going to be a brief affair.

I was running with the Canon 5D3 for this outing, couple with a 16-35L lens and nothing else. No filters or remote, just the basics. I even   left my mitts in the car, which wasn't exactly the smartest move I made, as it was bloody freezing. Then again, we were into late December, so not to complain eh. I fired off around twenty frames in total, which definitely had a keeper or two amongst them, so I was looking forward to getting them onto my laptop to have a better look. So without further ado I said goodbye to Mr Foulds and headed off back to the car. By this time it would have been around 4.30pm. I had parked up in the Copt Hill Inn car park, which is a short walk from the burial ground that is Seven Sisters. I noticed there was still some lovely colour in the sky, which was odd, as the sun had actually set an hour ago. By this time there's usually no trace of red in the sky, but on this occasion there was still plenty to see. It was almost apocalyptic. Amazing to watch as it took on an almost surreal sight for sore eyes. Looking back now, I can safely say that the last photo I took (shown here, of the Copt Hill Inn) was by far my favourite one of the lot. Now, that was not part of the plan when I arrived, but sometimes those little surprises make the experience a whole lot sweeter. And so it was ...

Until the next time, be good

A.C

TV Aerial

Hello again and welcome to another blog entry, albeit a short one. I'd like to give you an update on the Aerial section of my website. Over the last week I've been editing lots of HD video footage from the SD card in my drone. Some of the footage was captured at the beginning of 2017, so as you can imagine, it was beginning to form a backlog and I didn't want to fall back any further with it. The upshot is, there's a handful of new video's on my site, all aerial, and there is more in the pipeline. I've got a tick list here and it has several locations on it, all of which I want to visit with the drone, during the next few weeks. I'll not give too much away though - that would be spoiling it, so if you would like to be informed of my latest video's, feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel. You'll receive instant notifications of any new uploads from myself.

I still feel like a complete novice when flying, despite a good ten hours of flying time under my belt over the last year or so. I'm gonna have to become more adventurous with the joysticks and crank up the speed and flight paths of my Phantom 3. Most of the royalty free soundtracks I have preferred to use are fairly low tempo ambient affairs, which I love, so I like to match the tempo of the flights with it, which works well I reckon. As my flights become more intense, so will the music, to match, but that's all in theory of course. The proof is in the pudding. Let's see what I can conjure up during the next couple of flights. So many places to visit, and lots of ideas floating around, as long as I stick to the guidelines.

So stay tuned and I'll be sure to bring you any more developments on my aerial photography.

Chocks away!

A.C

RAF Spadeadam - Revisited

Welcome back!

Following on from my last blog entry, this is the second part of the RAF Spadeadam trilogy - a night time visit under the stars. I'd been excited about a revisit since our first outing a couple of weeks previously. The thought of getting back into Cumbria to attempt a trail shot kept me ticking over nicely, whilst anticipating the drive west, over the A69 for more astro photography. As you can see by the BBC Weather screenshot from that day, clear skies was the forecast and a three quarter moon phase would help to light up the foreground. A second screenshot, also shown here, gives an indication of where the moon would be around 11pm, the time we planned to arrive on site . The position of the moon was perfect - ideally placed in the south west and directly behind where we planned to shoot from. The elements were on our side tonight. We arrived on time, as expected, then began to shoot our star trails. My brother Chris was alongside once again - there was on way I was heading here on my own. The site was open once again as we headed through the wooded area and parked next to the cattle grid - a ten minute walk to the abandoned Lockheed Shooting Star.

I was running with two camera's - a Canon 5D3 and the amazing Sony a7s mirrorless cam. I wanted to pull in two star trails, one portrait and one landscape, hence the use of two camera's. Lens choices on the night were Canon 16-35 f2.8 and a Samyang 14mm prime, also at f2.8. From memory, we were on site around 90 minutes, during which time it became increasingly colder, even though we could hardly feel it when we arrived. I reckon the task of negotiating the boggy access field warmed us up a tad. I'd opted for walking boots on this occasion, but the field wasn't anywhere near as dry as our first visit, so my got rather soaked and it was no fun standing in wet boots for an hour and a half.

