Sunrise - Herrington Country Park, Sunderland

What can I say - I've been AWOL once again and this time it's been longer than ever. My blog page has been put on the back burner over the last few months due to other commitments, but I'm back once again and hopefully it won't be a fleeting visit.

Strangely enough, I'm taking off where I left off, with more Mute Swan images. This time it's a sunrise visit to Herrington Country Park, Sunderland on a mild morning in early December 2016. I had the place to myself, give or take the odd dog walker here and there. The warm colours were beginning to show on the horizon when I arrived at the park, around 7.30am, so I had a feeling this was going to be a productive outing. No filters or long lenses, just a Canon 5D3 and a flash gun, including the chosen lens, a 24-105L.

As anticipated, the sky kicked off with some fine colour just before sunrise, so I set to work knowing it wouldn't last too long. It's a game of patience waiting for the swans to take up the ideal position for the composition I wanted. As there was a pair of swans I waited for a gap between the two before hitting the shutter button. When one bird obscures the other it doesn't make for a good photo and I also try to capture them with a side profile or head on, rather than the back of a head. It's a tricky game, it has to be said. I can easily run off a dozen frames before I finally bag a keeper, but it's all part of the fun and the challenge. The swans are at ease with the flashgun and are more bothered about whether they're gonna get fed or not, which they always do. It's the very least I can do when they're willing to pose for the camera, but throwing food to them always attracts a posse of ducks, which I don't want in my shots as they're nothing but a distraction.

Here is a few shots from this morning's visit. Glad I made the effort to lift my arse out of bed today!

Back soon, Ash

Good Evening From The Lake District!

Hello again,

It's been far too long. I keep slipping into 'Blog Neglect' mode and before I know it, it's been 3 months since my last entry. Oh dear, I really need to have a quiet word with myself. Not good enough, not by far.

Oh well, I'm here now, so let's get on with it. A warm welcome back and a blog entry that should redeem myself and my lack of recent efforts on this page. It comes in the way of a recent visit to Lakeland - the beautiful national park we call the Lake District. It was a kind of last minute decision to head west on a Saturday evening in June, when clear skies and a possible Aurora were predicted, and the fact that the North-East region expected cloud, it was a no brainer to turn my back on the North-East and head over to the Lakes, where conditions were most favourable. It was a fine evening, with no breeze and good temperatures. I headed over the A66 and traffic was quiet, so the journey went very smoothly, until the sat-nav notified me of a closure on a section of the road, which diverted me through Kirby Stephen. Hundreds of gypsy caravans lined the approach road, and when I eventually reached the small town of Kirby Stephen, it was like a scene from a movie. The place was overrun with gypsies, gathering outside the pubs in the main street. Horses were tethered to lamp posts - lots of them. Horse drawn carts were everywhere, randomly parked by Stevie Wonder, or so it would appear. I bit of careful negotiating in the Nissan Juke had me through the other side, which came as some relief. It looked as if the place was ready to go up, as gangs of gypsies eyed the 'locals' drinking over the other side of the street. Apparently it was Appleby Horse Fair weekend - really? I thought it was the Cheltenham Gold Cup, me'sel!!!!

I reached Keswick as the sun disappeared over the distant fells. I drove around the edge of Derwentwater, towards Lodore Jetty, the pre-planned location for tonight's photography. As the Jetty was north facing it lined up perfectly with a possible Northern Lights show, which would hopefully arrive tonight. Before dropping anchor at Lodor, I stopped off at Kettlewell, a small car park hidden behind tree's on the edge of the lake. I had a small bag of duck food in the boot of the car, which came in very handy when I spotted a lone Mute Swan on the water. There was some nice post sunset colour in the sky, which made for a lovely backdrop across the water towards Skiddaw, the second highest of the Lakeland fells. Out came the flash gun (and the food), and away I went. A few kids came over and stood behind me as I took my first shots of the bird. They stood right behind me, which seemed to agitate the Swan for a short while, before I turned around and gave them a look that did the trick. They quickly done one.

I 've got to admit - I've photographed lots of Mute Swan's, but this particular character was by far the tamest of the lot, probably due to the fact that it was accustomed to human presence and the perks that it came with it. It must have been the best fed Swan in Lakeland!!  After ten minutes or so I headed back to the car and made the short journey along the road to Lodore Jetty. It was here I bumped into Alan Cook and his wife. Alan is an amateur photographer like myself, who lives in Seaham. We often bump into each other in the dark. There's nowt going on mind - honest! Of all the places we chose to photograph - we both find ourselves at a little known jetty that we'd never previously visited - it's a small world and that was to become even more surprising as the night wore on. More about that later ...

