Light Painting (War Of The Worlds)

Hello again.
Two blog entries in one day - what's that all about?
Well, I said I would write more regularly than usual, which at best is three or four times a month, so here I am again with my latest ramblings. Today's offering comes in the shape of another experiment as a novice in light painting. My recent Astro Photography got off to a good start when I pulled in some impressive shots of the Milky Way, as well as Star Trails. I appear to have picked that up fairly quickly and I expect to carry on in a similar vein during future midnight outings into the dark. But now, it's onwards and upwards into the world of light painting, another area of photography that until recently was as alien as Astro (no pun intended). With many years of experience in photography, this has springboarded me half way up the ladder in areas of photography that is new to me, as general knowledge of exposure settings and all round familiarity of the camera gives you that head overall start. You're already up and running, so it's then a case of acquainting yourself with the surroundings, lighting conditions and one or other minor factors that give you the main ingredients to throw into the mix. Trial and error plays a part too, as even the most accomplished photographer (not me, by the way) rarely gets it bang on first time. Nothing wrong with that, as we learn from our mistakes as we go along.

Anyway, enough of that. Here's my take on light painting with a simple torch. I tried it once at Hadrian's Wall, which again was quite challenging as it was completely new territory for me, but it came up trumps at Sycamore Gap. This time the location was a lot closer to home, at South Shields. The Groyne Lighthouse would be the location for this experiment, overlooking the mouth of the River Tyne, with the Groyne Lighthouse as the focal point. My first shot (above) has a slight Apocalyptic feel to it, reminiscent of a scene from 'War Of The Worlds', with the pod on legs and a dramatic sky as a backdrop. Well, maybe not quite in that mould, but that was what sprung to mind when I reviewed the processed images. So, without further ado...

Back soon, AC

Super Size Canvas

Earlier this week I printed my first Super Size Canvas prints, at 45x30 inches, stretched and wrapped round a 32mm gallery style frame. I've got to be honest, the print quality was outstanding, with pin sharp detail and true colour reproduction throughout. Both canvas prints were made to order and are now on display at a firm of accountants in South Shields. The buyer was so happy with the quality of the work she gave a very strong indication that more orders would follow, as they wanted canvas prints to display in their other branches at Sunderland, Newcastle and Hexham. As I have an extensive image library containing images of local interest, I'm fairly optimistic they can find something they like on my website, which can in turn be reproduced as canvas prints. Following the success of these 'Larger' canvas prints, I will be adding this option (45x30 inches) to my new store layout which will reopen in the next few weeks at ashleycorr.com. All canvas orders will receive a first class courier delivery service (DPD) which has a turnaround of 72 hours in most cases. Canvases will be bubble wrapped then secured with layers of corrugated cardboard to prevent the product being damaged in transit. So, keep an eye out for my new online shop which will be open just as soon as I get my arse into gear and finish the pages. Almost there.


Lastly, here are the two canvas prints I mentioned earlier. I quickly managed to grab a photo of each before heading over South Shields to deliver them promptly at the pre-arranged time. The canvases are...

1. Marsden Sunrise
2. Littlehaven Dawn

Back soon, Ash

TV Weather shots (Parts 63-66)

Hello again.
Here is my latest batch of Weather Shots that were shown on local TV recently. As usual, each shot is presented as a short video clip, taken directly from TV and converted for use in the blog video player (below). Today marks a slight change from the norm as I bring you my first ever BBC Weather shot!
Up to now all of my previous weather shots were shown on Tyne-Tees Television, all 62 of them, but I decided to try my luck with BBC and it worked out well. A recent camping trip on August Bank Holiday weekend gave me an opportunity to do my first ever sunrise shoot in the Lake District, which I grabbed with both hands. I captured what I consider to be one of my finest landscape shots I have ever taken, at Buttermere. A full blog entry of my camping trip will appear here soon.

Weather shots in the video player below are -
63. Roseberry Topping, Great Ayton
64. St Mary's Lighthouse, Whitley Bay
65. South Shields Sunrise
66. Buttermere, Lake District

Ash

Tyne-Tees Television (Parts 55-59)

Hello again.

