Hadrian's Wall - A First

Welcome back to my Blog page!
On Easter Weekend I made my first ever visit to Hadrian's Wall, accompanied by friend and rookie photographer, Billy Short. It's hard to believe I hadn't walked the wall at some point, with or without a camera, so my maiden visit was well and truly overdue. Billy knew the place quite well, keeping me informed of what lay along the Hadrian's Wall Path, which stretches approximately 80 miles from Wallsend to the Solway Firth. Construction of this defensive fortification in Roman Britain begun in AD 122, during the rule of Emperor Hadrian. Steeped in history, Hadrian's Wall was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Although Hadrian's biographer wrote "Hadrian was the first to build a wall 80 miles long to separate the Romans from the barbarians", reasons for the construction of the wall vary, and no recording of any exact explanation survives. However, a number of theories have been presented by historians, primarily centring around an expression of Roman power and Hadrian's policy of defence before expansion.

It was now my turn to tread where Romans once did, so off we went, into the sticks for some photography and a taste of historical interest. We headed towards Once Brewed, just off the main gateway to the wall, the A69. It was an hours drive from Houghton le Spring, which wasn't bad at all, especially when the roads were quite busy on Easter Weekend. To give you an idea of exactly where we were heading in relation to the length of Hadrian's Wall, Once Brewed lies approximately 45 miles from Wallsend, the obvious 'End' of the 'Wall', so near the half way marker. From the car park we headed across the pasture and beyond the surrounding trees, where we caught our first view of the wall. The sun was very low and it threw a warm glow onto the crag that led the eye along the stretch of wall towards Steel Rigg. It was a sight and a half. We walked own the dip and onto the path itself, before a very steep climb up the crag via a staircase of ancient stones, strategically placed to help old timers like myself, he he. There was barely a breeze. The sun dropped behind the hill to our left as we made our way along towards Sycamore Gap, a location that appeared in the film 'Robin Hood, Prince Of Thieves'. The temperature took a noticeable dip, and this would only worsen as the evening progressed, but we were prepared for the task ahead. That task - to photograph the night sky with a series of long exposures, in the hope of crafting an eye opening star trail image. We went equipped with a powerful torch, thinking out loud with light painting in mind. This is an area that's relatively new to me, as I've only tried this once in before at Penshaw Monument. Billy hadn't done any at all, so we were looking forward to giving it a decent shot, despite our inexperience.

Thirty minutes into the walk and we reached our stop. Sycamore Gap looked the part alright, as seen on many photographs by many different photographers. Now it was our turn. We set up our camera's and done the prep work, dialling in the ideal settings for star trails, then waited for the light to drop, which it inevitably did, and by 9pm it was All Systems Gogo. You could almost hear a pin drop. This was solitude at its very best, and this photogenic location topped it off perfectly. We were underway with the long exposures, rattling them off continuously for what was expected to last around 90 minutes, weather permitting. The camera's were doing all the graft by this time and all we had to do was brave the cold as we headed towards the last couple hours of the day. Thousands of stars shone above in the dark night sky, with the moon an absentee as the exposures rolled in. Ideal - no light pollution whatsoever, until cloud cover threatened to spoil the party as it headed our way around 10pm. Suddenly the stars had disappeared, or at least most of them, making our task that much harder, but we soldiered on (no pun intended). By 10.15pm our camera's had recorded around 140 exposures, so the decision was made to call it a day, or in this case, a night. The clouds had gate crashed the show. We packed up and made our way back across the pasture towards the car park in the distance. It was pitch black and boggy underfoot, but the powerful torch saved the day and we able to navigate ourselves away from any hazards.

It was nigh on 11pm when we reached the car park and we didn't pass a single person en route, which wasn't a big surprise - only those who are 'Wired up wrong' do this type of thing, he he. And now for a brief insight into my photographs, shown here, from top to bottom... 

1. A viewpoint along Hadrian's Wall, towards Steel Rigg, as the sun was about to set behind us.

2. Sycamore Gap at dusk. That's me walking up the bank, remotely firing the camera shutter. For a brief time there was a stand off between myself and a rather aggressive Ram. Didn't know they existed, until now!

3. Star Trails. This was what we turned out for and this is what we got. Couldn't have been more satisfied with the results. My second attempt at this type of night time photography. 138 exposures and almost 70 minutes of work, but well worth braving the cold for...

4. Static Stars. Before leaving Sycamore Gap we used a torch to add an extra element to our final shots. A nice warm glow in the night sky made for a lovely shot...Beam me up!

