Bamburgh Sunrise

Hello again.
Miserable weather today, which is no surprise on a weekend after you've been grafting your arse off on the days leading up to it. Ah well, the camera stays in the bag and out comes the laptop. It's update time once again at ashleycorr.com.

By contrast, this blog entry features some recent sunrise shots that have plenty of colour in them, unlike today's flat sky that I see out of the living room window. This Winter sunrise outing that had me travelling north up the A1 on a very cold January morning. It was a 5am alarm call that started the day. I was hopeful of a good sunrise, as I was about to begin the round trip of 130 miles. I've only done a couple of sunrises at this location and I was luck both times in the past, so three in a row would do very nicely. Sooner or later I would fall victim of the false dawn, so I had my fingers crossed that it wouldn't be on this occasion. A long way to go for a big fat nowt! One hour and fifteen minutes up the road and I was soon dropping anchor at Stag Rock, next to Bamburgh Beach. The sky looked promising, as I looked south down the beach towards Bamburgh Castle and noticed the first warm hue on the horizon. From the parked car it was literally a short walk down the sandy bank onto the beach, eventually settling for a spot near the rocks. Foreground interest was the first thing on my mind and I also observed the incoming tide so that no unnecessary soakings took place. I've had a few of them in the past and didn't wanna go back down that route, even though I was decked out in me new £12 wellies from B&Q. I don't get too bothered about getting soaked, to be honest, I'm more concerned about the camera keeping dry, especially after the kicking my old 5D2 got on the rocks at St. Mary's Lighthouse. Once bitten, and all that.

The tide offered plenty to the shots as I fired off my first few frames. The cascading water had to be the main player in the foreground. Not much point of doing a seascape with little or no water action going on. The tide did breach me wellies on more than one occasion. It was only then that I really started to feel the cold. Toes were like ice. A few of the fellow Tog brigade were positioned ahead of me but they never really got in the way, so the clone tool in Photoshop wasn't called upon for the selection of shots you see here. In fact, all three efforts are pretty much straight of camera, with only a very minor levels adjustment on each. After 15 minutes of shooting, the tide had dropped back noticeably, so with it I went, repositioning myself to include the blurred motion of the North Sea. The sun was up in no time but was obscured by the low cloud cover. After a few more minutes the magic had gone. By this time I'd already bagged the shots and was quite chuffed that it was another successful long journey. I couldn't help but notice the heart shape bubbles that drifted past on the surface of the water (shot 3). Maybe this shot should be entitled 'Love on the rocks.'

From here it was back up to the car and time for a coffee and a few chocolate biscuits. Off with the wellies and on with the heaters. Time for the journey south - job done.

Until the next time...
AC

 

Website reopened!

Hello again. It's been far too long...

I'm glad to announce the reopening of ashleycorr.com after its temporary closure in mid January. I decided to strip the site back to its bare bones and rebuild it using HTML5, which supported web viewing on iPad & tablet, which the previous version did not. It was a laborious task to say the least, but the graft is now behind me and as of last night the site has no been declared open. In fact, since I reopened its doors just a few hours ago, the visitor counter has notched up an extra 70 hits, so I'm very pleased with that.

As for the new look website, I'm more than happy to reopen it as it is, even though there are a few half built pages that are currently hidden. Hopefully those will be completed and open during the next couple of weeks. They include new galleries such as Black & White, Seascapes 3, Astro Photography 2 and Published Work. I also have plans to add new video to the TV Channel, plus a free download page where visitors can help themselves to Wallpaper/Screensavers that features a selection of my work.

I would like to ad more pictures of myself to the profile (AC) page too. I had a handful of shots to choose from but wasn't too keen on them so I binned them off and settled for the one that is currently showing, even though you can't see much of my face. Maybe that's the better option, lol.

I'm looking forward to updating the site during the next few days and beyond. It's been a long time coming. Until then, keep watching this space. Cheers!

AC

Old Hartley, Whitley Bay (Part 1)

The Christmas holiday period presented opportunities for me to capture sunrises on the North-East coast, so I ventured out to new territory to do exactly that, and as a result it proved a very wise move. St Mary's Lighthouse, just north of Whitley Bay, has been a fairly regular haunt of mine of the last few years, particularly at sunrise, and although I've had my fair share of false dawns during this time, I've been lucky to capture one or two cracking red skies before the sun rose over the North Sea. It's pot luck, to be honest, but you've got to be in it to win it, as someone once said. The law of averages would give a firm impression that from six visits you are likely to see between one and two good sunrises, and by this I'm expecting good colour and cloud formation, as well as seeing the sun as it rises on the horizon. Low cloud cover often scuppers this.

And so, to my first ever visit to Old Hartley, a small bay between St Mary's Island and Seaton Sluice. A short walk from the small car park on the cliff top led me towards the steep concrete steps where I gained access to the beach. Not a great deal of sand to be had, as rock formation covered the majority of the bay. And if it's good rock formation you're after for detailed foreground interest, it doesn't come much better than this. By the time I arrived the tide was on its way back in and around half way. Because of this I was able to get out and explore the flat table of rocks to my left, which stretched out quite far and despite the incoming tide there it was safe enough to spend some time out there without being cut off. A couple of photographers appeared shortly after I had set my gear up. There was also one or two silhouetted figures on the cliff tops, crouched behind tripods and waiting for the sun to show up.

