Me, My Camera and Eye

Forgotten harbour

2008-04-07T10:16:00.004+01:00

Despite forecasts of severe snow and blizzards, we intended to take Mum's new caravan for a short test run this weekend to Hinderwell, on the edge of North Yorkshire. This is Port Mulgrave, about a mile away from Hinderwell and I remember it as a kid as my parents had a friend who live here. The harbour is almost gone now, but I remember my first trip out to sea from here, in a lifeboat my uncle had bought from Great Yarmouth. It was a bit of a family outing, though most of us kids and the women spent alot of time lent over the side throwing up.

The harbour was built in the mid 1800's when iron ore was found in the cliff face - well before the rich seams were discovered beneath Eston Hills. This seam only lasted a few years before it started to peter out. Another small seam was then opened in nearby Grinkle Park and the harbour continued to be used for several decades.

During World War I, the jetties and equipment were partially destroyed to prevent the harbour being used by the Germans for an invasion.

What's left of the jetties is still used by a handful of hardy fishermen.

Scars at night

2008-04-05T10:36:00.004+01:00

Scars at night

Its usually a bad idea to wander down the sea front with a camera at night during the extended weekend - from Thursday through until Saturday night - too many pubs and clubs with drunks milling around on the promenade. Still, the dog needed walking and given the low tide, I was looking for some inspirational views from the further reaches of the rocks.

The rocks themselves are known as scars, presumably as they run add odd angles from the shoreline and give the appearance of jagged scars running into the water. Local fishermen avoid them and follow a specific channel by lining up two red lights, one on the sea front and on a little further back. In the years before satellite navigation and GPS many ships have floundered on these scars. A list of the wrecks can be found on the Redcar.org website

I set this shot up to emphasise the rocky scars, using a 30 second exposure, using the puddles and ponds the retreating tide had left to capture a little of the reflected light. The green tinge in the foreground is seaweed and sea moss on the rocks themselves.

I took a couple of exposures before a few drunks started shouting something or other, milling around at the nearest edge of the promenade.....time to call it a night.

House on the hill

2008-04-05T10:33:00.004+01:00

House on the hill

I spent last weekend wandering down the coast towards Whitby. My daughter had to do a "Day in the life of...." project for University, a strange project for a Games Programming degree, anyway she had wanted to do her parents. It is amazing how off putting it can be when you are taking shots to have someone else shooting you and asking you to "hold that pose"! We all had a bit of a laugh though and the weather was surprisingly nice. We wandered across to Cowbar, though Staithes and then onto Runswick Bay. It will be interesting to see what she comes up with.

As a boy, I lived in this area for a few years and have memories of days at the beaches and regattas, ice creams and summer time. Our large and extended family often played football matches with the scouts on Sunday afternoons.

This shot was at Runswick Bay in North Yorkshire. Its quite nice down there, hardly any shops, just one cafe and the road down the hill is about 1 in 2 I think - very steep, so make sure your brakes are in good working order!

The old white house was a coastguard cottage and seemed quite fitting for the scene, though situated as it is on the edge of one side of the bay it must get a severe lashing from the sea during winter.

The other side of the bay is quite idyllic, all sand, cliffs and is quite a nice walk.

Against the wind

2008-03-22T10:06:00.003Z

Against the wind

We spent an afternoon in Whitby hanging pictures in the new gallery (have a look at the website at www.thephotospace.co.uk).

As we worked, the wind outside peaked at 35mph and the north easterly wind brought icy hail. Not a pleasant weather outlook for the Easter weekend!

The coast road through Sandsend was closed off to through traffic, so we detoured around the moors and came back to the coast at Saltburn.

The pier itself was closed as the high tide and stormy seas pounded the shoreline. We spent a little time down beside the pier and then on the way home, stopped at the top of the cliff to take this image.

New Photospace Gallery in Whitby

2008-03-17T10:16:00.005Z

The Abbey

Well, I have been invited to display some images for sale in a new gallery in Whitby. Time is a bit tight - the opening is on Easter Saturday - so I have been dashing around getting prints and frames sorted and all that sort of stuff, in between updating my website.

I bought most of the frames myself and had the RGB labs do the professional printing. When I went to collect them, they were all the wrong size, but they were really helpful, acknowledging the problem immediately and did a second batch on the spot while I waited.