We photographed the Lodore Jetty as darkness fell, with Alan's wife doing her light painting stuff on a Viking style boat the was moored in front of us. It took a few takes before we got the results we wanted. I gave Alan a few pointers with his Sony A7r2, particularly the focus peaking, which he said he hadn't used before. It's something that I swear by, as it takes the spade work out of the equation. One thing I haven't mentioned up to now is the midgey's. NIGHTMARE! Thousands of the bastards, biting away and not the kind of thing you need when you're planning to stand at the same location all night (potentially). Seriously, this was a big problem. Mauled - that's the best way to describe it. I went twelve rounds with those tw@ts and I was on the canvas a few times... oh aye..they might be tiny but they pack a canny punch. Around 11pm a couple arrived with a camera and tripod. Me and Alan had chat with them as we took photographs. Turns out they were stopping across the way at a nearby hotel. A few minutes in and Alan headed off - he too was floored by the midgey's, while his other half took a nap on a bench nearby. Around midnight the midgey's seemed to disperse. The cooler it got, the less midgey's there was. I like that!

Alas, the Aurora never showed up, I chatted to Mr & Mrs Woodley about the whole Aurora thing and they asked me whether I'd seen it before. I told them I had several previous sightings, notably the last one on Mother's Day, in March of this year. They told me they'd also seen it that night, at Souter Lighthouse, near Sunderland. Well what a coincidence, that was the same spot where I had seen and photographed it! I told them this and we all laughed - it's a very small world, or so it would seem. Simon Woodley went on to say him and his wife had watched a time lapse video of that particular Aurora show in their hotel, shortly before they walked to Lodore Jetty, where we now stood. His wife said it was an amazing video and a nice reminder of a fantastic night. At this point I had a feeling that the video they were raving about was mine. His wife said 'Yeah, it was by someone called Ashley. I can't remember his second name'. I replied 'Was it Ashley Corr'... she said 'Yes, that's right - do you know him'...... I said 'That's me'. They both laughed and found it hard to believe, until I described the video in detail. They both stepped forward to shake my hand. Must admit I felt quite humbled. Simon said 'Well, well... the famous Ashley Corr' which I quickly diffused, he he. Lovely couple and I enjoyed their company in the dark. I wouldn't recognise them if I passed them in the street, Lol.

They too headed off, back to their hotel, leaving me alone to fire off a few more shots of the boat and jetty. The eerie mist moved around on the surface of Derwentwater. My last shot shows this (below). And that was that. Back to the car and off home, arriving around 5am. No Aurora shots in the bag, but without doubt my best Mute Swan shots to date were well and truly bagged. A 200 mile round trip that was well worth it in the end. Result!

Cheers, Ash

Tommy, Mission 1101, Seaham Harbour

Hello again,
Another blog entry today - that's four in two days and that's got to be a record for me. My blog page gets neglected every now and again due to other online commitments, such as ashleycorr.com, Facebook, Twitter and more recently ... Instagram! Still finding my feet with some of those social network platforms, but I'll get there eventually. But yes, my Blog page is getting a bit of much needed TLC in the shape of another entry that brings you some of my recent images of Tommy, the very popular wartime sculpture that lives in Seaham Harbour, County Durham. I often find myself drawn to this statue and I've bagged some great shot of him recently. Visitors to my site may well have seen the page I have dedicated to Tommy. Night time visits is what captures my imagination the most and I quite often have the place to myself, unlike day time when visitors flock to see the big man. I've captured Tommy on camera many times, including the Candlelit Vigil image, which still remains my most popular Facebook upload to date, raking in more than 7,000 likes. Then there was the morning of all mornings when I photographed those amazing 'Mother Of Pearl' clouds, as a backdrop. One or two other shots spring to mind, but this blog entry concentrates on more recent night time grabs.

