South Queensferry, Scotland

It's not very often that I cross the border into Scotland and fine bright sunshine. More often than not I'm met with dull skies and more than a fair share of rain and wind, but not today, as conditions were ideal as we arrived in South Queensferry, which is 11 miles north-west of Edinburgh. This was our second stop-off en route to Livingston - our first being a lunch break in Eyemouth, slightly north of Berwick-Upon-Tweed. South Queensferry isn't a place I'm very familiar with, although I have visited this small town once before, a couple of years back, to meet up with Derek Forbes, former bass player with Simple Minds. A drum kit and money exchanged hands on that day - not bought by myself though, I was merely along for the ride. On that day the weather was miserable, which wasn't that important as we were only in South Queensferry for a matter of minutes before we headed south, back down the A1(M).  South Queensferry, sometimes also called Queensferry, sits on the south shore of the narrowest part of the Forth Estuary east of Grangemouth, looking across to North Queensferry, its twin on the Fife shore. As an obvious place to cross the river when heading into Fife from Edinburgh it is likely that settlements either side of the river here, and ferries between them, date back to ancient times. Queensferry is defined by the road and rail bridges that lie either side of it. But it is so much more as well. At times it has been an important trading and fishing port in its own right and the town still offers an environment that can transport you back to an earlier time more readily than most places in Scotland. If, that is, you can catch it in a rare traffic-free moment: cars are constrained by the narrowness and twisting of Queensferry's High Street, and as a result intrude far more than elsewhere.

Strangely enough, despite the nice weather, which is always a plus when photographing the landscape, I left my Canon 7D at home, which was not a good idea at all. The weather forecast on the previous day was nowt to get excited about so I took a risk by leaving the camera behind - something I'd probably regret further down the line. The photo's shown here were taken on my smart phone, which has a nice little panoramic facility on it, allowing stitches of over 6 images at a time. A couple of 'Stitches' are shown here, just for the record. There's a very small beach at Queensferry, which is accessible at low tide and is a great vantage point when looking north. If you ever find yourself in this part of the world, check out the restaurants along the main street - one in particular offers excellent panoramic views across the river through its huge windows, although its name escapes me right now.

Next stop Linlithgow...
Ash

Houghton Albion FC - Presentation Night

Rainton Arena, Houghton Le Spring - Sunday 8th July, 2012

The annual Presentation was our first, after Christopher's debut season for Houghton Albion. His registration will continue next season, which begins in September, so we look forward to plenty more football and more great goals from all of our squad. I intend to get permission to photograph as many of these games as possible after my first and only attempt to date of photographing a football match (see photo's on my previous blog entry).

Well done to Dave & Judith Smurthwaite (manager and secretary of Houghton Albion) for all their efforts during the 2011-12 season. Also to all the parents for their commitment, and most of all to the players themselves - a great bunch of kids who give 100%.

To wrap up the season, until the next one, here are a few photographs from the Presentation Night. Christopher collected two awards in his first season. He is shown on stage alongside other aged players who collected their individual 'Sportsman Of The Season' award. Also shown below is a shot of the Houghton Albion squad with their trophies.

Looking very forward to Season 2012-13...Ash

Houghton Albion FC - End Of Season 2011-12

More exploits from Houghton Albion FC.
Half way through the season we lost some players to other teams and as a result we struggled to field a full team of players for quite a few games. More often than not we were playing against eleven players, with only eight or nine of our own, and this led to some heavy defeats, both home and away. The morale took a hit on the remaining players, although they gave 100% as always. In some of these games we were lucky to get over the half-way line during the entire sixty minutes, but what can ya do when you're at such a disadvantage. Before one particular game, at Ryhope, an opposing player asked his manager before kick-off if they could even the game by only using nine players, against our nine, effectively leaving two on the touchline. The young lad was promptly told to shut his mouth and then reminded WHO was the manager! Well hey, there was a queue of parents ready to pounce on the 'Unsporting Gentleman' (look that up in the Houghton dictionary and it is also known as CHEATING B*STARD, he he). Anyway, they played the game 11 versus 9 and we got kicked off the park as well as slaughtered. I lost count of how many times James (our keeper) bent down to pick the ball out his net, around 12 times. I think the poor bairn knocked his back out after the last goal!!!


Anyway, that was the last straw for Dave (team manager). After weeks of playing with only eight or nine players he thought it best that we dropped into the 9-a-side league, mid-season. Within a couple of weeks we had done just that, and were now playing all our games at the Russell Foster HQ at nearby Newbottle. The site has numerous pitches and is packed every Saturday with teams of all ages, including parents and other spectators. The burger vans come in handy too! We had much better luck in this league, playing on our own pitch, week in week out. No more early morning starts, travelling to the likes of Ferryhill, Consett, Gateshead and Durham. A couple of new players arrived and competition for strating places hotted up. We put some great performances in, during what was left of a difficult season up to now. Goals were flying in and the kids were well and truly back on the up. Here are a few photo's from our last game of the season, against Boldon Cobra's. We were 2-0 up at half time, but after 60 minutes we lost the game 4-2. Two goals from Houghton's Jamie Fenton gave him the leading goalscorer of the season award, which was a three way tie going into this last game - Shane Smurthwaite and Christopher Corr being the other two players vying for the bragging rights.