5. Finally, another static stars effort, with a backlit tree as the focal point. Billy knows the score with torches and light painting, although he assured me this was his first attempt!

And that's it for now. A memorable visit to a place that is now on the tick list for more photography. Plenty more points of interest along Hadrian's Wall, just waiting to be picked off - It's a simple case of getting out there to explore what is on offer. With the Summer almost upon us, what better opportunity to get across there and get amongst it. My Canon 5D3 bagged some excellent shots on its very first 'Night Shoot' so I'm quite excited at the prospect of more low-light shots in the very near future. Once I put the camera through its paces (Correction - when the camera puts ME through its paces), I'll bring you another blog entry with a full teardown review. Just need to get out to test it with my other lenses this weekend. Gonna do some nature photography with my big reach 100-400mm lens. I'm thinking Washington Wetlands Centre, so keep an eye out at www.ashleycorr.com for more updates. Until then, thanks for dropping by...

Ash

Welcome Back!

November 2013 seems a long time ago now. It was the last time I updated my Blog page before the big overhaul at ashleycorr.com. Now that my site is up and running once again I hope to restore normality in the shape of new updates on Blogger, starting from today, with news of recent changes. Firstly, my Canon 5D2 went to the Canon graveyard last week after it took a tumble on the rocks near St. Mary's Island, Whitley Bay. A gust of wind swept my tripod off its feet, taking the camera with it, face down in a rock pool. It suffered water damage despite the fact that my filter holder took the brunt of the impact. The attached lens was unmarked, although it needed recalibrating through my insurance broker. The camera and lens were away for five weeks, although it seemed much longer then that. Being without a camera for that amount of time wasn't a happy experience, but what can ya do? Eventually the camera body was deemed 'Beyond economical repair' and as the 5D2 had been recently phased out, my insurance company replaced it with a 5D Mk III, which I was over the moon about. The 5D2 was the camera I had wanted to get my hands on for a few years, not even considering the 5D3 because of its hefty price tag, so to own one now goes above and beyond what I expected to run with. Although I've had the new camera for slightly over a week now, I still haven't been out to test it in the field, but that will be corrected during the next few days as I have more time to play with. Having flicked through the menu settings on the 5D3 I must say that my initial findings are very impressive. Lots of upgraded features, lots of head scratching too, which seems to be part and parcel with these things, no matter how many user manuals you have ticked off the list.

Currently looking at new tripods too. The trusty Manfrotto took a clout on those rocks, although I need to be more vigilant in those kind of situations. One thing is sure, it will only happen once!

Also dabbling with new image software in the form of Google's excellent plug-in's for Photoshop - Nik Collection. Some really interesting stuff bundled with it.

And that's about it for now. I'll have my Blog page restored to former glory in the very near future, bringing you more of my escapades form my trips into the depths of God's Country and beyond. Until then, welcome back!

Ash

Looking For That Cover Shot

Hello again.

Autumn colours were on display once again as 2013 geared up to it's final season that is Winter. I only made one journey out with the camera in search of a nice Autumn shot, and that was a morning visit into the Land Of The Prince Bishops - County Durham. Although Autumn only yielded one set of shots for me, I was more than happy with the results. In fact, one of them is earmarked for a magazine cover next year, so I hope to find a taker for this one, as it's too late to expect anyone to publish an Autumn shot now, especially with the Winter mags hitting the shops in the next couple of weeks. My visit to Durham was one that I had done a little research on in the days leading up to it. I waited for a bright sunny day to capture those colours at their peak, along with a focal point that simply had to be Durham Cathedral. I found myself deep in a wooded area overlooking Durham City Centre, looking for that perfect viewpoint. In the woods I stumbled across a young Australian girl who was sitting admiring the open view in front of her. She said 'Hello' as I was about to walk past, and I stopped briefly to chat about the stunning view (of the landscape, not her). I told her I was hoping to find a nice viewpoint to photograph the Cathedral from, and she told me to keep following the path I was on, until I reached a bench down the hill. She went on to say 'Once you reach the bench you'll see it all in front of you, I'll say no more'. I was well intrigued. I thanked her and swiftly moved on, looking for the bench in question. I found it in sharp time. As for the view, here it is, absolutely spot on...

Here is my quick mock up of a magazine cover. Fingers crossed!
Ash

Urban Graffiti, Sunderland

Hello once again!