The shots you can see here were captured with two camera's - the trusty Canon 5D3 and a Sony A7S mirrorless affair, which, as the days and weeks pass, is becoming more of a primary body than the Canon. It's no surprise really, as the Sony is a master at pulling in night time shots with little or no noise, is much lighter and easy to handle, plus the manual focus is a dream to work with. I could go on and on, but less of the camera talk and more of the photographs, eh. The village green, where Tommy lives, has shops and a busy road to one side and the North Sea to the other. A cenotaph is situated a few yards away and one night I arrived to find a young girl spinning LED's to accompanying music. I politely asked if I could take a shot or two and she was more than happy to co-operate. One of the shots is shown here.

The Sony camera was shooting from almost ground level for some of my shots, with the tripod legs splayed and the centre column in a horizontal position. At best the camera was around 5 inches from the ground, which was ideal for grabbing a few shots from angles that I wouldn't normally shoot from. I think it all added to the drama and the subject suited it very well. Cars came and went, which is to be expected as the site is situated right next to a car park. Occasionally one car would pull up and face me with it's lights on. No problem really, until the driver decided to leave them on for a good ten minutes or so, ruining my shots. It was one of those 'Feck right off' moments. I bided my time and it wasn't too long before the car went on it's merry way.

Near the end of the row of shops is a fine chippery establishment. Downey's do a rather damn tasty portion of Fish n' Chips. Oh yes. Moolar handed over and it was down the hatch. Weshed down wi Coca Cola, it was time to head home with a belly full of scran. Ah well, all perks of being a wandering Mackem photographer (wink). For anyone who would like to know the background story of Tommy, here is a newspaper article (cut and pasted) to give you an insight into how the statue came to be ...

When his sculpture reflecting the sheer horror of World War One was lowered onto a seafront just a few miles from his hometown, Ray Lonsdale didn’t expect it to receive the welcome it did. The imposing metal sculpture entitled 1101 - owing to the fact the armistice went into effect at 11am on November 11, 1918 - stands 9ft 5ins tall at Seaham, in County Durham. The statue, built out of special corteen steel, was installed to mark the centenary of the start of the Great War and was only expected to remain in place for three months.

After winning the hearts of hundreds of visitors to the town, it could now be exhibited permanently. Around £72,000 has been raised to keep the 1.2-tonne statue in the town, and fundraisers are only £12,000 from their target. The Journal included it in its list of 100 great things about the North East - alongside more established landmarks like Hadrian’s Wall and the Tyne Bridge - and regular crowds are flocking to Seaham to take in the artwork. In the process, Ray’s work has been catapulted into the public eye and his journey from metal worker to fully fledged artist has been completed. He said: “There was always a big risk with Tommy because there was no sale for it. It was just a case of me biting the bullet and having hope that someone somewhere would buy it. There was no guarantee that it would have sold and it could have ended up sitting around for sometime.

“Finally great things happened and they are just about there with the money now.”

The artwork, which was installed in May has attracted hundreds of visitors to Seaham, many of whom have donated cash to the Save Tommy campaign. A Facebook page called Mission 1101 has attracted more than 4,000 members with many pledging to support to Tommy, which is situated on Terrace Green. “I was surprised by the level of support 1101 got,” said Ray. “I’ve had a positive reaction to a lot of my work but not by as many people as this. The whole town has pulled together to put money in the buckets and raise cash to keep it here. That is a new experience.”

After leaving school Ray, 49, of South Hetton in County Durham, qualified as a maintenance fitter and began working at Coles Cranes in Sunderland, which closed in 1996. Following the factory’s closure Ray set up his own steel fabrication business, where he produced bins, seats and railings for local authorities and private clients. He always had an interest in art and at school he was always encouraged to go onto to art college.

But it wasn’t until 2007 that Ray decided to start his career in art and changed the name of his business to Two Red Rubber Things. The father-of-two said: “In 2002 I got back into art and drawing on an evening and I decided to try and combine my work and interest. That’s when I produced my first piece. I got into a competition at the Biscuit Factory and I won the competition. “That gave me the confidence to try and do a bit more and over the next five years I completed more and more art work. There was a gradual change-over from steel to artistic steel work. “Someone told me that I would never stand a chance making it in the art industry unless I had a degree in art. I started college but I soon realised it wasn’t for me. “I decided to do things off my own back and that’s how I started and finally things were well received. I didn’t feel I had time to do an art degree. It would take seven years and I felt I would be wasting opportunities. I just wanted to push myself. I’m big on having a go and I never wanted to get to a point in my life where I would think ‘I wish I would have tried that. I kept the steel work going alongside the art work and it wasn’t until 2007 when I changed the name of the business and decided to take a chance with the art.”