Once we stopped the star trail sequence we ran off a few selfies before heading back home. It was a productive night and an enjoyable one too, despite the brass monkey bollocks I acquired on the night. All part of the fun I suppose, with hindsight. It didn't feel like fun at the time, he he. As well as capturing a star trail or two, I also put together a motion star trail from one of the sets of images I pulled in. The result can be seen on my 'Night Sky Time Lapse Compilation' which I uploaded to my You Tube channel. Click here to view it.

With the job done I was already planning to make a third visit to photograph the airframe under the milky way. This came to fruition a week later. Stay tuned for that - coming next. And on that note I shall vanish once again. Back soon folks. Cheers, Ash

Derwentwater By Night - April 2017

Hello again,

As you can see, I'm still alive and kicking, despite my 4 month absence from my blog page. Lots to catch up on, with new images and stories to accompany them, as well as an insight to what lays ahead with all things photography.

Todays blog entry takes me back to Saturday April 22nd, going into the 23rd, 2017. An all-nighter on the shores of Derwentwater and after midnight it would be my birthday, so I was hoping for a productive night with the camera. My brother Chris made the journey with me, across the A66, arriving at approximately 9pm. Earlier in the day I received an aurora alert on my mobile phone, but the north-east was clouded out, so we made the journey west, where clear skies were predicted. I remembered previous Aurora shows, notably on St. Patrick's Day and Mother's Day, so the omen's were looking good for tonight - St. George's Day! We decided that Lodore Jetty, on the edge of Derwentwater, was where we would set up for the night, looking north across the water towards the Skiddaw range. We had the place to ourselves, which was ideal - no-one else shining torches or getting in the way. That'll do nicely.

It was still quite cloudy when I set camera one up, although what was left of the clouds appeared to be moving east, leaving clear skies ahead. Within minutes a purple haze could be seen in the distance, towards Skiddaw and Lake Bassenthwaite. Then purple spikes appeared. Some nice structure, albeit very brief. They moved from left to right, disappearing behind Skiddaw. I was running a time lapse sequence, so I was rather chuffed to have caught the movement on camera. It was a great start to the night. As camera one pulled in the shots I set camera two away, pulling in continuous shots, which I would use for a star trail. Derwentwater was so still and there was no breeze at all. This was an idyllic spot, even at night, with only owls for company. 

I was shortly after midnight by this time and we were both getting hungry. I left Chris at Lodore and headed into Keswick in search of takeaway food. I parked up and headed across the road to a pizza shop, but the guy inside said he was closing for the night, which was great. Starving and craving a kebab when the bloke waves his hand and shakes his head. Cheers mate, I get the message. I had a quick drive around but nowhere else was open, so I headed back to Lodore empty handed. I'm driving along the lakeside, it's obviously pitch black at half past midnight. I've seen it all now - a young girl, probably late teens, walking along the road with headphones in and a small torch in her hand. I was amazed. I mean WTF. She was nowhere near houses or any real safe haven. Instinct told me to check that she was ok, so I slowed down and her if everything was ok. She looked across, said 'Yeah' in a very confident tone, then looked away and continued walking in pitch dark. I said 'Ok then' and drove on. Very odd!

Got back to Lodore Jetty and grabbed what was left of my goody bag - two bags of crisps and a few biscuits. Hardly a kebab, but what can ya do, eh. We spent three more hours waiting for another glimpse of the aurora, but we'd seen the best of it by this point. Before heading home I ran off a quick panoramic sequence of shots, 5 in total, panning from left to right above Lodore Jetty, where the milky way was ideally placed and arching across the night sky. It looked amazing. A fox screeched on the fells, echoing across the lake. This night photography is so addictive, with nature adding those final little touching, as well as Mother Nature chipping in with some aurora too. It certainly was a birthday to remember and a very productive one at that.

Cheers, Ash (one year older) 

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

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

 

Back 2 Nature

Hello again!