The image of the Abbey on the right is one taken last September, but only recently processed. It is said that Bram Stoker penned Dracula here, and Whitby attracts a fair number of goths, hosting two gothic weekends each year. Its a great place to visit.

This is possibly one of my images on display and available to buy. If you find yourself at a loose end on Easter Saturday, get yourself down to Whitby and say hello, I will be around most of the day and the gallery is on Skinner Street, just next to the Post Office.

Wish me luck for the opening day!

The Sex Generals

2008-03-13T08:44:00.003Z

Three Generals

I spent a great couple of hours on Saturday down at Steetley Magnesite in Hartlepool doing some promo shots for a local band - the Sex Generals. They chose the location so I gave normal disclaimers should any accident happen - being a large abandoned industrial plant that is wide open to the public, certain parts of it are distinctly dangerous.

The band members - Paul, Ben and Richard - were great fun to work with and the some of the shots reflect that - though their style of music is darker and we went for a number of images which reflect the mood they were looking for. They can be found online at http....
And a selection of shots are visible here.

I spoke with two of the band members during this week and they are very pleased with the results. If you are a local band looking for promo shots - get in touch.

Get off the line

2008-02-10T23:19:00.003Z

Get off the line

A bit of a surprise this weekend. Jess called from Uni, feeling a bit homesick and all her Uni friends had gone home for the weekend. So that was the weekend mapped out, cheaper to go see her than for her to come home.

We spent a lovely day walking around Southport, which struck me as a lovely seaside town, like an up market version of nearby Blackpool. We seemed to talk lots, about all the stuff she has been up to, difficult things she has had to deal with and the positive stuff too. We had a bit of a laugh too along the way.

Sometimes you cannot help feeling proud at the way your kids turn out when they tell you how they dealt with difficult situations.Though she is normally camera shy, she posed on the train track for this one - and got some funny looks in the process :-) I should perhaps point out that the tram was stationary at this point and even when moving, proceeded very slowly, stopping as pedestrians got in the way!

Alone against the elements

2007-12-10T17:10:00.001Z

Alone against the elements

Those who know me or that see alot of my images will recognise the "standard lamp" which sits on the end of the groynes as a warning to boats not to come closer.

Tonight was a freezing dusk, the tide was high up, lashing the coastline and the northerly wind biting and tugging at me. I crouched down and set my tripod up low to try to keep out of the worst of it and kept a watchful eye on the ebb and flow to make sure I didnt get washed away!

I tried a number of apertures/shutter speeds at the far end of my zoom, trying to isolate the solid red part of the groyne against the wild of the sea. This one is the one I like best from that set. It is almost as it came out of the camera, a little white balance adjustment, resizing, noise reduction and sharpening. Even the darkened edges occurred naturally, though I am not sure how or why.

Hello darkness my old friend...

2007-12-10T15:23:00.003Z

Hello darkness my old friend...

Of all my images, I dont think I will tire of seeing this one. It was pure fluke,I had dropped mum off and it was almost dark as I drove along the Stray. I stopped off half way down and slipped down onto the pitch black beach. The breakers were rolling in, with their tips illuminated by distant street lights.

With Simon and Garfunkel still echoing through my mind, I knew as I took it that it was going to be something special. After a few more grab shots in different directions I packed up the tripod and headed home.

Post processing brought it to life - with the GreyCStation plugin giving a soft, kind of dreamy look to the surf.

I think this is probably my favourite shot I have taken.

Crimson tide

2007-12-10T15:19:00.003Z

Crimson tide

After spotting a post from DannyBeConnor about high tides and very large swells approaching from the north this was one of those busy hours where I ran around with tripod and camera, trying to capture the essence of the weather - the stillness of the wind - the sweeping and crashing waves and failing light.

It really was a beautiful afternoon for photography and nowhere near as windswept as the images suggest.

Sometimes, the uniqueness of the light, the landscape and the elements, seems to compel me to spend time looking, thinking, bending this way and that, standing up, lying down, trying to feel the essence of the environment, and trying to capture a sense of what it feels like. Being a photographer pushes you to explore the world around you in different ways and compels you to look at things in different ways. Perhaps that is part of the attraction for me!

Time trails

2007-12-10T15:16:00.005Z

Time trails

Its been some time since my last blog entry - a rather hectic few months.

