Simple Minds, Alnwick Pastures, Northumberland

And so to the main event, and a band that was the sole reason for me attending this gig - Simple Minds. My early musical roots included an album that I remember receiving as a Xmas present back in 1982, the sublime 'New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84'. To this present day I still like Simple Minds, but I would never pass myself off as a big fan after losing interest and focusing on other bands in the mid-eighties. Nevertheless, the Minds always seem to put on a great live show, even though I've only attended four of their gigs since my introduction to them back in '82. So here we were once again, waiting for their stage entry at Alnwick Pastures, with a big crowd in attendance to see this headline act rip it up.

And they came flying out of the blocks with a handful of up tempo classics that the crowd lapped up from the very first note. Frontman Jim Kerr led the line very well, as always, backed up by Charlie Burchill (lead guitar), Andy Gillespie (keyboards), Ged Grimes (bass), Mel Gaynor (drums) and Sarah Brown (backing vocals). Rock royalty took to the stage at Alnwick Castle pastures and proved that they still reign supreme. Creating an electric atmosphere can be tricky outdoors, but the band and their support act Toploader made sure the iconic Northumberland venue was charged with excitement from start to finish.

Simple Minds’ set list did not disappoint, catering for the die-hard fans with songs from their very early days and also belting out an array of their big, anthemic numbers like Don't You Forget About Me and Belfast Child. The crowd were jubilant and responded well, despite the light drizzle in the air. If anything, that added to the atmosphere, as the eye-catching beams of stage lighting were highlighted by the raindrops.

 

As the night wore on, there was a festival feel with lots of dancing and revelry, and a relaxed, free-spirited vibe befitting the outdoor setting. After a solid gold, hit-laden set the crowd demanded more – and what better encore for this enduring act than Alive and Kicking? A brilliant gig from start to finish...

 

Set list -

 

01. Waterfront

02. Broken Glass Park

03. Love Song

04. I Travel

05. Imagination

06. Hunter And The Hunter

07. Promised You A Miracle

08. Glittering Prize

09. The American

10. Dancing Barefoot

11. Dolphins

12. Let The Day Begin

13. Someone Somewhere In Summertime

14. See The Lights 

15. Don't You (Forget About Me)

Encores -

16. Alive And Kicking

17. Ghostdancing

 

Cheers, Ash

 

 

 

 

 

Toploader, Alnwick Pastures, Northumberland

Following on from part one of the Alnwick Pastures trilogy, here is the middle instalment of my Summer 2014 live music photography. Toploader was the warm-up act that followed opening artist Ella Janes onto the stage in this picturesque countryside location near Alnwick Castle. I have absolutely no familiarity with this band other than the well known chart single they released back in 1999 (Dancing In The Moonlight). The forty minute set went down quite well with the audience and the band certainly enjoyed the experience. An insight into the bands career was copied and pasted from the Wikipedia page and can be found below...

Career
Toploader are an English alternative rock band from Eastbourne who formed in 1997, with over two million album sales to their name and a string of top 20 hits both home and abroad. Their debut album, Onka's Big Moka, sold over one million units and remained in the Top 5 of the UK Albums Chart for over six months. However, they are recognised most of all for their cover of King Harvest's US hit "Dancing in the Moonlight" written by Sherman Kelly, which became a global hit for the band. Their second album, Magic Hotel, reached number 3 in the UK Albums Chart. Their 3rd album was released in 2012, their comeback single "Turn It Around" was released in 2013.
Toploader's live career began playing with Coldplay and Muse in small venues across the UK. They later went on to back Paul Weller, Robbie Williams and Bon Jovi, becoming the last British band to play the original Wembley Stadium.