A change of direction with my latest blog entry - it's a return to some nature photography, after an absence of a few months. It's generally Springtime when I kick start my nature photography and this year is no different as the breeding season kicks in once again. And what better location to reacquaint myself with nature photography, it has to be Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve on the door step that is Houghton le Spring. It's always a challenge to capture those eye catching shots of Mute Swans at sunset, especially at this time of year when these territorial birds let you know in no uncertain terms who is boss. Get too close and you'll know about it, let there be no doubt about that. A little bit of field craft comes into play in these situations and that has developed of the years with experience in similar situations. I've got to know the tolerance levels of Mute Swans, mainly due to many visits to this locations and also by monitoring their habits and behaviour close up. I've gained a lot of knowledge after photographing these birds and have learned not to push the limits. Let them rule their habitat at all times. Do the job and then get out.

So here is my latest set of images, caught shortly after sunset on a mild March evening. The water was still and only a solitary swan on show, which was all I needed. When the sun had gone it was a brief waiting game as I prepared to take my shots with a nice colourful backdrop. And so it came and went, lasting a mere ten minutes. Only a short window to bag the shots, but it was enough. I was only a few feet away from the Cobb (male swan) as it posed for me on one of the many ponds at Rainton Meadows. It seemed more than at ease with my presence and sat contently on the water as the colour appeared in the sky behind it. I appeased the bird with the occasional food pellet, which it welcomed. Without the grub I may have been out of luck. As it was, luck was well and truly on my side on this occasion. I was chuffed with the shots. Here is 3 efforts from a batch of a dozen keepers. Hope you like them. Until the next time, stay tuned...

Ash

Today's Sunrise

After working through the night and hurrying home to catch the sunrise I managed to get to my chosen location just in time to catch the colours. It was well windy at the top of Copt Hill Barrow, where the Seven Sisters Neolithic Burial Ground is situated, on the edge of Houghton le Spring. Before leaving for work the night before, I had my camera bag at the ready, knowing I would be heading home shortly before sunrise at 7.44am, but the Mrs stuck her beak in and said 'You're wasting your time, the weather forecast isn't good for tomorrow morning.' I mean, she's a cracking wife and all that, but I tend to ignore her advice when it comes to photography, but on this occasion I gave in and put my gear back where it belongs. Bad move! It was a dramatic sunrise, to say the least. The wind was up and it was freezing cold, but nevertheless I was at Copt Hill Barrow, armed with a mobile phone (yeah, p*ss poor, I know). I took a couple of shots and grabbed an HD movie clip to go with it.
Here they are...

And next time I'll tell the Mrs to keep her advice to her'sel (he he).
Back soon!

Ash

Red Sky At Night

Hello again!

Last Friday, around 5.00pm I noticed 'Layers' of white clouds above, which got me thinking there was a dramatic Sunset on the way. Being an amateur photographer who occasionally gets it right, but more often wrong, I grabbed my camera gear and headed to Rainton Meadows in the hope that I'd made a good decision, as my last two attempts were a complete waste of time. As is normal, I left with plenty of time to spare, even though the Meadows are only five minutes away by car. As the site gates are locked at 4.30pm in October I had to park the car on a back road near Chilton, which is a ten minute walk from car to water. Upon arrival it was the usual case of 'Spot the Swans' on the first pond (there are four separate ponds in total). There was a pair of Mute Swans on the water but there was little choice of ideal location at the waters edge because of the massive reeds around it. A simple break in the reeds, with the sun in front of me would have been perfect, but sadly, not on this occasion. So I walked to the next pond, a much bigger one and by far the biggest of all four. As well as the usual crowd of Ducks, Grebe's and Geese there was a family of Mute Swans - both parents and seven Cygnets. I photographed the Cygnets on the very first day they left the nest, back in early June 2012, flanked by the Cobb and Hen and they made there way across the field from Pond 3 (Nesting site) to Pond 2, where they've lived ever since. Four months later the Cygnets are almost as big as their parents and I was glad to see all seven on the water. Historically one or two will 'Go missing' during those first few weeks of life, but all seven were present. The Swans were at the top end of the pond when I arrived and the sun was about to set so I waited a few minutes before luring them towards my camera with the ever trusty slices of bread.

