Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland

After much planning, and more intention than enough, I finally visited the Northumberland Coast last weekend for some Sunrise Photography. I recall a Blog entry of mine last October, when I announced that a trip to Bamburgh Castle was imminent, but one thing or another scuppered my plans and the outing never materialised. Three months later, and a willingness to let nothing get in the way of a January trip to the same location, and suddenly here I am driving north on the A1(M) at 6.30am. I had plenty of sleep the night before and my preparations had actually started three days in advance, so everything was neatly in place by the time I awoke at 5.45am on Saturday morning, the day of the event. I had been out the night before for a nice Indian scran and the plan was not to pouch anything too hot otherwise I might be in a spot of trouble the next morning. As it was, I'd put away a mild 'Lamb Tikka Bhuna', made the necessary bog stop the next morning before I left for the coast, so that side of things was taken care of and I felt confident I wouldn't be running around like a loppy dog, looking for a netty amongst Bamburgh sand dunes at 8.00am. So the plan was to leave home at 6.15am, to arrive at Bamburgh Castle around 7.30am, giving me ample time to find a vantage point and get my gear set up with time to spare before Sunrise. I packed my camera gear into the car, along with flask of Coffee, Wellies, Spare Socks, Goodie Bag, and Music. I drove the car off the drive at 6.17am, two minutes over planned departure, which was neither something or nothing. The morning chill was something else, and it took a good fifteen minutes to fill the car with warmth - the temperature outside was minus 2 degrees! After 15 minutes on the road I passed the Angel Of The North whilst filling me fat face with Salted Peanuts - not the usual typical breakfast fayre I put away on a Saturday morning - it's usually cold Vindaloo, leftover from the night before! As I reach the bottom of Bowes Incline my eyes are drawn to the chimneys over Team Valley and the smoke that bellows from them. The smoke instantly freezes upon exit and rises high into the morning sky, offering a great photo opportunity, but I'm stopping the car for no-one and nothing. I pass the MetroCentre and the odd car here and there before crossing the River Tyne near Scotswood, noticing the still water and the perfect reflection of the riverside buildings and street lamps. Again, a great photo opportunity in front of me, but I'm heading somewhere else so I quickly leave the reflections behind. I'm now on a clear stretch of the A1(M) and there's not much company on the road, other than the chill-out sound of Enigma playing through the speakers. It's now 6.35am and I'm warm as toast by this time, still pouching those Salted Peanuts and beginning to think today is going to be a good one.

Around 7.00am I pass the historic town of Anlwick and notice bright red sky to my right, on the coast and exactly where I'm heading. There's an hour to go before sunrise, yet there's enough colour on display to start photographing right here and now. No good to me though, I'm thirty minutes away from my destination and I've still got to get off the big road before heading inland to my eventual stop. Hopefully the colourful sky is a rehearsal for what will follow, before and during sunrise, at which time I'll be tripping the shutter and grabbing what I can. At 7.15am I'm finally off the big road after getting caught behind a haulage wagon on single carraigeway for a good few miles. I'm still on schedule and the planned arrival time of 7.30am becomes reality as I now see the illuminated Bambugh Castle ahead of me in the distance. The bag of Salted Peanuts have bit the dust by this time and I'm feeling rather sickly - greedy 'Bar Steward' that I am. I enter the small village of Bamburgh and pass through it, approaching the grand castle on top of the craggy outcrop. Up the ramp and towards the castle car park I go, stopping the car at precisely 7.30am - things are looking very good indeed! There isn't a soul to be seen, just me, a backpack and a hefty tripod, as I step out of my trainers and into a cold pair of green wellies. There may be the need to walk into the incoming tide to get the necessary shots, so the wellies are a must if I don't wanna get the toes wet.

From the castle car park I head through the sand dunes and onto the beach, and a fine beach it is. The tide is low but incoming, so I'll need to monitor it as I photograph from the beach, as the tide has a habit of creeping up and I have no intention of becoming marooned. By 7.40am I'm off the dunes and onto the beach, where I want to be, and for the first time I'm about to photograph a sunrise at a location that has been on my wish-list for far too long. The day has finally arrived and colour begins to burst through the clouds at 8.00am. The purple hue is a nice backdrop for the silhouetted castle and I'm now beginning to mentally compose my shots, before unpacking my gear and getting down to work. And I'm not the only person with that idea in mind on Bamburgh beach - there must be around a dozen or so of the like-minded folk, all jockying for position along the sands as the tide crept in slowly. I photograph a couple of snappers as they lean forward, looking into their viewfinders as they, like myself, make pictures of the scene that appears directly in front of them. I'm remotely firing off frame after frame as the incoming tide swirls around my feet, and I feel them sinking slowly into the sand. I'm unaware that I'm about to get a good soaking as I take my eye off the ball, so to speak. I'm engrossed in the stunning sunset that now unfolds around 8.30am and the freezing cold water of the North Sea suddenly flows over the top of my wellies and I'm suddenly a far from happy bunny. I continue to photograph from the same spot on the beach and as the sun rises above the castle and the colour in the sky diminishes. I call it a day and head onto dry land. I'm soon back at the car park and supping a cup of hot coffee from my flask - just what the doctor ordered. I stand for a while and watch the waves rolling in as I pour myself another cup. It's a grand view. A few minutes later I make a swift sock change before slipping into my hiking boots - no more soaking wet feet.