This one is probably one of my best from a weekend in London. I guess you are guaranteed to get some decent shots if you spend almost the entire time trawling around with camera and tripod.

The culmination of the trip was arriving at Westminster for the blue hour, when the sun has slipped below the horizon and light levels are dropping slowly, it is an ideal time for long exposures and representing the world in a different way.

The pavement was wet from a recent shower and I setup my tripod as far out of the way of passing tourists as I could and waited for a double decker bus to approach. I had initially intended for the light trails to run through the whole picture, but with the light levels what they were, could only allow myself a 2.5 second exposure. On retrospect, I'm glad, the image gives me the impression of an English version of "Back to the future", instead of a De Lorean, we would use a double decker London bus!

The low point of the trip to London was reaching Kings Cross an hour early, only to listen as the tannoy announced that all trains were suspended due to overhead line faults just north of the station. Eventually got home at around 3.15am, but it was worth it!

Roxanne

2007-09-30T18:52:00.004+01:00

Roxanne

This rather strange looking "lady" belongs to my brother in law. Him and an artist friend spent many a drunken evening decorating and drawing on her flawless skin. He has kept it ever since.

As she wasn't quite fully dressed and is a full length figure, I decided to allow her some modesty and only photograph her face. I quite like the stark red behind her, it seems to compliment her painted lips and is perhaps fitting for the subject.

It reminds me though, of a girl I know who once suggested that bondage photography was where the money was at, as one of her friends was pursuing it as a career choice.

I think I need to spend more time focusing (no pun intended) on portraits, especially the use of various lighting arrangements. Not specifically this type of subject, but generally. Volunteers please!

Thinking

2007-09-30T09:23:00.007+01:00

Thinking

About time I got a half decent shot of my Dad. Its difficult to get a good shot of him looking serious, he is always messing around and playing the joker.

This was taken on his allotment, which is his pride and joy. His wife, Paula, does most of the hard work as Dad is meant to take things steady since his operation.

In his words - he is the supervisor of the allotment. Either way, he was well pleased when the local town magazine (The Talk of the Town) did an article on him and his onions. He was so chuffed, he learnt how to use a web browser so he could have a look at the online article :-)

His consultant asked him last week how long since the heart surgery...5 years was Dad's reply...to which the consultant said...it must have been top notch work - your still with us! Very comforting!

He has had a few scares since the original operation, and been back in for more surgery - as he says, every new day is a gift!

Mist rolling in

2007-09-30T09:19:00.003+01:00

Mist rolling in

The first proper trip out with my camera since pulling a muscle in my neck.

The sea was incredibly choppy and the dog kept looking down wanting to be in - she should have been born an otter.

The wind had that icy chill with it that bites into exposed flesh, blowing in from the sea, bringing with it a fine sea mist giving the landscape a layered appearance. Each time the sun broke through the sparse clouds, the land was dappled in a kind of golden light.

A day of contrasts, hopefully this image captured a glimpse of that.

Shooting prohibited

2007-09-22T17:36:00.002+01:00

Shooting prohibited

An experiment in HDR and tone mapping effects. It is a time of learning here, of trying different post processing techniques and mostly fumbling around through different graphics manipulation packages and a multitude of settings.

I had seen this on the Gare Road a few times and the light was never quite right. Today was a little better, but I knew that exposing for the sky and grass was going to leave the sign badly underexposed. I tried various level and curve adjustments in GIMP but still didnt achieve the effect I was after.

This led me down the HDR and tone mapping path, something I have been curious about for a while but never actually played with. I'm kind of happy with the result, though I would prefer it without the light halo around the sign.

Should anyone really want to produce a similar result (though I cannot imagine they would!) these are the steps I took on my Ubuntu install of Linux....

1) Loaded the original image into Ufraw - saved as three different TIFF files with different exposure levels - i.e. underexposed, normal and overexposed
2) Created a new HDR in qtpfsgui and accepted the defaults.
3) Then tone mapped the file using the pre v1.84 Fattal algorithm, Alpha 0.1, Beta 0.8, Colour satursation of 1, and no noise reduction.
4) Loaded into GIMP and adjusted levels.

I am still learning this stuff, but it is a fair example of how HDR and tone mapping work.

