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

Night Tyne Photography

As promised, a couple of photographs from my brief outing to Newcastle Quayside. Following on from a visit to the Angel Of The North (Last blog entry), I headed over to the Quayside to try out my 24-105mm lens, which I hadn't tested on the Quayside to date, so I was itching to give it a first run out at this location, albeit a very brief one. It was literally a five minute stop, as I parked up in the Fish Market Car Park, next to the Swing Bridge, before setting up my gear and shooting down the river, towards the Tyne Bridge, Millennium Bridge & Baltic Arts Centre. It was getting late, so I made sharp and ran off two exposures, which were around the 5 second mark. There was cloud above, which is always a good addition to a night-time shot, as opposed to a flat sky with little or no detail in it. There was many a Geordie reveller on the Quayside, dodging from pub to pub, and there's plenty of choice in that department. It was rowdy, to say the least. Aye, been there...done that. Nowadays I'm focusing on Rivers and Bridges instead of getting rat-arsed and staggering home with a dirty kebab in my hands. Ahhh, those were the days!

But more of that another time. Here are the shots I took, only two, but very similar, although one is cropped to give an almost panoramic feel to it. Turns out the L-Series glass was more than capable...
CLICK TO ENLARGE
Speak soon.
AC

Painting With Light - Part 1

Venue - Penshaw Monument, Tyne & Wear

As mentioned at the end of my last Blog entry, here are my latest shots which involve the art of Painting With Light. Very much an experimental exercise, this was my first attempt using very basic tools, such as string, an egg whisk and a small bag of wire wool. Naturally, a box of matches was needed, otherwise I'd still be at the location now, waiting for something to happen! In the run up to this experiment I'd visualised the finished shots, so a few days prior to the event I started putting the 'Ingredients' together in my head, so that when the day eventually arrived I was ready to put things into practise. First things first - I needed a location to carry out my little experiment, and not just any location - I wanted a backdrop that would compliment the drama that would unfold as I attempted to paint with light. One location that stood out in my mind immediately was Penshaw Monument, a place I know very well and which I visit very frequently. I've taken dozens of low-light shots at this location, although the walk up the steep hill doesn't get any easier when you're in your mid-forties. So Penshaw Monument it is - my location was decided on and it was now a simple case of waiting for a clear night sky and it would be 'All Systems Go'. An overcast or dull sky wouldn't offer my shots much colour, as opposed to clear skies giving a nice blue hue, so I checked the weather app on my phone and my preps were almost complete - Saturday 12th May was my night. All that remained was to gather a few bits and bobs to guarantee I wouldn't go up in a ball of flames, like a baseball cap, goggles and fire retardant clothes and gloves, which I had already 'Aquired'.

Saturday night arrived soon enough. Twenty years ago I would have spent most Saturday nights 'On the beer' yet here I was 'On the wool' - how times have changed, he he. I made my way up Penshaw Hill, noticing how ideal the conditions were - clear sky, with a slight breeze that became more than slight as I reached the top of the hill. Ideal for fire spreading quickly. Jesus - I sound like I'm ready to commit arson - Reeves Corner, Pt 2 !!! Just a lil' experiment folks, nowt ti' worry about about, knarr worra mean like? I had the place to myself, which was ideal - didn't want the local chavs coming over and saying 'Ere Mister, what ya deein like' before asking 'Giz a gan Mister, gan on - Giz a gan'. The tripod was in place and the 7D was hooked up, along with remote sensor on the hot shoe. I dialled in some settings to begin with, and tinkered with along the way before hitting the mark. Next the gear came out the bag and I stuffed a ball of wire wool into the egg whisk, which was attached to a piece of string. I lit the wool and it took hold immediately. I then fired the shutter remotely before spinning the contraption in my left hand. As expected, sparks were flying, but I was well covered up. I ran off a six second exposure to begin with, followed by another at 13 seconds. I was well chuffed with the results, shown here. The first shot (top) was a straightforward swing in a stationery position, but the second one was more complicated, as I was constantly on the move to create a 'Spiral' across the columns of Penshaw Monument. Painting with light - Part 1 - hope you like them as much as I did. Not a bad effort for a rookie 'Wool Burner'.

I'll be at it again at a later date. It's quite addictive!
Cheers, Ash

Rocky Foreshore, Dunstanburgh

Hello again. It's been over a week since my last ramblings so I thought it best to show my face again. 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.

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