I finish off with a few shots of Bamburgh Castle from the sand dunes. One particular shot is shown here with the sun bathing the foreground grasses, as well as the castle itself. At 9.15am I'm back on the road and heading north to Holy Island for some more photography. Bamburgh was an experience and now that I've done my first sunrise shoot from its sands, I'm now aquainted with the location and know where to grab the best shots. I'll be back soon for more of the same. I hope you like the selection I've posted here, and don't forget to click them to reveal enlarged versions.

When on the road I fettled a bag of Salted Peanuts, a Gregg's 'Spicey One' Pasty, a bar of Toblerone, half a box of Miniature Heroes and two cans of Pepsi. However, I balanced the boat of healthy eating by eating a single white grape. Aren't I good? (wink).
Until the next time...Ash

St Mary's Island, Whitley Bay

At this time of year my low-light shots always seem to take precedence over any other photography I have planned, mainly due to the short days and convenient times when the light is low. I recently turned out at St Mary's Island, on the Northumberland Coast near Whitley Bay. Another early rise and a 25 minute journey via the Tyne Tunnel to this coastal haunt that has become more of a regular thing for me during recent weeks. Today was one of those disappointing days when the sunrise wasn't a sunrise and drizzle was most definately drizzle - a wipe out in photography terms and certainly not what I was hoping for. I'm sure those people at the Met Office have inside information of when I'm planning a trip up the coast as they always say the right things but the weather on the actual day is quite often a far cry from their earlier prediction. Maybe these weather apps for mobile phones aren't what they're cracked up to be, eh. Ah well, with a 'No Show' from Mr Sun it was a simple case of taking a few photo's for the sheer sake of it, so here are a couple of efforts from last Sunday's visit. I wasn't aware that St Mary's Lighthouse was lit up during the night and this was the first time I'd actually seen it in artificial colour. The tide was very low so the causeway was accessible, although I only photographed from the first half of it and went no further. This is the point where small pools of sea water offer reflection and this lends some content to the shot, rather than a messy foreground, which would have definately been the case with a clutter of rocks without the water. I was the only mug on site today! The last few times I've been here there's been at least 3 other people following suit, but not today folks - just the one 'Muggins' flogging a dead horse, he he. Aye, just wait til the next time though - I'll show ya how it's done (wink). The best part of my 30 minute stay was getting back into the car and opening a flask of coffee. The accompanying Mini Roll made the experience even better, so I sat there and indulged - this was as good as it got, unfortunately. Thank god for Mini-Rolls and allowing myself to be very easily pleased.

The heaters were on and I left the scene. Ah well, with this one behind me I have a feeling I'll hit the bullseye next time. Rough with the smooth, and all that jazz...

Until then, AC

Whitley Bay Sunrise

It's been a few months since I captured my last sunrise shots, so with those very early Summer starts out of the way it seemed like as good a time as any to get back into it. From October onwards you can catch a good sunrise at a sensible time where you're not setting the alarm clock between 3 and 4am - the silly hours! Mind you, when you have the option of lying in a warm comfy bed, versus getting out of it on a freezing cold winter morning to take sunrise shots, well...some folk might say it's a 'No brainer'. But, anyone who's done sunrise before will tell you there's only one way to get those nice 'Crack of dawn' shots, and that is to get out there bright and early and do the necessary. Any dedicated photographer would not think twice about an early rise if he or she thought there was a good chance of bagging some good sunrise shots, and that's where I'm at these days, the alarm clock is only 'Enemy' on work days, he he (wink). That said, there's been a few times when I've turned out and there's been no sunrise to be had. Low cloud cover often kills the opportunity stone dead, so best do your homework the night before. I always check the weather forecast, sunrise times and tide tables so I can plan where I intend to visit the following morning, based on the information gathered.

Today I visited St. Mary's Island near Whitley Bay on the Northumberland Coast. This is a very photogenic part of the North-East coast and one that I've visited a handful of times in the past. The lighthouse is the focal part of this location and it dominates the stretch of coastline and can be seen from many miles away. The lighthouse is accessible via a causeway when the tide is low, but cut off once the tide returns. The rocks around the lighthouse are a minefield if you aren't wearing appropriate footwear at low tide, but on the plus side they come in handy when you're after some foreground interest. I came equipped with me wellies so I had no problems in that department. So, all I was waiting for was a good sunrise. The key to a good shot lies in the actual sunrise itself and the colours it presents, not only as the sun rises, but during that fifteen minute window beforehand. I was set up and raring to go, working with the following equipment...

