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

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