In the meantime I took a shot of the pond (see above) and once the sun was down the colours I had earlier anticipated were beginning to show in the sky. Maybe I had got it right this time! I was now into the last fifteen minutes of the Golden Hour (known to photographers as '30 minutes before Sunrise and 30 minutes after Sunset). By now I had tempted the Mute Swans over with the bread and the pink sky was turning red - everything was firmly in place. Red turned to deeper red as I fired off my first few frames. A very quick review of the shots put a big smile on my face so I wasted no time in taking more as the birds practically ate from my hand. The occasional hiss kept me on my toes and I was extra vigilant as one the parents came closer, leaving the water behind and stepping onto land. The Cygnets were pre-occupied on the water, feeding from the bed and not being at all concerned about the goodies on offer nearby. The red sky was at its most colourful at this stage and shortly it would be gone, so I made the most of my opportunity. No-one around but me and nature, which was ideal and just the ticket, no excuse for poor shots. Sparingly I passed over the bread until it was gone, making sure my last slice was used once the red sky had burnt out. It's all about timing. I had approximately a dozen shots in the bag by this time so my work was done, and I hadn't been clouted off the parents - sounds like a result, to me. Off I went as the light fell dramatically. On the way back to the car I was tempted to review the full set of photographs I'd just taken, but opted against it. I'm a bit sad in this respect as I always wait until I return home, put my feet up and then review them, with a cup of coffee for company. I must refrain from this and get myself a life, he he. Small pleasures, eh!

Bird photography isn't easy and requires much patience, but if you have that to your game you're half way there. The rest is what you'll learn as you go, but don't be put off with disappointing shots as I started off with plenty of them, albeit many years ago. It's trial and error and you'll see the results improve over time. You'll definitaly need an edge of 'Fearless Photography' as these birds can be quite unpredictable, even out of the breeding season, so be aware. You get a good idea of their tolerance levels after being in their company for a few minutes and obviously each one is different in this respect. You don't wanna beak in your eye, eh. Aye well, that's about it for now, folks. Hope you like the new shots. The following day was a good one - an 'All day' shoot along the 'Northumberland Coastal Route'. Some nice Autumn shots coming your way in the next few days, including visits to Warkworth, Alnwick and Bamburgh. As always...

watch this space! See ya soon.

Ash

Closer To Home - Rainton Meadows

It had been almost three weeks since my last outing with the camera, so I put the record straight with a recent visit to Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve in Houghton le Spring. That last outing - a 160 mile round trip that included visits to Bamburgh and Holy Island on the Northumberland Coast, was one that I'll definitely repeating soon, but my latest photo offerings were captured much closer to home, as mentioned above. Historically, January is a often a month of excellent Sunrises and Sunsets for me and 2012 has been no different - infact, this year has probably yielded more opportunities than previous years as there was one brilliant sky after another. If you can tolerate the 'Brass Monkey' arctic temperature then you're half way there, although there's still work for idle hands to do and a pair of wooly gloves comes in rather handy in these conditions. Of course I don't wear such 'Pussyfied' attire - well, maybe now and again, but keep that to yourself, eh.

So here I was, at Rainton Meadows, with my 11 year old son, just killing an hour or so before tea. Walking to the first pond we passed a young couple - the lad was armed with a Canon 5D Mk2, which was capable of doing a lot of damage with the attached 500mm telephoto lens. Of course, I couldn't tell when passing that it was a 5D, the strap gave the game away. I experienced a slight tinge of envy because of the kit he was carrying - full frame with top notch glass attached, it must have tipped the scales at around 4 grand, easily! As we passed he noticed the loaf of bread in my sons hand, then told us there was a hungry Swan on the water ahead of us, and that he had no bread himself and as a consequence he got no decent close-up shots of it - not that he needed close-up's anyway, with that size lens. Tough titty eh, get yersel' away son and leave it to the experts, he he!