Summer's end....probably

2007-09-19T23:23:00.002+01:00

Summer's end....probably

Two days left of the season. It seemed quite mild as I left work, the sun had dropped dropped below the horizon, yet it was dry and between the clouds patches of clear sky persisted with that dark, almost night, shade of blue. I was hopeful!

By the time I got home, the drizzle had begun, only interrupted by brief lashings of rain. That seemed about right for this summer of floods.

Out walking the dog, the ideal image for tonight seemed to be one that captured the rain, but the drizzle had returned. I tried using flash, in an attempt to capture the fine misty spray, but it wasnt to be.

Mad dogs and Englishmen

2007-09-19T09:26:00.002+01:00

Mad dogs and Englishmen

Sunday was not a good day for photography, or so it seemed. The wind was whipping up a storm and the sand streamed across the beach in loose clouds hugging the ground. Not the best place for my camera and when I noticed the lone fisherman and his dog, I thought to myself, he must be mad out in this. Until I realised that I was probably just as mad being out at the same time in the same place, pursuing my own hobby. Hmmm, its a strange old world.

Saltburn Folk Festival

2007-08-12T09:47:00.000+01:00

Another Tees Valley Community Media event. Not usually my type of music, but then again, neither was most of the MELA or SIRF!
Having been unhappy with most of my images from the SIRF and with me feeling my photographs are becoming a little stale, it was time to try and focus on stretching my people shots, I made a mental note to try and get closer, crop tighter, in camera. On the whole, I feel happier with the shots from this event.

SIRF 2007

2007-08-12T09:23:00.000+01:00

I wandered along to the annual Stockton International Riverside Festival last Sunday as a volunteer photography for Tees Valley Community Media. Now people shots, crowds, bands, etc isnt really my type of thing, so volunteering for these TVCM events is an attempt to stretch my photographic abilities further.
There were flags everywhere on the approach.

I took a wander through the fairground first, watching the spinning rides, watching the way long hair was flung outwards by centrifugal force

As I came back through past the main fringe stage I was surprised to see Paul Weller and the New Jam on stage!

I took lots of shots, way too many to post process, somewhere in the region of 250.

I'm still getting used to asking people in the crowd if they mind me taking their picture, it feels a little alien to me, but every now and then, you come across someone who comes and ask you to anyway!

I think my favourite act of the day was Grupo Puja, with a band on stage singing (chanting?!?) strange haunting sounds and a seperate team performing aerial acrobatics.

Nic and Kirsty's wedding

2007-08-12T09:06:00.001+01:00

I was asked by a friend at work if I would come and photograph his wedding. So a week ago I wandered along to Whitworth Hall, a deer park and country hall in County Durham. The weather stayed good all day, surprising given all the floods of late. Nic and Kirsty were incredible, they both had a great sense of humour which was shared by all their family and friends, it was one of the nicest weddings I've been to.

At the beginning of the ceremony, I was shooting with no flash, high ISO to try and be less intrusive.

Once the Bride and Groom were in position, it became clear that the large window they were stood in front of was going to become a problem, so I switched to a SB600 external flash.

After the ceremony was complete and everyone had had a drink, it was time for some confetti

Normal formal shots were done, with lots of input and special group requests from various guests, then we gathered all the guests together for a large group photo.

All in all, a lovely day, though I find myself feeling exhausted afterwards, I think I put alot of pressure on myself to try and get the right shots.

Flickr Meet - Roseberry Topping

2007-07-30T02:13:00.000+01:00

This month's flickr meet started out at The Buck Inn @ Great Ayton. It was good to meet up with everyone again and after a brief foray into the town for Ice Cream (true to form - I opted for a cuppa instead), we drove to the base camp and started the long trek upwards. I'll post some pictures later of the more traditional type, but once we got to the top, I unveiled my tyre - clearly I couldnt leave home without one and carrying a full size tyre up the topping would have been out of the question so I borrowed one from Alvin's remote control truck - it had to be done - really - it did have to be done - I am making a mental note never to leave home without one. For the discerning reader who doesnt know what I am going on about - take a look here.

The other bit of silliness on the top involved parachutes and moo cards. For those unfamiliar with Moo cards - they look like this....

When attached to a parachute, they look like this during launch....

Some people find them a little strange, perhaps hard to figure out...

...but when in full flight they can be both graceful and beautiful...

...and even have their own strange mating rituals....

