York Minster - New Years Eve

Our 2009/10 new year celebrations took place in York and we had a great time. My wife and I arrived at our hotel mid-afternoon and after dropping off the handbags and gladrags we made our way into York city centre for a drink and a bite to eat. We checked out a few pubs in preparation for a busy night on the town before my other half suggested a bit of retail therapy. Well, not being a one for the shops I suggested that we went our separate ways for an hour. This gave me a chance to spend some time photographing York Minster, while she spent lotsa money in the shops!

I remember visiting the Minster two years ago and it was free entry. Times have changed -there was now an admission charge of £6. Although I was a bit surprised I was more than happy to pay, especially as the annual upkeep of the place runs into hundreds of thousands of pounds, plus the fee guaranteed me unlimited visits to the Minster for twelve months. Another advantage, unlike Durham Cathedral, York Minster has a very relaxed policy regarding photography providing it is for personal use only. Great - a free run of the place - time to get cracking!

The admission charge must have sent a few people packing after entering the Minster as the floor was almost bare, apart for a small group who were on a guided tour. I set my gear up near the Central Tower, looking across towards the Rose Window. I was using a slow shutter, around 1 second, with an aperture of f13.

From there I headed towards the Great West Window, shooting from centre-aisle near The Nave. My one hour escape from shopping hell was over like a flash. I'd manged a dozen or so shots and it was now time to reconvene with my wife. I only photographed a fraction of what was on offer, but never mind, I'll save the rest until my next visit.

Thanks for reading. Until the next time...See ya!

Ash

Boxing Day Dip 2009 - Sunderland

Sunderland's annual Boxing Day Charity Dip takes place at Seaburn, which is situated a couple of miles outside the City Centre. As expected, there were hundreds of participants - rather them than me! I mean, I don't mind contributing to good causes but the idea of running into a freezing cold North Sea isn't one that appeals to soft buggers like me. With the event kicking off at 11.00am prompt, I was cutting it fine when I got caught in Seaburn-bound traffic on Thompson Park Road at 10.40am. I got through it eventually and managed to park my car behind the Seaburn Centre before making my way onto Seaburn beach with just a couple of minutes to go before the stampede. I had me rather naff green wellies on so that I could wade in and grab some decent shots, which is what I did. A couple of rather brave lads wearing Newcastle United dressing gowns ran past me and I nearly got knocked to the groond when I tried to trip the 'Black n' whites' up. Me camera almost bit the dust too, but the neck strap saved me bacon as I had it wrapped round me wrist - phew!

Anyway, by the time the dippers had left the sea behind and retreated to the warm Seaburn Centre, I was quite soaked and quite cold - very cold infact. Me feet felt like two blocks 'o ice. That was me whack. Back to the car and a belated appointment with the heaters!

Who knows, next year I might brave the elements and take part in the dip itself. Ahem (cough), then again...

Ash (still trying to get warmed up - 7 days later) he he.

Seven Sisters - Revisited

After even more snow I decided to revisit the Seven Sisters in Houghton-Le-Spring. This ancient burial ground is situated at one of the highest points in the town and today it overlooks hundreds of snow covered rooftops. As you'd imagine, the cold bites even harder up a height and today was certainly no exception.

There were a few local kids sledging off the burial mound but they left shortly after I arrived. I must remember to use deodorant!

Aye, this time I was well equipped. I had me wooly hat on and me digits were given a slight bit of respite from the cold in the shape of a rather nice pair o' mitts. Without a fully working set of fingers I might struggle to operate my camera settings so I needed to treat them with a bit of care. After all, they'd been put through the rings during the last few days during my regular photo outings.

Well, they certainly kept me fingers warm but they were nee good when pressing little buttons and rotating filters and the like. I got there in the end though.

The sun had set and there was quite a bit of after colour on the horizon. The Seven Sisters were once again threw into silhouette as I quickly got to work. I tried a few different positions (oo er!)

and grabbed a varity of shots, including a 3 frame panorama that I could later stitch with the help of Photoshop . I had experienced many a chill during my recent Christmas photography outings but none compared to this one. I had to sit in the car with the heaters on for a good ten minutes before driving back home. If I'd stayed out any longer I woulda' froze. You do some strange things to get the photo's you want. Some would say it's dedication - some would say I want my head checking.

What do you think?...he he.

Merry Christmas to one and all on this Christmas Eve 2009.

Ash

More Christmas Scenes...

Another visit to Gateshead's Angel Of The North - my first visit in the snow. Despite the clear blue skies and an appearance from Mr Sun, it was once again very cold here in the north-east of England. I was accompanied by my 8 year old son Christopher, as we had an afternoon sledging the slopes around the Angel. We had a good laugh, as did the others who were sledging next to us, before I grabbed a few photo's before we headed off home for a bite to eat. The sun came out from behind the low cloud cover at just the right time. The rusty colour of the Angel was now prominent so I done the necessary before it disappeared again. A few minutes later it was gone!

Someone had made a small snowman on a fence post nearby. The little fella wanted to destroy it but I quickly put him in his place...tut tut! It helped give some foreground interest along the pathway to the angel, as you can see in the photograph below.

After packing my camera away my son said 'Ok Dad, NOW can I bash the snowman up'.

I told him to 'Gerra Life' and leave the little fella alone...he he...so he dropped his snowball and we made our way back to the car park (wink). Ee eh, the young 'uns today!

Until the next time, see ya,

Ash

St Michael's Church, Houghton-Le-Spring

The snow just wouldn't stop!