The sun had just set in front of us and some colour lifted the sky as I took my first couple of shots. I was literally three feet away from the Mute Swan as I photographed it, all the time being wary that it may have a dig at me at any given moment. But the grub was the key and I was confident it wouldn't 'Bite the hand that feeds.' That was the case, so things went smoothly during the short time we were there and the big bird eventually fettled a full bag of Warburton's without hesitation. Hungry Swan indeed. Composing the shots was very straightforward - Swan, Sky and the inclusion of a reed bed to emphasise the habitat - it worked ok and the colourful sky finished the shot off quite well, although beforehand I had hoped for a better sky - beggars and choosers, and all that. Natural Life is an interesting subject to photograph, although I don't devote much time to it as I'd like to, mainly due to the fact that my biggest lens only covers the 300mm mark, but maybe sometime in the future I'll get more 'Into it.' Until then here ya go - two shots taken with the trusty Canon 7D and 18-135mm lens on it's widest setting. Happy snapping.

Back soon, Ash

Seven Sisters - Daily Visits

Hello again. Regular visitors to my Blog page will be aware that during the Winter months I make regular visits to the Copt Hill Barrow, also known locally as the Seven Sisters, situated in Houghton le Spring. A quick 'search' of my Blog will throw up previous entries where I have visited the monument to photograph it during different seasons. I rarely bother photographing it in Summer as the leaves are thick and the silhouette against a bright sunset is nowhere near as effective as it is during Winter when the leaves are long gone. A week of great Sunrise and Sunset photography yielded my latest batch of silhouette shots and I can't remember a week like it, as it was one brilliant sky after another. In the meantime, here is a brief description, copied and pasted from another web page...

Monument: Seven Sisters round barrow, Copt Hill, Houghton le Spring

Parish: Sunderland

County: Tyne and Wear

National Monument number: 32055

National grid reference (s): NZ35344921

The monument includes the round barrow known as Seven Sisters. It is situated in arable land on the western flank of Copt Hill and is 300m south of Copt Hill public house. The barrow mound is 3m high and approximately 25m in diameter. It is of earth and stone construction. The stones include magnesian limestone and sandstone. To the west and north west of the mound there are visible remains of a surrounding bank. An aerial photograph of the monument indicates a further boundary to the west and north of the mound about 25m from the edge of the mound, and a rectilinear cropmark to the east believed to be the terminal of a cursus. Excavation of the barrow in 1877 by Canon William Greenwell and Mr T Robinson revealed that the primary burial was a Neolithic cremation believed to be an example of an axial mortuary structure. There were also several Bronze Age cremations and inhumations, and an early medieval inhumation.

Between Monday 9th and Thursday 12th January I visited the Seven Sisters each day, twice at sunrise and twice at sunset. Winter, especially January, has historically presented the most colourful skies at each end of the day, so if you like to shoot silhouettes then this is one of the best locations in the North-East of England for this type of photography. I'm lucky, I only live round the corner, so within ten minutes of leaving the house I'm 'Set up' and ready to work. During the golden hour - 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset, I captured many images, all recorded in RAW format at 18 Megapixels on a Canon 7D. I used a bog standard 18-135mm lens and a 10-22mm wide for the images shown here. Each lens gives different results in their own right, although the wide angle glass gets you right up close, almost on the barrow itself, and you can still fit it all in! The close angle offers a sense of drama as the trees tower over the lens, and if the right sky is available, you get drama on a big scale, which is exactly what I was after. Two of my shots show 'One Man And His Dog', which has almost become an obligitory fixture for me when I photograph the Seven Sisters. Scale is quite important here - I always try to include people whenever they present themselves and this place is a favourite haunt for Man and his Best Friend, so you're never short of the odd 'Extra' or two entering the frame. Some folk walk round the barrow when they see me, thinking they might be spoiling my shot by walking over the top, which is never the case, as a walking man and dog offer a nice profile in silhouette (as shown here, shot 3). And there's no escape, as this fella walked round the barrow and I still caught him and his dog. It worked quite well. Just for the record, the first and last of my four shots were taken at Sunset and the middle two at Sunrise. Whether it's 8.30am or 4.00pm it makes little difference, as I was freezing to the bone, despite wearing two fleeces and a jacket as well as the black wooly 'Bin Man' hat. I switch off to the cold - little choice, but looking back I'm glad I did. It wasn't long before I was back in my house and sat down with a cup of coffee while the wife massaged my feet. Well, maybe I made the last bit up, he he, she wouldn't go near my feet with a knotty prop!

