Dawn Breaks At Littlehaven

At the beginning and end of each year I dedicate quite a lot of 'Spare' mornings to one of my favourite areas of photography, low-light sunrises. As each year passes I gain more experience at this particular skill and I've pulled in some great shots, so the expectation level rises each year as I make further attempts to deliver the goods. You have to be quite dedicated when you have a choice to either lie in bed, or get out of it to basically freeze your balls off on some remote beach, waiting for the sun, that might not show. Some would say it's a no-brainer, but if you want those dramatic sunrise shots in your portfolio then you're left with little choice but to get off your arse and go hunting for them. The early starts don't bother me - I can always go back for a kip in the afternoon, he he. Of course, the whole experience is what you make it, so I always add a few perks to make the outing that little bit more appealing, like a flask of coffee upon arrival, to the ritualistic visit to the McDonalds drive-thru on the way home. Both are pre-requisites and all part of the experience, although I often 'Forget' to tell the missus about the McDonalds bit, which she often susses out when I refuse a bacon sandwich when I return home, he he. So off I went, leaving home at 6.00am, with plenty of time to spare before sunrise at 7.30am. Wearing two fleeces and a body warmer (and jeans, of course) I fully expected brass monkey weather. This is October and the beginning of a five month stretch of low-light photography, so the excitement builds as I make my first outing to Littlehaven Beach, South Shields, Tyne & Wear. Here I go...

The Groyne Lighthouse becomes the focal point once again, perched on the pier at Littlehaven, as the sun rises behind it. Here are four shots that include one before sunrise, one during and two shortly afterwards. All shots were captured on my trusty Canon 7D, with 18-135mm lens, Lee ND Grads 0.3, 0.6 (stacked), shot in RAW format using an ISO of 100, Manfrotto legs with ball head grip, fired remotely. Nuff said -

Until the next time, which hopefully won't be too long.
Ash

  

Ultravox - Sage Gateshead (8th Oct 2012)

This was the fourteenth and final concert of the 'Brilliant' UK Tour, which started mid-September. The venue was the trendy Sage Music Hall, Gateshead, just over the water from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. We were late arriving at the venue due to other commitments, and after parking the Juke we headed across the way to the main entrance. I took a quick look at the Millennium Bridge to my right and couldn't help noticing how still the River Tyne was. The reflections were like nothing I'd seen before, but with no time to waste we entered the Sage and made our way to the concert hall. This was my first ever visit for a live show and I was looking forward to the acoustics that I'd heard so much about - apparently the sound is amazing. With literally five minutes to showtime we took our seats. In no time the band were on stage and belting out the opener, the title track of the new 'Brilliant' album, which sounded exactly that. The band looked a little nervous and full of concentration, which was evident during the first few songs, but as the gig wore on they seemed to get more 'Into' the occasion. The concert was split into two parts, with a twenty minute intermission in between, which was new to me but it seemed to work well considering the amount of songs Ultravox got through on the night. As well as tracks from the new album we were treated to many more songs from their extensive back catalogue, including many of the chart hits that they achieved during their heyday. The light show was eye-catching, with occasional visuals projected on the rear curtain. There were the usual sound issues here and there, but overall the band were tight and played an excellent gig throughout. Midge Ure's vocals were excellent on the night, as was the uber cool vocals from drummer Warren Cann on 'Mr X' and his backing vocals on 'Rage In Eden'. Billy Currie's antics behind the keyboards were very reminiscent of his early day and quite odd at times, like his crouching forward, arm swinging display was like that of an OAP at the local carpet bowls club. He was greeted with deserved applause each time he came forward to play Viola, especially during 'Astradyne' and the classic 'Vienna', amongst others. Chris Cross, on keyboards and bass, was stood very close to our seats in the front row, and seemed to enjoy the dancing queen in the row behind us. The least said about him the better, he he.

 

A great show from start to finish.

Ash

Haworth, West Yorkshire - Bronte Country

Two weeks ago I was in the county of West Yorkshire, visiting a town called Haworth, a rural village in the City of Bradford and located amongst the Pennines, 3 miles southwest of Keighley and 10 miles west of Bradford. Haworth is a tourist attraction, best known for its association with the Brontë sisters. Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte were writers whose novels have become classics, a body of work that was inspired by their surroundings, a region that still holds its charm today. Haworth's main street was the focal point of interest for me - a bank of original cobbled stone, flanked by many  tea rooms, souvenir and antiquarian bookshops, restaurants, pubs and hotels (including the "Black Bull" - where Branwell Bronte's demise into alcoholism and opium addiction allegedly began). The character of this place makes it a 'Must see' for any photographer who is in the area, no matter what the weather is doing. And it wasn't doing much when I was there. I never even had my camera gear with me, just a pocket camera (Fuji 'Point & Shoot' job), which done the job ok. I have converted three of my shots to HDR, which are shown here, and the effect worked quite well, which it usually does on old stonework/facades. It's not often you come across places like this, so I'll be making every effort to get back down there soon, hopefully with better weather adding to better shots.