Newcastle and beyond

2007-07-30T01:46:00.000+01:00

Sometimes, you just have to get out, even when you dont feel like going anywhere. Saturday was one of those days, so I wandered northwards to Wards Graphics just below the Metro Centre for some mount boards and suitable tools - having made the decision to mount a couple of images each month and then to organise an exhibition. Having made the trip, I ventured down to the Quayside in Newcastle. It is one of the places I seldom travel to, perhaps because of my almost complete lack of knowledge about the geography of the place - its one of the few places I seem to always get lost in the one way systems.

My main hope was to get some pictures of the Silver Slug and Millenium Bridge, which I did, but I think the bridge has much more potential at dusk - definitely worth a repeat visit!

Whilst wandering around, it turned out there was an Americana concert at the Silver Slug (aka Sage).

After a brief (but torrential) downpour, I headed east, to Whitley Bay, one of those places I had heard of but never visited. I hadnt realised it has a beautiful lighthouse and I was really blessed by good light and interesting skies :-)

Whitley Bay seems to have that common feel of most seaside towns, most of which have seen better days, but it is quite a beautiful spot. The past heydays of the 50's and early 60's, before international travel became so accessible seemed to be embodied by the old derelict Spanish City building.

It is nice to see that this has made Grade II Listed Building status and that it is due to be cleaned up and renovated. I will have to make a return trip to see the finished result.

Nightime wanderings

2007-07-26T10:26:00.000+01:00

Photography is good for the soul. The night before last I went for a midnight wander with the dog and my camera down to one of my regular haunts on the beach. Surprisingly there was no rain and the stars werent entirely obscured by the clouds, though the low light levels (no moonlight) meant 30 second exposures at F4.5, focussing was guesswork.

As I wandered across the beach I came across some very unusual sandcastles, with a nefarious tyre standing guard.

Needless to say, I circled carefully!

Middlesbrough Mela 2007

2007-07-17T06:37:00.000+01:00

Middlesbrough's annual multi-cultural festival event organised by the Tees Valley Community Media. A great family day out, with a wide variety of music, food and a wonderful atmosphere despite the rain.

For more shots of this, pop across to my flickr set, or have a look at Pie-Girl or CWR's shots of the same event.

Tripping down south

2007-02-22T18:55:00.000Z

Almost the end of the week and I am still recovering from my trip "Down South". It was a bit strange, seeing my elder sibling for the first time in many years, but I am soooo glad he is cleaning up his act. It felt good, but odd, to finally talk to him, though I guess my feelings are contradictory at times about it all.

The weight loss and aging that so many years of severe drug abuse have taken their toll and even with several years of rehab he will never fully recover physically. His internal organs are permanently damaged and that is something he will just have to live with. Its still early days for him, temptation lies on every street corner and boredom and depression may yet lead him away. Still, his disability appeal went well and he knows this is going to be one of those few chances to drag himself upwards or fall back into the street, I hope he is strong enough to do the right thing.

I felt a little guilty going out to explore with my camera, but he wasnt fit enough to come with me and after the first day I needed some air and a break from it all. My meditative source is solitude and my camera. Even with all the folk milling about, wandering too and fro, I am alone, with my thoughts, my senses and I relish it.

Check the tube map, grab a ticket and down into the depths I go. Northern Line to Bank slips by quickly. Up and around, I slip onto the driverless Docklands Railway. It reminds me of the Arnie film "Total Recall".....smiles...."Welcome to the Johnny Cab!"

The streets slip by, the thing I notice most is the litter, the waste, on small deserted patches of greenery. Canary Wharf slips into view.....last time I was here I was a suit....but then again, it had its advantages, such as the pay!

Off at Greenwich/Cutty Sark, a few brief moments when my internal compass fails me and I wander aimlessly, lost! Follow your nose......round the corner to the left, the Thames and the Greenwich foot tunnel. Time to pull out the camera, keep a steady eye out for dubious looking characters and a very long slow wander........this is my sliver of contentment, I will enjoy it while it lasts.

The Cutty Sark was closed for refurbishment until 2008, though the grounds of the Royal Naval College were beautiful and Greenwich observatory.....if you are into science and history....and I am, it is a great place to visit.

When I got my calves where showing the strain, but still managed to get out just as dusk fell for a few of those golden hour shots.