Souter Lighthouse, Whitburn

Aye, about time too! Well, after a barren couple of weeks with the camera, I managed to get out and about today. I was up bright and early at 5.40am as I had a 7' o clock start at Nissan. Not being one to back heel a bit of 'Double Time' I headed off to work on another freezing cold morning, this time there was clear blue skies. There was a nice sunrise at 6.45am but I was AWOL once again. Maybe next time.

On my return home at 11.00am I decided to have a scout about after lunch in the hope of getting to grips with my new toy, the Canon 7D. Since buying the camera a few weeks ago I haven't really had a decent run of outings due to the poor weather so hopefully that will change as Spring is almost upon us. So, off I went. I headed to Whitburn, which lies between Seaburn and South Shields on the north-east coast of England.

A quick stop off at the National Trust site of Souter Lightouse gave me my first photo opportunity of the day and I was now off and running. There were a few people dotted here and there but they never got in my way, apart from one girl who decided to stand next to the boat near the lighthouse while she lit up. I had to wait a few minutes until she'd seen the tab off before I could get the shot I wanted. I reckon she knew she was holding me back but it looked like she couldn't give a ferk, as she stared me out during every drag of her Regal King Size. Silly moo!

Me patience got the shot...eventually!

Thanks for reading, Ash

Tyne-Tees Television (Part 5)

Another short video clip folks.
This was broadcast on Tuesday 2nd March at 6.25pm.
Cheers, Ash

Tyne-Tees Television (Part 4)

This week has been another good one for TV exposure, as four of my photographs were featured on Tyne-Tees Television's daily weather bulletin. Here's the first of them, which is the fourth in total since my debut in February.

Cheers, Ash

It's Been A While

Well, by my standards it has!
Yes, it seems like an age since I last posted on my blog, but I'm here now so I might as well add some more drivel, eh (wink).

Other projects have been in the way of things recently, giving my outdoor photography a temporary back-heel. Mind you, the weather hasn't been up to much so it's not like I've missed out on some good landscape shots recently. With Spring almost upon us it's going to be another busy time as I spread my wings and get back out there with my new Canon 7D camera, which in all fairness, hasn't had a decent run-out as yet.

Speak soon, Ash

Sunderland Echo Newspaper

Every now and again I send a few photographs to the Sunderland Echo newspaper as they run a daily article on the letters page called 'Your View'. My Blog already shows a selection of my work 'In Print', but if you haven't already seen them, here's some more.

I submitted a handful of my most recent photographs and it's been a good week as they've all been featured! The First two appeared on a double spread feature called 'Freeze Frame' where readers snow scenes were shown, and there were some great ones at that. Image one is Durham City, with Hylton Castle shown underneath.

The third photo features a rather menacing bull that was grazing near the foot of Penshaw Hill. With the monument in the background it made a nice composition but I had to keep me eye on that beast as it gave me a very peed-off look! I survived.

The last photo is another Hylton Castle snowscape. The people from Sunderland Echo trimmed the image, which is originally an 8-stitch panorama, but it still works quite well. So, it's been a good week all round, with four images going into print and another four hitting the telly screen on ITV's regional weather bulletin. I've got one or two other projects in the pipeline but as soon as they're out the door I'll be submitting more images to press and TV - possibly national photography magazines too. Mind you, I'm not complaining about the exposure, it's great, but nothing beats the outdoors with the camera in tow. Time spent promoting my work often means less time in the field, but hopefully I'll put that right this coming weekend. Batteries are charged - just waiting for a bit decent weather and I'm off out.

Well, until the next waffle. See ya, Ash

Same again

Yes, three days after my Hylton Castle photograph appeared on Tyne Tees Television, I had another one shown on Friday night. Again, it was during the weather forecast and this time it was an image that was captured on my new Canon 7D - a pair of Mute Swans at sunset.

There was no introduction this time, just a quick appearance of the photo as the weather forecast was being broadcast. Still, two in one week has taken me by surprise and I won't be stopping there. I'm developing a slight addiction to this game...he he.

EDIT - Bleedin' eck, there's just been another one ont telly half an hour ago! Durham Cathedral at night. I'm gonna start demanding a fee (wink). Screenshot above...

Thanks for visiting, Ash.

More TV Exposure!

Tonight I had another photograph of mine shown on our regional ITV channel. I only submitted it yesterday and even though my last entry was shown the day after I emailed it to them, I wasn't expecting a repeat performance. So, what a nice surprise it was to see my snow scene of Hylton Castle on TV.
After watching the show I then checked my emails and the weather presenter, Pip Thomson, had been in touch earlier to say the image I sent in was fantastic and she's definately be using it, so I had to keep a look out. I was quite chuffed!

That's the second photo I've had shown on the same programme over the last few weeks. I'll be sending more weather shots in over the forthcoming weeks and may even try my luck with BBC 'Look North' too.

Cheers, Ash