The band had a huge hit with their first album, Onka's Big Moka, which was released in 2000. It debuted at number five in the UK charts. They released a second album, Magic Hotel, in 2003. The album was vilified by critics and failed to match the success of the first. They struggled with a backlash from the UK music press and their single, "Time of My Life", could only make it into the Top 40. They would soon be dropped by their record label S2. After an extended hiatus, Toploader signed a one-album deal with Underdogs Music for their third album, which was released in June 2011. The album's title was Only Human, and the first single from it, "Never Stop Wondering", was released on 14 March 2011. Another single, "A Balance to All Things" (featuring a remix from Ash Howes), followed on 20 June 2011.

The present band line-up contains four of the six original members; Joseph Washbourn, Dan Hipgrave, Rob Green and Matt Knight. 
On 8 April 2012, they performed at the University of Gloucestershire Student Union Summerball. They also performed at Aberystwyth University's May Ball on 11 May 2012. In May 2012, they played at Lakefest festival. They are also due to play at the Tiree Music Festival (TMF) July 2012. During 2012 the band agreed to act as patrons for a UK-based children's charity called 'Time Is Precious'. In November 2012 they are set to perform a gig in Frome, Somerset with all proceeds going to the charity, which helps ill children and their families.

In 2013, Toploader released a new single "Turn It Around", co-written with Eg White and produced by Andrew Green. The song is included on a four-song EP. In the summer of 2013 they headlined the LeeStock Music Festival in Suffolk and the AmpRocks Festival in Bedfordshire.

That's two down, one to go. My next blog entry features headline act Simple Minds, who played an excellent set once again! Coming soon...
Ash

Autumnal Misty Morning

The opportunist photographer can often be rewarded with that special shot when determined to go that extra mile. I had one such moment last week, which paid off when I pulled in an autumnal misty morning shot at Joe's Pond, a nature reserve in Houghton le Spring. This location was often well frequented until I edged away from the nature side of things in favour of landscape and seascape photography. Appearances at Rainton Meadows and Joe's Pond are a rarity these days, which is something I'll be working on over the Winter months when I make more of an effort to revisit. Earlier this week I managed to get back round there, even though it was very much unplanned and a spur of the moment visit. I was driving home after a night shift at Nissan when my eyes were drawn to a thick blanket of mist on my final descent into Houghton, via the cut. Visibility was fine on this nippy Autumn morning, so the mist stuck out like a sore thumb around 7.20am. The mist was obviously lying on the surface of the water at Rainton Meadows, and although I've made this return journey home many times, it's quite rare to see mist forming as thick as this, so I just had to take a closer look.

I popped home, tired from an eight hour shift at the sweat shop and ready for some breakfast, I put that to one side and got changed, grabbed my backpack and headed for Rainton Meadows. I parked up and made the ten minute walk towards Joe's Pond, taking in the view of the mist on the nearby fields, which was very photogenic to say the least. Tempted to stop and grab some photographs, I reminded myself that the water was where I was heading and that any stop en route may cause me to miss what was on offer. Soon enough I was at the waters edge and it was a sight and a half. No one else around, just me, the swans and the mist. The sun rose above the tree line on the opposite side of the pond, making me realise that I had no time to lose if I wanted to bag the shot I was after. The Mute Swans were over to the left and out of shot. I needed to coax them over, but in a hurry to get over here I forgot to bring some bread. Never mind, I'll rattle that empty bread bag that some lazy bugger discarded on the floor. It worked well, although I wished I could have rewarded the Swans with some food as they drifted over, bang centre where I wanted them, right in the middle of shot. The shutter tripped!

An autumnal misty morning, accompanied with a website screen shot and a link to the TV weather
slot that featured my photograph, as well the feedback I received on one of the Facebook pages. It went down very well on Facebook, pulling in over 400 likes on three separate pages. And to think, I almost never bothered. I was soon back in the house and tucking into a nice cooked breakfast, before a bath and then bed. Job done!