And now to the last shot. And it's colour all the way - once again. I love this one. I showed a friend this shot and he thought it had been captured in Africa, of all places. Houghton le Spring is a far cry from the African continent, although you often see the odd 'Elephant' walking in and out of the Silver Grid (Local Chippy). And before I forget, some of you may have noticed the obvious discrepancy - there isn't actually Seven Sisters, but Six, after one was burned down a few years ago by some brain-dead 'Chav' who obviously had nowt else better to do than torch the Monument. Tosser! Ah well, he's cursed now - history and myth of the real Seven Sisters (Witches) will catch up with him sooner or later - card well and truly MARKED. Ah well, it is on that note that I shall wind up my latst Blog entry and finish off by telling you that another scribble or two will follow shortly. As mentioned earlier this week, I planned a visit to Bamburgh Castle on the Northumberland Coast, which is where I eventually ended up yesterday after planning and later postponing my previous attempts to photograph on location.So stay tuned for more low-light Sunrise photography, this time on the sand with the imposing Bamburgh Castle silhoutted against yet another dramatic sky as the sun rose. For a sneak preview check out my Historic Northumberland gallery over at ashleycorr.com (Images 24-27).

Full write-up coming soon.

Ash

Hillside Cemetery, Houghton le Spring

From the peaceful idyllic setting of the Northumberland Coast at Dunstanburgh to an eerie yet fascinating site in Houghton le Spring - Hillside Cemetery. I've lived in Houghton for twelve years now, yet it's only recently that this local site has come to my attention. I never knew of its existance until a few years ago when a story went to print in the Sunderland Echo regarding a gang of youths that had recently vandalised the graveyard, including the opening of a tomb. Many headstones were either felled or smashed during this rampage of sheer mindless vandalism, causing outrage in the local community. I don't know whether the culprits were ever brought to book, but the cemetery was later cleaned of all grafitti and some of the headstones were raised back into position to restore the site to a semblance of normality. In December 2003 following a public meeting, the Friends of Houghton Hillside Cemetery were formed and since the formation of the group the site is slowly returning to its former glory. So far the group have carried out substantial conservation works within the site and also secured funds which saw the restoration of the Lych Gate and Railings at the entrance. They have also held their own fund raising events such as their annual open days, a sponsored graveyard gallop and more recently in 2008 a sponsored 10 mile walk. The walk was undertaken in atrocious weather conditions as it rained from beginning to end but this did not deter the Friends who took part. Tours of the site are undertaken several times each year and each time are attended by new visitors to the site together with many visitors who support the group year after year.

Hillside is a cemetery located on the outskirts of Houghton Le Spring and the recently restored Lych Gate can be seen when driving along Houghton Cut on the A690 towards Sunderland. It is in actual fact not a cemetery but a detached burial ground for St Michaels and All Angels Church, however, it is more often than not referred to as 'the old cemetery'. It was consecrated in 1854 by Rector John Grey after a lot of controversy as the site was initially a quarry. There had been an outbreak of Cholera in Houghton Le Spring and as the churchyard surrounding St Michael & All Angels Church was full another site had to be found. Eventually after a lot of debating the Hillside site was consecrated. Initially the main entrance to the site was through Hillside Farm next door but in 1873 the Lych Gate was built and this became the entrance. The Lych Gate was damaged due to a road traffic accident in the 1960's. Due to the site being used less and less the Lych Gate soon became overgrown with ivy and other climbing plants. Although the site was a split level site, Hillside soon started to fill up and it was found necessary to have an extension which was opened in 1894. This also coincided with the opening of the Municipal Cemetery on Durham Road in Houghton Le Spring but as the municipal did not at the time have a consecrated area the authorities were forced to extend Hillside. There were about 7000 burials in total took place at Hillside.