Back soon with more pix,
Ash

Guardian Angel - The Book Cover

It's always nice to see my photographs printed in publications, such as magazines, brochures and leaflets, so it was a nice suprise to be approached recently by someone who enquired about using my 'Guardian Angel' photograph on a book cover...

Dear Ashley Corr,
I'm an academic living in Durham, just about to publish a book based on interviews with families in the North-East around education and social mobility, with the publisher Sense. I've been searching for a relevant photo for the cover and came across your beautiful photo, called 'Guardian Angel' on the BBC Tyne website - under Northumbrian icons. Is there copyright on this photo? Will I be able to use it as a book cover? I preferred your image of the Angel of the North to any of the ones on the free photo databases because of the family in shot. It also captures the Angel at a great angle. Since my book is about family narratives of education in the north-east it will work really well I think.I'm happy to send you further details if you'd like and a mock-up of the cover when it's produced. I can also talk to the publisher about mentioning you as the photographer.

Let me know what you think.
Many thanks, Laura

Dr Laura Mazzoli Smith
Visiting Fellow
Institute of Education
University of Warwick

 

 

After further correspondance with Laura, I then sent her my 'Guardian Angel' photograph, which was in turn forwarded to the publisher (Sense), who are now in the process of putting the whole project together. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a copy, soon!

 

I'll keep you posted on any developments.

Ash

 

 

 

 

Weekend Photographs

A mixed bag of photographs that were taken this weekend. I had a bit of spare time and took the opportunity to get out locally and visit some of my favourite locations. The first shot (shown below) was taken on Friday evening at Rainton Meadows, Houghton-le-Spring, and features a pair of Mute Swans at Sunset. The weather on Saturday afternoon was ideal so I paid a visit to Penshaw Monument, followed by Lumley Castle near Chester-le-Street. Then, just before Sunset I visited the Angel Of The North, where I managed to catch the last colours in the sky as the light began to fall.

Here are the results - click to enlarge.
Back soon,
Ash

West Coast Of Scotland - Part 4

Eilean Donan Castle, Kyle Of Lochalsh

The final instalment of my recent trip to Scotland comes in the shape of one of the countries most famous and much photographed castles - Eilean Donan, near Dornie, one of the focal points of the Kyle Of Lochalsh. To familiarise yourself with the exact location of this castle, click here for a map. You'll get an insight as to how many road miles I covered to reach my destination, but it was as picturesque as I could have imagined as I made the 66 mile trip north from Fort William to Dornie. A few stop-offs on the way broke up the journey - these being brief photograph opportunities at such places as Spean Bridge, Glen Garry, Loch Cluanie and Morvich. The weather was kind, so I intended to take advantage - my first real visit to Scotland and there wasn't a hint of rain in the air. Infact,  by the time I reached Morvich, which was only 7 miles from Dornie, it was sun all the way, and big temperatures! I entered the burial ground, briefly chatting to an American couple on my approach - the place was silent - just the sound of occasional traffic on the main road nearby where I parked up. Morvich Burial Ground, or Clachan (klockan) Duich (duhie) is the ancient church and burial ground of the MacRaes of Kintail. Located near the banks of Loch Duich, and a few miles south of Eilean Donan Castle, Clachan Duich has been in existence for at least 1,000 years and probably was in use three centuries earlier. Surrounding the ruins of the old church lie MacRae ancestors in graves marked and unmarked—some of them clan heroes and warriors, some of them simple folk of the Highlands. Clachan is the Scottish Gaelic word for “stones” and is used throughout Scotland to describe a village built of stones. Duich is name of the nearby Loch and is derived from the Scottish Gaelic term for St.Dubhthaich, or St. Duthac, a venerated religious figure. To view a selection of 'Morvich' photographs, click here for my West Scotland Slideshow - you'll find a few in there, with accompanying music written by Mike Oldfield. 