Ash

Click here for video clip - ITV Weather (29/10/14)
Click here for Facebook feedback - Let's Talk Photography North-East

Star Trails - Something a bit different

Hello again!
Following on from my fairly recent Milky Way shots is another insight to my new found interest in Astro Photography. I've captured some recent star trail shots that I'd like to share here on my blog page, including one in particular that couldn't have been captured any closer to home! Contrary to popular belief, it's not always essential to escape the bright light pollution of a built up urban area to achieve half decent results. Of course, a dark clear sky is essential for the most effective star trail shots, but if the conditions are less than favourable, you can still have a dabble to discover what the camera throws back at you. In this blog entry you'll find a set of recent shots (all from 2014) that were shot under a clear dark sky, with millions of stars on show. I've also thrown another shot into the mix that demonstrates what effect you can pull in when clouds unexpectedly appear and blow across the frame. I almost abandoned this particular effort, but decided to roll with it just to see how the resulting image panned out, and even though I couldn't see the stars at one point, because of the clouds, I ran off an extra 40 exposures just for the hell of it.

For anyone reading this, who has no concept of how star trails shots are achieved, the answer is a fairly straightforward one. As we look to the sky above and see the stars, they don't actually appear to be moving, even though they are. The North Star (Polaris) is constantly static, as is the South Star, and other stars rotate around it. So, if I take 50x 25 second exposures, continuously, then stack each shot on top of each other using photo software, each star will have moved slightly in each shot. The software basically tracks the movement of each star, resulting in a light trail effect, which is what you can see here. Obviously, the more shots you take, the bigger and better effect it will have on the end result. The shots shown here were captured over a period of around 60 minutes, apart from the garden shot which was a result of 130 minutes of shooting time. This was the easiest of all my 5 star trails efforts to date, as I simply programmed the camera and went back into the house to watch footy for a couple of hours. After the match I went back out to collect the images. Job done!


1. Angel Of The North (120 x 25 second exposures)
2. Groyne Lighthouse, South Shields (140 x 30 second exposures)
3. Our Back Garden, HLS (325 x 25 second exposures)
4. Souter Lighthouse, Marsden (120 x 30 second exposures)
5. Sycamore Gap, Hadrian's Wall (138 x 30 second exposures)

This type of photography requires at least two characteristics. Patience and perseverance. It's not too bad when you've got company and can have a bit of banter while the camera pulls in the shots. Time passes much quicker this way. When you're out on your own it's a different ball game however, even more so if you're in a very dark area late at night, away from home, and paranoia kicks in when you hear the trees rustling behind you, or an owl screeches over your shoulder and you almost shit yourself! And the one where you see a figure walking towards you in the distance and you wonder whether he's up to no good. You laugh about it afterwards, but it's not so funny at the time. Maybe I just nee to grow a bigger pair of balls, he he. Eeee eh, the things ya dee for a decent photograph!

And on that note I shall depart once again, hopefully returning with more photographs from God's Country. I wonder where I'll end up next time. Probably the coast. I feel another Seascape shot coming on. Hope it's not a false dawn. Ah well, we shall see...

Catch ya later, AC

Banks Of The River Wear, Sunderland

Going back a few months in time to June 2014 and my visit to the banks of the River Wear, Sunderland. The exact location where this batch of photo's were taken was the rooftop of the National Glass Centre, near the University Campus on the north side of the water. It was an ideal day for photography, with blue sky and broken clouds, just the ticket for some picture postcard shots of the city's East End. It was a Saturday afternoon and the area was quiet, give or take the odd fisherman, although a fair few cycle riders went past on the final hurdle of the classic Coast 2 Coast route.

The roof of the National Glass Centre wasn't an easy one to negotiate, especially when you're not too keen on heights and you can see directly below through the plain glass you're walking on. Oh dear, my walk across must have provided a laugh or six for anyone who was watching. I've took on far worse heights in the past, so this was a doddle in comparison. Well, maybe not, he he. Once in position, I ran off a few frames and was satisfied with the results. My vantage point was by far the best position along this stretch of the river at this particular time, and even though I got the shots I wanted, I wasn't done yet. From the roof to the ground, I was soon on a comfortable footing and scouting about near the Uni Campus for more shooting positions. This location has been on my list of places to visit at night too, so I'll be heading down there again during the darker evenings that are round the corner. Not long now. So, until then, here are a few shots to be going on with...