Canon 7D body

18-135mm EF-S lens

Manfrotto tripod

Manfrotto ball & head grip

Lee foundation kit

Lee soft graduated ND filters, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9

Wireless remote control unit

(oh, and a Snickers bar!)

The first shot I took was captured shortly before sunrise. Taking my base exposure from the foreground sand, I then took a reading from the brightest part of the sky and made a mental note of the difference in f-stops. I knew that no compensation for the difference would burn out the detail in the sky completely, so out came the filters. I attached the filter holder to begin with, using a 67mm adaptor ring and screwing it into the lens thread. Then the filters came into play as I dropped in a combination of 0.9 and 0.6 Neutral Density grads. A quick test shot gave me the result I was waiting for - this is the actual test shot (above, shot 1). Both filters were positioned just above the horizon to hold back the detail in the sky. It worked quite nicely.

My second shot was taken a few minutes after sunrise - this was from a different spot, further back near the ageing wooden groynes that head out to sea. This is where those wellies came in handy as I was more than ankle-deep in sea water - something that the other photographers nearby never had the privelege of. Slippery seaweed lay underfoot at almost every step, so I was more than aware that falling flat on my arse was more than a possibilty as I negotiated the rocks in search of more angles to shoot from. My final viewpoint was right back off the rocky foreshore, next to the wooden groynes. The fractured rocks in front of me drew me instantly into my next shot. By this time the sun had been up around 15 minutes so the light had changed dramatically since my arrival at 6am. The 0.9 grad was removed and I was now running with only the 0.6 as the foreground base exposure was much lighter due to the sun hitting the rocks directly in front of me. This composition took in everything that was on offer - I quite like this one, although once again there was another shift in detail where the sky is concerned. Not much in the way of colour, just a bland greyish sky with highlights to the far right. The foreground makes up for this though in a busy kind of way. It wasn't long before I called it a day and went back to he car where a nice flask of coffee was waiting for me. I sat guzzling away in an attempt to warm myself up whilst listening to Smooth Radio before heading back home via the Tyne Tunnel. And so, my first sunrise shots for over six months and now, with the addition of my new Lee Filters, I'm looking forward to lots more early rises to improve my technique in this kind of photography. I'm already planning a visit to Bamburgh Castle, further up the Northumberland coast, probably around late October 2011. Until then I'll leave you with these three shots, which are hopefully just the start of a new collection of sunrise photography that will only get better.

Throws down the gauntlet...

Thanks for visiting.

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

Holy Island & Lindisfarne

The day was Saturday September 12th 2009. My original plan was to head north up the A1 and grab some panoramic landscape shots of Alnwick Castle. It was 11.00am and after realizing that the sun had risen around 5.30am, I had a feeling that by the time I arrived at the castle the sun would have been shining on the wrong side of its walls. Well, I got there to find exactly that. My intended vantage point for photography was now out of the question as the walls were in shade and from where I was standing...well, not much point in flogging a deed horse! So, that was that - it was now time for Plan B.

Plan B was a hastily arranged trip to Holy Island & Lindisfarne, which was a few miles further north. I say 'Hastily' as it was decided in a matter of seconds without any prior knowledge of the day's tide tables. Anyone who knows Holy Island will be well aware that the causeway is flooded at high tide, preventing motorists from making the crossing. I got lucky.

I arrived at the causeway at approximately 11.30am. It was safe to cross and I had until 7.15pm before leaving the island at high tide. So, plenty time to kill and the weather was perfect, a lovely warm day with no breeze and barely a cloud in the sky. After parking on the Island I made my way down to The Heughs, a rugged peice of terrain behind Lindisfarne Priory. It is here that visitors can enjoy great panoramic views of the island, including the Priory ruins as well as the Castle, Marina and even Bamburgh Castle in the distance. A couple of sailing boats were anchored just off the heughs. On one boat was a man playing the violin. You could hear a pin drop on this calm beautiful day as the vioilinist played 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow.'

I took a few shots of the priory ruins before taking a short break on the sand banks nearby. I was planning to photograph the Marina after taking in the tranquil setting for a few minutes. The Marina area is quite photogenic, with old upturned cobles here and there, plus a scattering of lobster pots and anchors.

Before heading off for a spot of lunch at Seahouses, in the shape of Haggis n' Chips, I took a few shots within the grounds of St Ann's Church, including a lovely panorama of Lindisfarne Priory which can be viewed at ashleycorr.com.

Job done! A great day...these Plan B's come in handy from time to time...
Ash