A warm yellow glow on the horizon behind the lighthouse was enough to get my firing off my first shots. At this point I could tell it was going to be a productive morning and the best was yet to come. As sunrise drew ever closer the colours in the sky were continually changing, especially 5-10 minutes before sun up when a nice pink/red hue took over the clouds. And it wasn't long before the sun made its appearance. At this point I headed out onto the flat rocks to get a better view of it. I was mindful of the incoming tide and made a decision to keep things brief. I'd been at Old Hartley for a good 90 minutes and pulled in some nice shots, especially the first half dozen efforts of the morning. I imagine this place will be a regular haunt in future and I look forward to photographing the same location later in the year when the sun rises further north. I'll keep you posted on any developments.
Hope you like these shots...
Cheers, Ash

 

Edlingham Castle, Northumberland

A first time visit to this location, at night, in the sticks, to have another bash at some Astro Photography. Arriving past dusk in almost pitch darkness, it was helpful in one way that an almost full moon was visible, although we weren't entirely sure how this would impact on the photographs we were about to take. A quick visual of this small site was enough to set up the camera near a large tree, just inside the main gate. Overhanging branches caught my eye immediately and this made for good top half interest, with the ruins sitting underneath. My first shot was right in front of me and the moon added that extra bit of atmosphere to it, so it wasn't long before the shutter was at work. The foreground ruins were lit by torch and the occasional bounce flash. Here is the first shot of the evening, taken around 6.30pm.

Before I continue I'd like to give you a brief history of Edlingham Castle, cut and pasted from the trusty Wikipedia page. It don't half come in handy!

Edlingham Castle is a small castle ruin, having Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I listed building status, in the care of English Heritage, in a valley to the west of Alnwick, Northumberland, England. It has been described as "One of the most interesting in the county", by Nikolaus Pevsner, the architectural historian. Edlingham itself is little more than a hamlet with a church alongside the castle. The ruins are mostly laid low though much of the solar tower still stands despite an impressive crack running several stories down to ground level. The foundations and part of the walls of the hall house, gatehouse, barbican and other courtyard buildings are still visible, most dating from the 16th century. The castle - more properly a fortified manor house typical of many medieval houses in the North of England - guards one of the few approaches to Alnwick through the hills to its west. Its fortifications were increased in response to the border warfare which raged between England and Scotland in the period from about 1300 to 1600.

By 1174, a manor house at the location was in the possession of a John of Edlingham. In 1294, a descendant, Walter of Edlingham sold it to William de Felton, who strengthened it by building strong ramparts and a gatehouse, fortifying the main hall and adding other buildings inside a courtyard. In 1396 Elizabeth de Felton inherited it, marrying Sir Edmund Hastings, who added a strong solar tower. Their descendants occupied the castle and estate until 1514; it was then it was purchased by George Swinburne; a constable of Prudhoe, whose family held it until the 18th century. During this time it gradually fell into disrepair, with most of the buildings dismantled to build nearby farmhouses in the 1660s, but leaving the solar tower intact. In 1978 the Department for the Environment acquired the site and conducted extensive archaeological excavations, prior to which rubble filled the solar tower to a height of three metres. The site is now in the care of English Heritage and is easily accessible from the nearby church of St John the Baptist, Edlingham.

We were on site for a couple of hours, taking photographs from various angles and at one point we climbed the perimeter fence and headed across a small field towards the stream to get a much wider angle of view. It was from here that the Milky Way was visible and rising directly behind the tower. The Milky Way was nowhere near as prominent as it would have been without the high moon playing a part, but nevertheless is was there and it was ready to be photographed. As you can see in the second photo above, the MW appears faintly behind the ruins. As the moon moved across, from left to right (east to west), even less detail could be picked out. Another night of pitch darkness, with the moon set and a clear sky, would ensure visibility at it's very best. Maybe next time, eh.

A final flurry of shots came in the shape of a star trail, which you can see here (right). Not the best of examples by any means, but it was nice to finish with a sequence of 25 shots that could be stacked in Photoshop to achieve this effect. Play was stopped prematurely when lens dew appeared. In fact, when wiping the dew with a lens cloth it became apparent that it was actually a very thin layer of ice, which was quite stubborn to remove. Ice, after only twelve minutes in! Ah well, ya can't have it all. It was odd really, because even though it was very cold at the time, I became quite immune to it and could've easily continued for another hour or two. It was only after we'd packed up and headed back to the car that the cold hit me. Walking into it was a wake up call alright. We were soon back into the car and the heaters were on full pelt. It was a good night overall. Great location. Just the background noise of a flowing stream and several Owls calling. Definitely a place to revisit.

Cheers, AC

The Fog

Welcome back to my blog page, where more recent photo's lay in wait, along with a short write-up of how the photo's were made. Todays entry concentrates on a foggy morning two weeks ago and the amazing view from the top of Penshaw Hill, Sunderland. I was in two minds whether to make the short climb to the top, but after deliberating for a minute or two I decided I had nothing to lose by taking a look up top, just in case there was a chance of pulling in some good shots. A wise decision in the end and one that paid off well, not only as I managed to bag the shots, but also the views on offer were like nothing I'd ever seen before. A thick blanket of fog covered the landscape, with only a few outcrops of land exposed above it, plus the tops of pylons and wind turbines.

After a while the fog began to lift, then it dropped, changing within a matter of minutes. I had hoped to grab a shot of Penshaw Monument with the foggy landscape as a backdrop, but this proved quite difficult. The further I backed off to include the Monument in shot, I compromised the landscape below by losing it almost completely in the frame. I managed to pull in what I could under the circumstances, although I never quite captured that magical shot. Never mind - you can only do your best I suppose. The panoramic views across the landscape was immense. Here are a few shots from the foggy session on Penshaw Hill, including one of Mute Swans in flight. The big birds were constantly circling, seemingly confused and struggling to identify water to land on. Not a surprise as the fog made visibility very poor and all forms of water were temporarily out of bounds.

Back soon with some more star trails, Ash

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