Blog entries have been few and far between lately, mainly due to me setting up a Facebook page and dedicating more time to that than this. It's a bit of a juggling act at the moment but normal service will resume fairly soon, so rest assured my blog page will return to its rightful pecking order. To be honest, I'm way behind on all things blog, so I'll have to get my arse in to gear and bring you those Summer shots from around the Med, when I visited places like Majorca, Menorca, Italy, Corsica, and Sardinia, taking in places like Rome, Venice, Naples & Amalfi Coast, Mahon, Palma and Cagliari, amongst others. Then there's the doorstep photographs - Sunderland, Seaham, Durham, etc. There's plenty of photo's queued up and they'll be here shortly. Website overhauls are dominating most of my PC time though - it'll take me many hours to revamp the pages, but I'm whipping through them at a rate of knots, with a third of them completed up to now. Only 30 more pages to go!!!

So, what's been happening lately? I've been making regular visits into Sunderland over the last month or so, as I seem to be neglecting my hometown with the camera. Time to change all that. Twilight visits into the city centre took me along Nile Street, near the East End, where a collection of street art has appeared over a short period of time. Many buildings have been transformed into a colourful montage, as well as stand alone designs like the ones below. Urban Graffiti, or Street Art, may not be everyone's cup of tea, but this lot has captured the imagination of many Sunderland folk, who have given it the 'Thumbs Up' in recent weeks. I think it's the dogs bollocks, to be quite candid. Brilliant works of art, make no mistake. And so off I went, with Chris in tow, to photograph them 'My Way'.
Here they are...

 

As always, click an image to view an enlarged version of it. If you like what you see and would like to view more, click here for the full 'Urban Graffiti' photo session. Until the next time...

Ash

New Facebook Page

Hello again!

Apologies for the lack of Blog updates recently - I've been spending more time building my new Facebook page, but there will be plenty of updates on Blogger very soon. Please feel free to like my page, if you haven't already. There's a few of my latest photographs on Facebook, as well as older contributions, so drop in and see what's going on. Press that button... LIKE, LIKE, LIKE

Ash

Direct link to my Facebook can be found on my homepage...here....www.ashleycorr.com

New Stock On Display

New stock on display @ Clay's Garden Centre, Washington, including 20x16" frames, 11x9" frames, 14x11" mounted prints, 10x8" mounted prints and postcards. Frames are now available to purchase and are on display in the Coffee Shop. Prints can be found on the main shop floor next to the Greetings Cards and books of local interest. Images include Bamburgh Sunrise, Buttermere Dawn, Winter On Penshaw Hill, Newcastle Quayside and more.

Also finished printing and framing for Penshaw Tea Rooms & Nursery. The vast majority of their stock is of Penshaw Monument, for obvious reasons, and it includes a variety of frame sizes, mounted prints, canvas prints and postcards. If you're lucky enough to find a spare table in the Coffee Shop, check out the new menu with my 'Penshaw Poppies' shot on the front cover.
Their new on site Farm Shop will be opening soon, stocking fresh produce on a daily basis, so I imagine the place will be even more popular than it already is.

Here is a photo of the new stock at Penshaw Tea Rooms. More will be delivered shortly, including 36x12" panoramic framed prints & 32x10" canvases. OK, back to printing...

Ash

Lake District Weekender

Hello once again.
My first blog entry of October recalls our August Bank Holiday camping trip to the Lake District, where we had three days of constant sunshine and high temperatures, which is quite a rarity in Lakeland. We pitched our tent at Castlerigg Farm, on the outskirts of Keswick, after taking up the very last plot on the site before the 'Site Full' sign was hoisted. Once our tent was pitched and loaded, we were back in the car and exploring Lakeland once again, travelling to such places as Bowness, Ambleside, Buttermere and Castlerigg Stone Circle. The region was packed with tourists, which was inevitable on a Bank Holiday weekend, and especially with the weather being so kind. here are some of the photo's I took during a brilliant weekend, which certainly won't be forgotten in a hurry.

Speak soon, Ash

Buttermere Dawn, winner of 'BBC Look North' August weather photograph 

Sunset, from our base at Castlerigg Farm Camp Site

Rowing boats, early morning at Derwentwater

Keswick Launch, Derwentwater

Derwentwater, shortly after Sunset

The top of Honister Pass, near the Slate Mine (Via Ferrata)

The Peaks at Dusk, from Ambleside

Surprise View over Derwentwater, near Ashness Bridge

Buttermere at Dawn - The sheep arrive and take an early morning drink 

Buttermere Dawn, as the mist rises