The first shot (above) shows Christopher launching an attack down the left wing, watched by some of the parents. The second shot shows another attack that ended in Brennan Robinson having a shot that scraped Boldon's goalpost before going behind for a goal kick. I was situated behind Boldon's goal, using a Canon 70-300mm lens (all singing-all dancing, BTW). The photo's below show a free kick that was awarded to Boldon Cobra's. This became their fourth goal - an outstanding effort that cleared the defencive wall and ended up in the top corner, after a fingertip attempt to keep it out by our keeper (Ross Walton). I fired off quick burst frames that captured the free kick, from the second the ball left Number 14's boot, to the point where it hit the net.

Houghton Albion FC (Under 11's)

Houghton Albion FC (Under 11's) brought the curtain down on another season recently, with a few new players on board, including my son Christopher, who registered with them one-third into the season. It was completely new territory for him - the only football he'd played previously was in the school yard and with his old man round Houghton Park! He said he was ready to join a team, so where better to look than a team from 'on the doorstep'. After a couple of Thursday night training sessions with his new team-mates, and a short wait for his registration to be accepted, he was thrown into his first competitive match against Durham Juventus Soccarena. This was an away game, just a couple of miles up the road at nearby Belmont. It was a miserable Sunday morning as me and the Mrs accompanied the next Wayne Rooney (he he) to the venue.

The game was fast and furious, end to end, but with few scoring chances. Christopher's school-mate Jael Anderson (the only female player on the pitch) scored from the penalty spot to fire Soccerena ahead. Albion kicked off from the centre-spot and formed an attack which eventually led to a corner. From the resulting corner kick there was a scramble and a defencive miss kick from the goal line saw the ball in the air. It was met on the way down by the debutant Christopher Corr who was first to react. Rising like the proverbial salmon (he he), he headed the ball into the net for a deserved equaliser. What a way to to begin your life as a footballer - virtually he first real touch of the ball! I think from this moment on he was hooked. Me and the Mrs were over the moon. The half-time whistle blew and it was all even, one goal each. The second half was much the same as the first - end to end, but not many shots on goal. One shot did find the net however, but unfortunately it was Durham Soccerena who took the glory. The game ended in a 2-1 defeat for Houghton Albion, but all the kids played out of their skin and were commended by all the parents and management after the post-match handshakes. A match to remember!

Ash

Castle Howard, York

Castle Howard is a stately home in North Yorkshire, England, 15 miles (24 km) north of York. One of the grandest private residences in Britain, most of it was built between 1699 and 1712 for the 3rd Earl of Carlisle, to a design by Sir John Vanbrugh. Although Castle Howard was built near the site of the ruined Henderskelfe Castle, it is not a true castle, but this term is often used for English country houses constructed after the castle-building era (c.1500) and not intended for a military function.Castle Howard has been the home of part of the Howard family for more than 300 years. It is familiar to television and movie audiences as the fictional "Brideshead", both in Granada Television's 1981 adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited and a two-hour 2008 remake for cinema. Today, it is part of the Treasure Houses of England heritage group.

Castle Howard has extensive and diverse gardens. There is a large formal garden immediately behind the house. The house is prominently situated on a ridge and this was exploited to create an English landscape park, which opens out from the formal garden and merges with the park.
Two major garden buildings are set into this landscape: the Temple of the Four Winds at the end of the garden, and the Mausoleum in the park. There is also a lake on either side of the house. There is an arboretum called Ray Wood, and the walled garden contains decorative rose and flower gardens. Further buildings outside the preserved gardens include the ruined Pyramid currently undergoing restoration, an Obelisk and several follies and eye catchers in the form of fortifications. A John Vanbrugh ornamental pillar known as the Quatre Faces (marked as 'Four Faces' on Ordnance Survey Maps) stands in nearby Pretty Wood.

 

Four shots, taken on a red hot day - just what ya want, really. Ideal conditions - not to be sniffed at!

Not too much to say that hasn't been mentioned above, apart from a great day that was had. Came back home a shade of Lobster Red - it didn't half sting the next day. Sun cream is for pussies!

 

AC

 

 

 

Houghton le Springwatch - Part 2

And it's more Nature shots, as Spring well and truly kicks into gear once again. There's a few new shots in the bag, after one or two recent outings with young Mr Corr, aged 11. He's at that age when an interest in Nature, particularly Birds, takes a bit of a hold on these mild warm nights, so we head round the corner to Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve to check out the latest movements of a family of Mute Swans. These birds have been nesting for a month now, and the eggs were ready to hatch, so off we went. Some of the following photo's were taken at another nest site, at Herrington Park, opposite Penshaw Hill. Both clutches had six eggs in total and on arrival at both locations it was clear that the eggs had hatched as no swans were sitting - both were on the water, with their cygnets. Once again, a loaf of bread came in rather handy when coaxing the birds towards the camera - one shake of the bag and over they came. The parents were happy to feed on the bread, but the cygnets weren't interested at all. It was probably their first sighting of bread and they weren't too impressed. A few minutes in and the parents were off - back on water and out of reach for the bog standard lens holder that was me. Aye, but there was a nifty little 300mm telephoto job tucked away in camera bag - well equipped as always! So here they are, a selection of Nature shots, taken on the doorstep, and I'll be back with more at a later date, including Wren's and Blue Tits...

Cheers, Ash

  

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