Ash

Ella Janes, Alnwick Pastures, Northumberland

A rare Live Music blog entry. Late August 2014 and a journey north up the A1(M) to the historic town of Alnwick, the venue of an outdoors Summer concert, featuring Ella Janes, Toploader and headline act Simple Minds. The stage was set up on the pastures near Alnwick Castle, which proved a very picturesque backdrop and one that wouldn't be forgotten in a hurry. Around 5000 people attended the show, although only a fraction of that amount were present when opening act Ella Janes took to the stage. It was a cloudy day with occasional sun and a slight breeze, but this was to change later in the evening when the rain fell, although it seemingly never dampened the spirits of those who chose to party on regardless.

20 year old singer/songwriter Ella Janes grew up in the historical town of Winchester, moving to Exeter to study French Literature. Due for release on Sunday 4th November, Ella’s debut EP ‘Leave It All Behind’ marks her move from the Devon hills to Nantes, where she is currently spending a year writing and turning French ears to her intricate fingerstyle guitar playing and warm whispering vocals. Ella writes and performs her own music, sometimes on guitar, sometimes on her ukulele and recently supported fellow nu-folkers Ellen and the Escapades on their UK tour.

Not much to say about the music, to be honest. Not my cup of tea, but listenable I suppose. Ella's performance seemed to go down quite well with the crowd and she smiled throughout, enjoying the whole experience even though she was drafted in at the last minute, so to speak. The 35 minute set was a warm up before Toploader took their turn on stage. Alongside Ella were Fifi Homan (cello & vocals) and Matt Hurst-Smith (bass & vocals). I emailed a couple of my shots to Ella after the gig and she replied, saying they were beautiful photographs! She uploaded one to her Tumblr page, the very first shot that appears, which you can view by clicking.....here.

A nice note to end on. Back soon...Ash

The Kelpies, Falkirk, Scotland

Across the border and into Scotland for my latest low-light shots. The location was Falkirk, home of The Kelpies, the largest equine sculptures in the world. The Kelpies are 30-metre high horse-head sculptures, standing next to a new extension to the Forth and Clyde Canal in The Helix, a new parkland project built to connect 16 communities in the Falkirk Council Area, Scotland. The sculptures were designed by sculptor Andy Scott and were completed in October 2013. The sculptures form a gateway at the eastern entrance to the Forth and Clyde canal, and the new canal extension built as part of The Helix land transformation project. The Kelpies are a monument to horse powered heritage across Scotland. The sculptures opened to the public in April 2014. As part of the project, they will have their own visitor centre, and sit beside a newly developed canal turning pool and extension. This canal extension reconnects the Forth and Clyde Canal with the River Forth, and improves navigation between the East and West of Scotland.

It was dusk when I arrived at the site and the blue hour was almost over, so I quickly got to work while there was still decent colour in the October sky. Initially I ran with a Canon 17-40L lens, but soon switched to my brand new and as yet unused Samyang 14mm prime. The difference was immediately noticeable, not only with the extra wide angle field of view, but also the focus ring, which is manually operated and glides easily with just one finger. The Samyang 14mm is a rectilinear fisheye lens, which would be much smaller and less expensive, but also curves everything into a ball. Samyang is a Korean maker of security camera lenses -  Tamron does the same thing in Japan. Compared critically to Nikon and Canon's 14mm lenses, the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 is the least expensive 14mm ultra wide lens ever made and it attempts to keep straight lines straight.

But enough about the new lens, more of that will be revealed at a later date when I post more pictures and a review after putting it through its paces. To view 'The Kelpies' page on my website click here and go to Gallery 2 > Special Feature Galleries. Here is a small selection of shots from my visit, the first of many...
Back soon, Ash