Durham Cathedral - Part 1 of 2

Hello again!
We're now into the month of May and the weather seems to be making a turn for the better, although there remains a chill in the air. I made a recent visit to Durham to photograph the Cathedral from a high vantage point, similar to the one near the train station, but this time I was across the other side of the city. Not too far from the Botanical Gardens is a hill where access is granted via a public footpath, and from here the panoramic view across Durham City Centre is quite spectacular. I had this location in mind following a previous visit to Whinney Hill, another viewpoint up a height that I stumbled across last year. From Whinney Hill there is an excellent view of Durham Cathedral, with the huge round rose window facing you, but the daytime sun hits the west facing walls so I was obviously standing in the wrong place for photography. It was at that point I realised I needed to be elsewhere, so I looked around for the perfect spot, finding it quickly by sight, but needing to explore it in person to find out whether it was accessible. I jumped back into the car and headed through the streets towards my intended destination, which I found in a matter of a few minutes. The public footpath led me onto another hill from where I picked a spot to begin my photography. It was a fine day and the view had me raking about for my polarising filter. The blue sky and clouds were going to play a big part today. With the sun behind me this was an opportunity to grab some good shots, although the cold wind hampered things slightly and my tripod almost bit the dust on more than one occasion. At one point I had a heavy plastic police cone jammed up against one tripod leg, to prevent the whole thing toppling over, but it was as much use as a glass hammer. The wind was doing its best to put me off, which is why handheld photography was out of the question. I was never going to photograph the Cathedral from a distance, with a long lens, plus keep the camera steady in the wind, so the tripod saved the day in that respect.

A couple of dog walkers passed me. Other than that I had the place to myself, which isn't a bad thing. The wind was a bad enough distraction, let alone anything or anyone else. A dog did run over to check out my tripod however, having a sniff about the lower legs. I was half expecting it to cock its own leg and irrigate my 'Not Cheap' tripod, so my hiking boot was primed, ready to present a kick in the gonads at any given moment. Luckily for the K9, it thought against the idea and toddled off down the hill to reunite with its master. Time for me to crack on.

I ran off a few frames and headed back to the car, hands and face numb with cold. Ah well, who dares wins. The fair-weathered photographer only makes a fraction of good pictures, compared to one who goes the extra mile in all conditions to achieve that little bit more. Todays visit to Durham was more than worthwhile and I found myself a great spot for future reference. I could see Penshaw Monument in the distance so I added it to my composition. I never imagined I could have photographed both of these iconic landmarks together, but now I have (see shot 3, above) and they certainly sit together very well, despite being miles apart, geographically. My final shot (below) was composed with one thing in mind - Magazine cover!

And that's about it. Not a long blog entry by any standard, but this is only the first part of my Durham Cathedral entry for May. The second and final instalment will be here very soon, as I revisit the same spot for some night time photography. Watch this space...

Ash

More Autumn Colours, 2011

As Autumn passes and December draws nearer, I'd like to share a few more colourful photo's that I took during a recent run-out with my camera. Four shots have been added to today's blog entry and they were mostly taken in Durham City, with the exception of one - St Peter's Church, Sunderland.

Haway then, here's the first one. Nowt special, just a random shot that was taken as I walked through a wooded area in Durham City, in search of a vantage point on Whinney Hill that overlooked Durham's dramatic Cathedral. The sun shone brightly through the tree's as I headed up a steep wooded bank towards the top of the hill, on the outskirts of a built up residential area. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the Autumn colours were well and truly on display, so it was now a case of leaving the woods behind and hunting down that vantage point. Before that though I took a couple of shots in the woods, especially as the floor was a carpet of golden brown. There were squirrel's everywhere, but photographing them was another matter of course - these creatures were hard to pin down with a lens, so I gave up the ghost after five minutes or so. Back to the task in hand - up the bank, over a stile, and into the pasture that became the place I'd been hunting down for the past 30 minutes or so.

And here I was. Three Sycamore tree's lined the top of the hill beyond me as I made my approach, wondering what view would greet me at the top of the hill. The wait was soon over and I stood there for a short while, admiring Durham Cathedral from a totally new viewpoint for the very first time. The shot was right there in front of me and I paused for another moment to tell myself that although this place was totally new to me, it would be somewhere that I would be visiting a lot more in the near future. My regular vantage point to photograph Durham Cathedral is over the other side, near the railway station, but this one was equally as impressive and I could only imagine what it would offer at night time, when the Cathderal is lit-up. Aye, I promised myself I wouldn't have to wait too long to see that one, and you won't either as I plan to get back up there very soon so watch this space. Photographing Durham Cathedral at ground level is one thing, but capturing it from afar and from a modest height is something else. As I fired off a few frames I composed to include the Autumn colours in the foreground. The third shot (shown here) was taken from Whinney Hill and includes the roof tops of the nearby estate. I imagine a similar shot after a heavy snowfall would be one worth grabbing so I'll add that to the memory bank for future reference. My third shot was taken from my usual haunt near the Railway Station, and again features Durham Cathedral. A ten minute drive from my last stop-off at Whinney Hill - the views across the city are something else. There was no-one else on the hill while I was there so it was nice to have the place to myself. It is what it is - the money shots are here, it's a simple case of picking the right time to get them. Ten minutes later and I was out of there.

Finally, AC was back in God's Country and in the grounds of an ancient Anglo-Saxon church - St Peter's at Monkwearmouth. St Peter's Church, founded in 674AD, is one of the UK's first stone-built structures with the tower and west wall remaining as fine and rare examples of Saxon building. Fragments of the oldest stained glass in England are on display, dating from the 7th Century. The Venerable Bede, who lived and worked here, wrote an account of its foundation. St Peter's along with St Paul's has been short-listed as a World Heritage Site. The sun had risen only twenty minutes before I took this shot and I remember waiting as it rose above the trees to cast it's early morning light across the ancient stonework. I like this shot as it typifies Autumn in a picturesque fashion, although I wish there was more colour in the overhanging leaves that I used to frame the top of the shot. Ah well, baking my cake and eating it wasn't on today's menu so I settled for what was on offer.

And on that note I shall disappear. Until the next time...ta ta!

Ash