I don't ever recall seeing so much snow falling in my home town of Houghton-Le-Spring. The roads were awful, with many cars abandoned at the roadside in such terrible driving conditions. Radio reports confirmed that some of the major in-roads were closed and the very steep Houghton Cut was one of the casualties. I'd just returned by car from Pennywell, a journey which would normally take twenty minutes but actually took seventy! For the most part I was in first gear. Quite unbelievable really, but the roads were so bad that every car was at snails pace. No hurry though, as it was very much a case of safety first.

On my return to Houghton I headed up the road from Longacre to the nearby town centre and St Michael & All Angels Church. Another picturesque Christmas scened awaited and there I was with my kit bag and tripod, in search of those elusive Christmas card shots. On arrival at the church I noticed one or two people standing at a nearby bus stop. Surely they weren't waiting for a bus in these conditions! Long wait, mate! There were no snowball throwing 'Chavs' kicking about so I was quite relieved, now expecting an uninterrupted photo session. Mind you, I was quite in the mood to 'Scrub' a few of the local scruffs so in a small way I was a bit disappointed...he he. Ah well...

The snow was at least six inches thick as I trudged through the church grounds. It was still falling as I took my first shots of the church and my flashgun picked up a few flakes as they fell into the shot.

I was quite pleased with the results. I'll be definately offering them to the vicar in postcard form next Christmas. It's always nice to help out free of charge. I was only inside St Michael's Church a couple of days ago to see my son in his school nativity play and we will probably return in 2010. Who knows, my postcards may well be sitting in the rack alongside the others.

Thanks for reading. Ash

Christmas Scenes - Durham City

Durham City centre is one of those places you just never get sick of visiting. Steeped in history, Durham is also known as the 'Land Of The Prince Bishops' and Christmas time brings the best out of this idyllic picturesque setting, especially when snow has fallen.

I was up bright and early for this one. There was a thick covering of snow and I was looking for one shot in particular. Step back in time to August 2009, when I was in the grounds of Durham Cathedral taking a hatful of photographs. At the rear of the Cathedral, near Priors Hall, stands a large conifer tree. I was looking at the tree and imagining a snow scene with it's branches covered in thick white snow, with the perfect backdrop of Durham Cathedral in the shot. Just then, I realized it was a hot Summers day and that I would hold my idea in the memory bank, 'For future reference' as they say.

Step forward in time, to the present day - 21st December 2009. Here I am once again in the grounds of Durham Cathedral but there's no short sleeve t-shirt and sun glasses. Oh no, although the sun is shining once again and there's another clear blue sky, it's bitterly cold. But who cares eh, that imaginary snow scene that I picured in my head just a few months ago, well, it's standing right in front of me!

And there it was, just as I had imagined it. The conifer tree was covered alright, and the ground was a carpet of thick white snow. The backdrop of Durham Cathedral dominated the Christmas scene in front of me, and all things considered, this was going to make a lovely photograph. I was soon off and running, firing off at least twenty shots in high-resolution RAW format, each weighing in at a massive 28 megabytes!

With the shots in the bag I then made my way through the Cloisters and into the Cathedral. There is a strict 'No Photography Allowed' policy within the cathedral, which is a pity because I could have done some real 'Damage' in there with my camera. Never mind, you can't have everything. After leaving the Cathedral and entering the nearby Palace Green I was greeted by a Robin eating bread on a nearby seat. A quick pitstop and my short lens was replaced by a 300mm effort, which was more than capable of pulling in some decent wildlife shots. The Robin swiftly ate the bread before flying off and perching itself on a nearby branch. I fired off three quick shots before it flew off into the grounds of Durham Castle.

From Palace Green I headed off down to the banks of the River Wear for some more photography. I was surprised that the area was so quiet. I only recall passing half a dozen walkers on my way back to the car.

Once I was back in the car it was a case of 'Heaters on full throttle' to take the chill off me. I was bloody nithered! But hey, what's a bit of sub-zero temperatures between friends, eh!

Thanks again, Ash

Bitterly Bitterly Cold!

After this mornings visit to Penshaw Hill I thought I'd visit another local landmark in Houghton-Le-Spring. The snow had started to thaw, but as the afternoon light dropped, the cold well and truly set in. Well, the snow might be gone tomorrow so there was no time to sit around. It was around 3.30pm and I drove up to the Copt Hill Barrow, known locally as the Seven Sisters. It is a Neolithical burial ground with a bit of history behind it, as you'd expect.

I found a decent spot near a path that leads to the Seven Sisters, realizing this would give a nice lead-in line to my shots. I mounted my camera on the tripod and fired off a few frames using low shutter speeds. Yeah, they were ok. I waited until the sun had set before grabbing a few more shots, as the colours in the sky changed quite dramatically. The odd dog walker passed by, probably wondering what the hell I was doing up that hill in such cold conditions. He was right!

I started to ask me'sel the same question as I struggled to alter my camera settings when my fingers started to freeze. After half an hour I headed back to the car where I had to sit with the heaters on for a few minutes to ease my numb limbs. Ee eh, the things ya dee for a few photies! A must be rund tha bloody twist!

When I got back home the Mrs had a nice bowl of hot soup waiting for me. Ahh lovely. I tucked in like a starving dog, dippin' me crusty bread in and hoyin' it down me neck like there was nee tomorra. Then I sat on the sofa and showed the little one my latest photo's. He thought they were great! I thought they weren't bad either. Sometimes you've gotta push the limits to get the shots you want. Cold? what cold?

The snow is falling heavily as I type. I'm looking out the window (11.36pm) and there's a big fat covering. I might just be out again tomorrow. The Mrs wants to take me for a lunchtime curry. Can't see me knocking that one back. We'll see what develops, eh.

Thanks for reading, folks!

Ash