Ray now has 30 life size statues under his belt and another six large scale pieces. These include The Big Dance at Gretna Green - a 14ft depiction of a couple’s hands - which was put in place in time for Valentine’s Day, a soldier on a bench at North Bay, Scarborough and the Filey Fisherman, in Filey. Ray, who lives with wife Bev, said: “I like to create work that people can take something from it. Public art should be for the public. I don’t agree that it is an artist’s job to educate the public about art but if they like it then it’s been a success. “I like people to look at it and appreciate it and appreciate the work that’s gone into it. I also like them to look deeper into it and find the story behind it. Previously I would make seats, bins and railings. I had to get used to people buying my work for the way it looked rather than for its functional purpose. It felt strange at first. I realised that people were having a positive reaction to my work and that’s something I got used to, which was nice.”

Ray is keeping quite tight-lipped about his next project but he admits he’s been approached by local authorities. He said: “I have completed a lot of drawings since 1101 and I’ve been approached by a couple of authorities with ideas but nothing has been finalised yet.” Leaving his full-time profession to concentrate on his dream to make it as an artist was a risk but Ray has not looked back since, citing his family’s support for helping make the leap. He said: “Bev has been fully supportive. She had a lot of faith in me when I didn’t. If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be any of this at all.”

Until we meet again ...
AC

Another Fine Sunset - Copt Hill Barrow

'Family Trees'

One of my favourite photography locations is Copt Hill Barrow, Houghton le Spring, Tyne & Wear. Also known locally as the Seven Sisters (although there is actually only SIX trees), this Neolithical burial ground has many urban myths attached to it, so what is fact and what is fiction - who knows? One thing is certain though, at least in my humble opinion - this place is one of the most photogenic of locations, especially during the winter months when the trees have shed their leaves and take on an eye-catching silhouette, at the top of a local wasteland in my home town. Facing east at sunset is a 'must see' - especially when you're rewarded with a colourful sunset backdrop. Not much to ask for, you might well be thinking, but surprisingly enough there has been many of them over the 16 or so years that I have been making the short journey up there. Tonight was another of those occasions.

I arrived with plenty time to prepare, which is never a bad thing. At least four other photographers were strategically placed, eager for a slice of the cake, so to speak. I made up the numbers and fancied some of that cake too, so I waited it out and hoped for the best. It didn't disappoint. I grabbed a few shots before and after sunset, by which time everyone else had cleared off and I had the place to myself. A bit of field craft and the use of a filter brought me the best shot of the night. Combine that with the sudden arrival of a family walking over the mound and the magic was about to have its second coming. They seen me from a short distance and after a brief exchange they were soon posing for my
camera. How nice! And here it is, one of my favourite shots of the Copt Hill Barrow @ sunset, with the inclusion of a family to give a nice sense of scale to the shot ...

Ash

Astro Exploration - Hadrian's Wall Country

Hello again,
Another short blog entry for you today, as I catch up with a backlog of images from recent outings with the camera(s). My latest installment is another first for me - a visit to Cawfields, in Hadrian's Wall Country. With clear skies predicted we headed out and arrived around 7pm, parking at the edge of the water, with a fine rocky backdrop and a partially clear sky. The Milky Way could easily be identified as it arched above us and off into the distance. The place was deserted, which was no surprise. A nearby toilet block cast the only available light around us, which was ideal on a night like this. It really was supposed to be cold, yet I hardly felt a nip in the air. It probably was cold, as it should be on a mid February evening, yet it wasn't noticable once the camera came out to play. I think you switch off to these things once the cam is switched on! The stars shone very brightly indeed and many could be seen reflecting in the water in front of me. The Plough was easily identifiable, as was Orion's Belt and the Andromeda Galaxy, amongst others. Still water offered an ideal opportunity to grab a lovely reflection shot, with a nice cloud formation adding to the composition.

This is another place that I will most definitely revisit, for more of the same. It was a nice experience, treading where Roman's once did. An historic place in every sense.