The last burial took place at Hillside in the 1970’s. Also, when the A690 was built through Houghton Cut in the 1960’s the cemetery was forgotten about. Sunderland Street, where the cemetery is located, became a dead end due to the recently built dual carriageway. Hillside quickly became overgrown and a haven for wildlife. During the building of the A690 the headstones on the plateau area of the site were bulldozed and plateau levelled. The stones are supposedly buried in the top left hand corner of the site. There are over 7000 people buried at Hillside including Rector Grey and Thomas Usherwood Robinson. Thomas Usherwood Robinson being the main objector in the controversy! Ironic to think that even though he was one of the main objectors he ended up at Hillside in the end.

A conversation with a workmate who lives in the nearby village of Fence Houses turned to the subject of Hillside Cemetery. He encouraged me to make a visit with my camera as the cemetary was an interesting place to photograph. I said I would take his advice and get my arse up there, sooner rather than later. Since the conversation I often wondered what this place actually looked like, after hearing tales of this strange place that is situated on a hillside, just five minutes drive from my house. It was by chance that the following day I had my car booked in for its annual MOT test, at a garage just down the road from Hillside Cemetery. Instead of waiting in the garage while my car was being tested I decided to take a walk up to the cemetary and return to collect my car later. I had an hour to kill so off I trudged, up the bank to the main Lych Gate entrance (pictured here - photo one). Walking through the arch I headed along the path towards a plateau next to the cliff face. There were a dozen or so headstones scattered about and a recently erected memorial cross to honour the miners that had died at Houghton Colliery down the years, before its eventual closure in 1981. The place was desolate, just me and my camera phone, walking around this odd place that must have had many a story behind it, unknown to me.

As I found myself at the far end of the plateau I stood next to the memorial cross and looked back across the plateau. It was at this point I thought to myself 'Is this all there is'. It certainly didn't live up to my expectations. I was told there were many gravestones standing up against the cliff face, but I didn't see any. I was about to head back to the entrance of the cemetary when I noticed a break in the trees behind the memorial stone. Intrigued, I walked into the wooded area on a well used path - obviously there was more to Hillside Cemetery than first meets the eye. As I walked into the woods I noticed what looked like a gravestone, then another, and another. By now my mind was working overtime and it suddenly dawned on me that my visit to Hillside Cemetery was only just beginning. I hadn't seen anything yet! What lay ahead was something of completed astonishment - dozens of graves in a completely overgrown wooded area. It was definately a surreal moment, like a scene from the set of a horror movie. I was half expecting some zombie like figure to crawl out from the undergrowth and tell me to get back to the garage, as my car had failed its MOT with four broken coil springs, he he. I've visited some unusual places in my time but nothing like this. And to think, I'd been living on its doorstep for over a decade!

The majority of the gravestones were vandalised. Many dated back to early nineteenth century - etchings on some were barely visible through erosion over the passage of time. As I walked further into the site I noticed a large black char mark on the ground, obviously the result of a fire by some locals - maybe even lit during a night time vigil whilst camping, who knows. Rather them than me. Nearby I noticed a blanket sticking out of the earth. I scraped at it with my foot, wondering what lay inside it. Maybe a pet had been buried at this spot. Just then my mobile phone rang loudly - I nearly shat myself!!! Places like this have a habit of hightening your senses and every little sound is heard, like a twig snapping nearby, or did it? Was my mind playing games with me, I wondered. It was broad daylight yet I wasn't having any of it. Call me a pussycat, but you had to be in the thick of this place to realise its ability to unnerve. Another moment to forget was when I kneeled down to brush away leaves on a felled gravestone. I remember reading 'Aged 3 years' as a roosting pigeon in the tree above decided to fly off, making a racket in the process. Again, I missed a heart beat and feared a change of underwear was on the cards if I stayed here any longer. Time to go collect my car!

Hillside Cemetery - a place I'll not forget in a hurry. A fascinating place.
I'll be back soon. Thanks for visiting - Ash