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.
Saturday, 22 March 2008
Monday, 17 March 2008
New Photospace Gallery in Whitby
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!
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!
Thursday, 13 March 2008
The Sex 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.
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.
Sunday, 10 February 2008
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!
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!
Monday, 10 December 2007
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.
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...
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.
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
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!
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!
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