It's time for another video upload of my photographs that have been shown on TV recently. Another five to add to the collection, which now stands at 59. They are as follows -

55. First Light, Littlehaven, South Shields
56. Midnight, Penshaw Monument
57. Littlehaven Sunrise, South Shields
58. Littlehaven Sunrise, South Shields (slideshow)
59. Millennium Bridge, Newcastle Quayside

So, here they are...
AC

Littlehaven Sunrise, South Shields

A rarity from me - a summer sunrise photograph by Ashley Corr. This has to be the earliest time of day that I've gone out with the camera, of that I'm certain. Winter time is when I regularly shoot sunrises, due to the fact that there's no need to get out of bed during silly hours, which can't be a good thing. So, what made me shoot a Summer sunrise at 5.00am, you may be asking yourself. Well, I'd slept for a few hours during the day, followed by a few more hours at night, then awoke at 4.00am and couldn't get back to sleep. That was it - up and out with the camera. I drove down to Roker Beach, expecting the sun to rise behind the pier, as it usually does, but that is during the Winter months and today was very different. The early morning colour on the horizon gave a clear indication as to where the sun was about to rise, and it was nowhere near Roker Pier, but this is Summer, so the sun was about to rise further North, up the coast. With little time to spare before sunrise, I made the short journey to Littlehaven Beach, South Shields, where the sun was ready to rise over Tynemouth. I took up position in the sand dunes at Littlehaven and waited for some colour in the sky. It wasn't long before that happened. There wasn't a soul around, which was perfectly understandable. Only idiots get out of bed to photograph a sunrise at 5.00am!!

Here are three photographs. The first was taken shortly before sunrise. The second one shows the sun peeping over the low cloud cover, shortly after sunrise. The final shot, which is my favourite of the three, shows the sun over the cloud, as it shoots a ray of orange across the North Sea towards the dunes. Hey, maybe I'm not such an idiot after all. These shots were worth getting out of bed for, but somehow I don't think I'll be making a habit of it until Winter arrives once again. 
AC

 

Littlehaven & The Labour Party

Welcome back, pop pickers!

At the tail end of April I was contacted by a Labour Party Organiser, representing the South Tyneside constituency on behalf of local MP, Emma Lewell-Buck. The enquiry, which came through my website, was in response to one of my photographs that was spotted on Google images. As a result, I allowed the image, Littlehaven Sunrise' to be reproduced on a By-Election flier that was 'Dropped' in 10,000 homes in South Tyneside on the morning of voting day. Labour came out on top!

South Shields result -
Emma Lewell-Buck Labour 12,493
Richard Elvin Ukip 5,988
Karen Allen Conservative 2,857

Anyway, here is the electronic version of the flier (above). I received paper copies in the post shortly after the election, along with a nice cheque for allowing my photo to be reproduced. Another feather in the cap, eh.
And just a few days later I was at Littlehaven again, catching another sunrise, this time at 5.00am - a first. I usually capture sunrises during Winter months when I don't have to set my alarm clock too early. It proved to be a wise move as I got some great shots which I'll be uploading HERE, very soon. Until then...See ya.
Ash

Dawn Breaks At Littlehaven

At the beginning and end of each year I dedicate quite a lot of 'Spare' mornings to one of my favourite areas of photography, low-light sunrises. As each year passes I gain more experience at this particular skill and I've pulled in some great shots, so the expectation level rises each year as I make further attempts to deliver the goods. You have to be quite dedicated when you have a choice to either lie in bed, or get out of it to basically freeze your balls off on some remote beach, waiting for the sun, that might not show. Some would say it's a no-brainer, but if you want those dramatic sunrise shots in your portfolio then you're left with little choice but to get off your arse and go hunting for them. The early starts don't bother me - I can always go back for a kip in the afternoon, he he. Of course, the whole experience is what you make it, so I always add a few perks to make the outing that little bit more appealing, like a flask of coffee upon arrival, to the ritualistic visit to the McDonalds drive-thru on the way home. Both are pre-requisites and all part of the experience, although I often 'Forget' to tell the missus about the McDonalds bit, which she often susses out when I refuse a bacon sandwich when I return home, he he. So off I went, leaving home at 6.00am, with plenty of time to spare before sunrise at 7.30am. Wearing two fleeces and a body warmer (and jeans, of course) I fully expected brass monkey weather. This is October and the beginning of a five month stretch of low-light photography, so the excitement builds as I make my first outing to Littlehaven Beach, South Shields, Tyne & Wear. Here I go...

The Groyne Lighthouse becomes the focal point once again, perched on the pier at Littlehaven, as the sun rises behind it. Here are four shots that include one before sunrise, one during and two shortly afterwards. All shots were captured on my trusty Canon 7D, with 18-135mm lens, Lee ND Grads 0.3, 0.6 (stacked), shot in RAW format using an ISO of 100, Manfrotto legs with ball head grip, fired remotely. Nuff said -

Until the next time, which hopefully won't be too long.
Ash