I would love to be in the caravan when there is snow but unfortunately there are problems that I haven’t been able to work around to make it a safe and workable option. These include the cost of heating two properties, freezing pipes and slithering about in an automatic 2WD car.
Winter in Amble
I scheduled my usual winter week in Northumberland a week earlier than normal to pick up the best tides. This meant I couldn't stay in my favourite cottage but I found a delightful place in Low Hauxley which was only 100m from the beach. There were building works across the way which could have been a nuisance but weren’t at all. In fact the chaps working there couldn’t have been more helpful when I needed help clearing snow and de-icing my car.
Autumn Woodland
On a wet day in November I was determined to get out and enjoy the last of the autumn show before all the leaves were battered and destroyed by the winds and rain.
I visited a woodland I had visited last year but as the road to my parking place was flooded I have to approach the wood from a different place.
Moray Firth - Woodland
I was amazed at how much woodland there was to explore in the area around Nairn and I must have spent as much time investigating inland as I did on the coast. Being 300 miles further north than Yorkshire the Highland autumn was well under way although there was still some summer warmth to be enjoyed.
Moray Firth - coast
I recently drove up to a cottage in Nairn so that I could spend a week exploring the coast and woodland along the Moray Firth. I soon discovered that what it lacks in dramatic waves it more than makes up for in variety and I enjoyed a fabulous week.
RPS Talk-Walk-Talk Visit to South Gare
The RPS have been running a project including a preliminary talk, a photographic shoot and then feedback with the rest of the group. The topic was coastal photography and of course I signed up.
The visit I selected was to South Gare and Paddy’s Hole as I haven’t been for a few years. Usually there is one other person and a tripod at the location when I visit but on this particular day the whole promontory was rammed with bird watchers looking out for the brown booby that had erroneously made it’s way to the UK from India. If I was venturing so far from home I wouldn’t choose South Gare as my resort but there is no accounting for what birds do.
Rain rain and more rain
The only upside of constant summer rain is that the rivers and waterfalls in the Yorkshire Dales have been full and provided amazing views, especially in Wensleydale where I am based. Over the past few weeks I have been out with my camera and captured the rivers in full spate as they are already calming down after a few days with little rain.
Summer Evening at Saltwick Bay
I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t visited Saltwick Bay for 2 years but I took up the opportunity to take up a workshop place with Joe Cornish a couple of weeks ago.
Conditions were perfect and even tho I have explored much of the bay over many years I still found places and photographic opportunities that I previously missed. My friend, John Illingworth always jokes that I am programmed to turn right at the bottom of the cliff and he was right. (Please don’t tell him that I said that).
A week in Jersey
I have just returned from a week’s holiday in Jersey . It is the one week of the year when I stay in a hotel and don’t have to lift a finger other than to do exactly what I want knowing that my next meal is being prepared by someone else.
Summer Flowers in the Yorkshire Dales
As soon as the lamb season ends in mid May my attention turns to the flower meadows that spring up all over the dales. The meadows at Muker are the most well known but there are so many other fields around the dales that are full of colour.
North Yorkshire Coast
After experiencing problems with an apartment it has taken me 15 months to return to Whitby for a week by the sea. Conditions for photography weren’t great as the tides weren’t how I would really have liked but at least I was back on the coast.
Amble Shoreline
I very much enjoyed my week in Amble as I was able to take full advantage of the tides. High tide fell in the afternoons which mostly coincided with sunset. There were a few evenings when there was no light but there were also some that were magical and I felt so privileged to be able to watch the day draw to a close.
Autumn in the Lake District
I recently signed up for a last minute place on a workshop in the Lake District with Alexander Hare and Lizzie Shepherd. The workshop was based in Borrowdale which I know very well, but that wasn’t an issue as November isn’t a time when I usually visit so I knew conditions would be different.
Yorkshire Dales Autumn
I don’t think this year’s autumn show has been as spectacular as last year but nonetheless I have enjoyed some lovely scenes as I have wandered around the Yorkshire Dales.
RPS Creative Woodland Workshop
I recently attended an RPS Landscape Group workshop on Creative Woodland Photography. It was run by Mark Banks and was based in a woodland only a few minutes drive from my holiday home in the Yorkshire Dales.
Jersey Coastline
Finally, I have been allowed to get on a plane and enjoy a holiday! I love Jersey and have definitely missed not being able to visit during the pandemic.
I decided that I would take my tripod and camera to enable me to catch anything of interest on the coastline. Jersey has the third highest tidal range in the world and apparently doubles in size at low tide. I can believe this as there were miles of granite exposed once the water had retreated.
Springtime in Wensleydale
This year I have been able to be in Wensleydale to enjoy the full lambing and spring growth. I mentioned in a recent post that my life in the Yorkshire Dales doesn’t just follow the traditional winter, spring, summer, winter seasons but they are enhanced by the creatures and plants that appear in their natural pattern.
Deal Waves
When I was in Kent with Alex Hare and Lizzie Shepherd we stopped to photograph the pier at Deal. However, I was far more interested in the waves that were rolling onto shore and I spent a wonderful hour trying to capture their character.
Marvellous Muker
When I’m in the Yorkshire Dales it only takes me 25 minutes to drive over Cross Top and into Muker. Of all the dales I think that Swaledale is my favourite as it is more intimate than the other dales and it is full of character and glorious vistas.
Margate and The Kent Coast
I recently ventured south for a workshop with Alex Hare and Lizzie Shepherd with the aim of exploring new locations and enjoying the company of other photographers.