Ash

Sunrise - Trow Rocks, South Shields

A rare sunrise outing for me in 2016. The location - Trow Rocks, a small cove near Graham Sands, South Shields. Another first, despite a previous visit to this location during an afternoon last Spring, this was to be my first attempt at capturing the sun rising to the west. It was a very mild morning and as soon as I walked out of my front door at 5.10am, I knew it wasn't gonna be one of those biting cold mornings that I usually associate with sunrise outings. Almost half an hour later I was on location at Trow Rocks and ready to capture another sunrise. The sky looked promising and as time slowly ebbed away I could sense this was going to be a productive morning. Not a great deal of cloud to the west, but just enough to breath some colour into a partially clear sky. The waiting game was on!

An elderly couple joined me as sunrise approached. I was more than happy to have what appeared to be prime spot in front of the jagged rock formation, so I quickly got to work and ran off a few test shots. The tide was high and it coincided with sunrise - a single factor that brought me to this spot today. Standing with my back up against the rock face, I was shooting as wide as possible without vignetting, due to the stack of filters I was using to balance exposure and capture the tide with a slow shutter speed. It worked well and it was another sunrise location ticked off. Here is two shots - one before, and one after sunrise. Only one task was left to complete - a visit to McDonald's for a breakfast wrap and a nice caramel latte. Needless to say, this was another box ticked and I then it was a simple case of driving home. Short, but very sweet.

Ash

Mother Of Pearl Clouds - Part Two

And so to the second and concluding part of 'Mother Of Pearl Clouds'. If you read the first part of my blog you'll be aware of how amazed I was to see this rare natural phenomenon, let alone photograph it. Even now, a few weeks later, I still look back in amazement at something I will probably never see again in my lifetime, so I feel priveleged to have witnessed it on my doorstep, so to speak. I apologise for not giving my readers an insight into how these clouds form, and why. So, without further ado here is a bit of cut and paste magic, courtesy of those trusty people at Wikipedia ...

Polar stratospheric clouds or PSCs, also known as nacreous clouds, or mother of pearl, due to its iridescence), are clouds in the winter polar stratosphere at altitudes of 15,000–25,000 meters (49,000–82,000 ft). They are best observed during civil twilight when the sun is between 1 and 6 degrees below the horizon. They are implicated in the formation of ozone holes. The effects on ozone depletion arise because they support chemical reactions that produce active chlorine which catalyzes ozone destruction, and also because they remove gaseous nitric acid, perturbing nitrogen and chlorine cycles in a way which increases ozone destruction.  The stratosphere is very dry; unlike the troposphere, it rarely allows clouds to form. In the extreme cold of the polar winter, however, stratospheric clouds of different types may form, which are classified according to their physical state and chemical composition. Due to their high altitude and the curvature of the surface of the Earth, these clouds will receive sunlight from below the horizon and reflect it to the ground, shining brightly well before dawn or after dusk.

After a quick stop off at High Sharpley Wind Farm, I was back in the car and driving towards Seaham Harbour, a coastal town in the county of Durham. Within a little under ten minutes I was parked up at The Green, home of Tommy 1101, the corteen steel sculpture of a soldier, commemorating the first minute of armistice. Indeed another fine subject to use as a silhouette in front of the Nacreous Clouds. I had the place to myself, which was a surprise, so I set about the task of grabbing what would prove to be my last batch of photo's before the cloud show ended. The sun rose directly ahead of me, so I used Tommy to obscure it from view as I took my first shots. The last colours of the clouds diminished quickly as the sun rose next to them. The game was almost up. The blinding bright sun killed them off within two or three minutes, but by this time it was job done. I was more than happy to grab an hour's worth of shots, so it was time to find a petrol station, and quickly. The fuel gauge was well and truly in the red zone and me arse was twitching somewhat. Didn't fancy konking out and having to walk to the nearest station, especially as I had no idea where the nearest one was located.

I managed to reach Morrisons at Doxford Park, filled up and got myself home. Quick cup of tea then off to bed. Well... that was the plan, but plans rarely come to fruition, and that is exactly what happened. I t was after mid-day before I eventually hit the fart sack. A press guy messaged me via Facebook, wanting to use my images on the Daily Mail website, which was a first for me, so some quick editing took place and off the images went. It was great to one of my Seven Sisters shots appear on their web page later the same day. And that was that. It was all over and well worth reflecting on. Here is a small selection of the clouds at Seaham Harbour on that memorable morning in early February, 2016. My shots went down very well on Facebook, as you can see in the screenshot here. It's always an added bonus to be able to share my work and receive nice feedback in the process.

So, until the next time....AC