I love my week in Borrowdale and whilst I’m not keen on relentless rain photography is a challenge with wall to wall sunshine. Early morning conditions weren’t conducive to providing mist on Derwentwater so I had to make do and just enjoy the hills.
Coquet Island
I love visiting the Northumberland coast, particularly the areas around Amble, Low Hauxley and Cresswell Beach. Those of you that have looked at my coastal photographs know that I prefer to stand looking out to see where there is no sense of location. My photographs try to capture the mood of the sea without any distracting features.
However, at Amble and Low Hauxley it is impossible to ignore the island out to sea with it’s distinctive lighthouse and profile.
3 - Greenland Icebergs
The aspect of my voyage around the Greenland coast that excited me the most was the icebergs. A few of them calved off glaciers in the many fjords but most of them originated from the ice fjord at Ilulissat which is 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
2 - Greenland Settlements
There are many small settlements on the coast and they are truly fascinating as they are completely different to what we know in the UK. Or anywhere really! The towns vary in size from 30 to a few thousand and even the capital city, Nuuk, has a population of less than 20,000. It isn’t possible to drive from town to town so boats or Greenland Air planes/helicopters provide transport over and round the ice sheet.
1 - Greenland Glaciers
Those of you who have been hiding under a stone for the past 3 months will know that I have been on an expedition cruise around the west coast of Greenland. I didn’t know fully what to expect when I got on the ship other than all the reviews and comments I had read said that the scenery was spectacular. And it truly was.
Yorkshire Dales: Summer Flowers
The flower meadows at Muker are the most well known and photographed in the Yorkshire Dales but there are other locations where the display is just as lovely and the environment more interesting.
May in Borrowdale
Leaving the caravan behind I recently enjoyed my annual trip to Borrowdale. In addition to my usual haunts I also travelled to Grasmere and had a rainy trip on the Ullswater Steamer. These are my favourite images from the week.
Lamb Project - Raydale
This year I was given permission to visit a farm in Raydale, Yorkshire Dales, which enabled me to freely wander around the lambing sheds and fields. The farmer and his family were extremely informative, helpful and welcoming and in total I visited the farm four times this season.
January in the Yorkshire Dales
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.