Out of Morvich and back on the road, I made the relatively short journey to Dornie, home of Eilean Donan Castle. This was the highlight of my short tour of Scotland, and a location that I'd waited a long time to visit. I drove through Dornie and the excitement level increased as I caught my first site of the castle. There it was, sitting on an outcrop at the edge of Loch Alsh, with the Isle Of Skye in the distance. It was a landcape scene that was just waiting to be picked off, and I was ready to park up and hit the ground running, so to speak. There were dozens of like-minded tourists, snapping away and taking in the scenery as the sun shone hard. A free car park! Bleedin 'eck - who said the Scots were a mean bunch? Lots of foriegn folk around, standing mesmerised next to a lone piper, who was busking near the bridge entry to the castle, and raking in the coin judging by the contents of his leather case! I threw in 50p, a kind of 'Thankyou' for letting me fire off a few frames, with the castle as a backdrop. I got my 'Ten Bob' worth - too right, no short change for the roaming photographer!

I photographed from either side of the bridge, although the most photogenic of the two was where the sun was bouncing off, so I was quite lucky there - perfect timing upon arrival. Here is a small selection of shots, with extra's currently showing on my slideshow (click link above). And that just about wraps up my Blog of West Scotland. Hope you enjoyed the ride. Where oh where will I end up next?

Totty Bye,

Ash

West Coast Of Scotland - Part 3

Castle Stalker, Appin

 

It was day two of my tour of Scotland's West Coast, and after a flat sunrise at Oban I drove north on the A828 towards Loch Creran. It was 8am and there was very little traffic to contend with, so I covered a lot of road, with no delays. I passed Benderloch and the Scottish Seabird Sanctuary, with Barcaldine now appearing to my right, and Loch Creran to my left. Once over the Creagan Bridge, Castle Stalker was right in front of me, appearing almost from nowhere as I negotiated a blind summit near Appin, North Argyll. I slowed down, not wanting to miss my turn as I looked for an access path to the castle, which was now to my left down a hill. Then, just ahead of me I noticed a signpost which directed me to Castle Stalker View Cafe, which had its own viewpoint - just what I was looking for. I pulled into the empty car park, and although the cafe wasn't open yet I took advantage of the access path to the viewpoint, where Castle Stalker could be seen from above the trees below me. Although it was dry the light was poor, offering very little to my photographs, but as this was my first ever visit to Stalker, I was just glad to be here and to see this typical Scottish scene unfold in front of me. And typical it certainly was, with Castle Stalker, the Island of Lismore, Loch Linnhe and the Morvern Hills in the distance. As I lifted the camera to take my first shot I could hear the sound of cackling Geese. I managed to capture their V-formation as they flew by, which was a stroke of luck and it certainly added a little extra to the shot (shown here). I stood for a while, wondering whether I should make an attempt to get closer to the castle, as I wasn't content with a handful of shots from one angle only, but there was a thick wooded area directly in front of me and down the bank, with no footpath or designated route to Castle Stalker. I decided to pack up my gear and head back to the car, settling for the shots I managed to pull in at the viewpoint.

Back on the road I drove in a North-Easterly direction, continuing my journey on the A828, with Loch Linnhe to my left. Loch Linnhe is about 31 miles long. It opens onto the Firth of Lorne at its south-western end. The part of the loch upstream of Corran is 9 miles long and only about an average of 1.2 miles wide. The southern part of the loch is wider, and its branch which lies to the south-east of the island of Lismore is known as the Lynn of Lorne. Loch Eil feeds into Loch Linnhe at the latter's northernmost point, while from the east Loch Leven feeds in the loch just downstream of Corran and Loch Creran feeds into the Lynn of Lorne. The town of Fort William, my next stop-off,  lies at the northeast end of the loch, at the mouth of the River Lochy. It wasn't too long before I dropped anchor at Fort William, grabbing a nice cup of coffee from McDonalds and supping it whilst studying my AA Road Atlas to see how much road I had covered, and more importantly, what lay ahead of me. A rough calculation told me I had covered 44 miles since I set off from Oban, but there was quite a drive ahead of me if I decided to travel further north to the Kyle Of Lochalsh, location of Eilean Donan Castle, near Dornie. I sat for a while - should I, shouldn't I? I 'd seen photographs of this famous castle on many a biscuit tin, amongst other things, but I wasn't sure whether to drive another 66 miles to grab photographs of my own. It seemed a bit daft to come all this way and not go the extra mile (or 66 to be precise) to see Eilean Donan for myself. I took one look out of the car window, seeing clear blue sky and bright sunshine - my decision was made! Off I went, feeling quite excited at the prospect of what lay ahead, including other places en route that I may discover, and that I did.

Eilean Donan Castle is now on my radar...
Coming next.
Cheers, Ash