The Old Gang smeltmill complex is considered to be one of the best preserved lead smelt mills, and the most structurally complex, in the North Pennines. It is situated just over a mile from the Feetham to Langthwaite Road on the Old Gang Beck.
Infinity pools of Saltwick Bay
On the last afternoon of my week's holiday in Whiby I decided to pay another visit to Saltwick Bay to photograph some rock pool abstracts for a talk I'm preparing and perhaps catch a bit of sunset. When I got to the top of the cliff I stopped in my tracks as not only was the sky as grey as ditchwater but the sea was still well established on the shale platform. It didn't look particularly encouraging or safe. Low tide was only an hour away so it should have been well clear of the platform but it obviously wasn't.
Sandsend to Whitby walk
One of my favourite walks is from Sandsend to Whitby along the beach during low tide. It is especially lovely in the winter when there is usually a metallic orange or blue glow in the sky most of the day. I find looking out to sea and watching and listening to the waves rolling into shore incredibly relaxing and there is always something different to see and photograph.
Introduction to Skipwith Common
In the past couple of months I have visited Skipwith common a few times. My original intention was to take some autumnal photographs but there is such an abundance and variety of trees that I have returned to explore further. The Common is one of the last remaining areas of northern lowland heath in England and there are 270ha of open heath, ponds and marshland. Skipwith Common’s heathland has stayed almost the same for thousands of years – with evidence of its use by man for at least 4000 years.
Frosty Trees
On Monday my friend John Ilingworth and Mark Littlejohn went on an exploration of the River Eden Valley which lies between the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District. The start of the day was bitterly cold but dry and the forecast was for a sunny day so we first headed down the valley to Coombs Wood near Armathwaite
North Pennine waterfalls
Whenever I have driven across the Pennines on the A66 I have passed signs to High Force waterfall but I've always carried on driving to the other side of the Pennines. On this occasion the North Pennine waterfalls were my destination.
Northumberland Coast
The Northumberland coast is a wonderful place to visit and explore and since it was 2 years since my last visit another trip was long overdue. I was based in Amble and during my week I visited some of my old favourites but also discovered some fabulous new locations.
Autumn Woodlands
This autumn I have been out and about in different woods following the development of autumn and the many colours and falling of the leaves.
I find that photographing woodland is difficult as you literally have to pick out the wood from the trees and quite often there isn't a lot of space in which to give the image space to breathe
Storm Ophelia
I have recently had the pleasure of attending a workshop run by both Mark Littlejohn and Joe Cornish and the outstanding feature of the first day was the impending arrival of Storm Ophelia.
A Tide Tale at Saltwick Bay
Last week I realised that I hadn't been to Whitby and Saltwick Bay for months so it was high time that I drove across the North York Moors again. Low tide was scheduled for 16:08 but I decided for a change to arrive a few hours before low tide and capture the sea as it retreated over the ledge.
Pottering around the Lake District
As usual I went to stay in Grasmere for a week at the end of August to help my good friend Chris Shaw with the children's races at Grasmere sports. Once they were complete I was free to wander around with my camera visiting locations old and new.
Two Lake District Sunrises
Whilst in the Lake District at the end of August I experienced 2 sunrises which were both beautiful but different. On the last full day I set the alarm for 4.15am in order to give myself time to drive over the Kirkstone Pass to Ullswater and arrive an hour before sunrise.
The Seated Man
The Seated Man is a 3m high, bronze sculpture situated on the North York Moors, near Westerdale. Apparently it is the first public sculpture to be placed in the North York Moors National Park and it will be resident there for 5 years
Spurn Head
Having spent an entire day trapped inside the house doing organisational stuff and other jobs I felt the need to get out to the coast and take some photographs. It is almost 3 years since I last visited Spurn and I remembered that there were lots of shoreline features and big skies on which to play with long exposure photographs.
LPOTY Failure: A few thoughts
I have read quite a few comments on social media about the judging of the Landscape Photographer of the Year and thought I would add a few comments of my own.
Les Minquieres
Whilst on holiday in Jersey I decided to book a trip out to Les Minquieres (The Minkies) which is a group of islands about 12 miles south of Jersey and is the most southerly place in the UK. Maitresse Island is the largest island and is the only one to have buildings and summer visitors. It boasts the most southerly public toilet in the UK
La Corbiére and Plemont
It is many years since I was on holiday with my family in Jersey and I was far too young to have any taken any photographs to aid my memory.
Having undertaken quite a lot of research I decided that the most fruitful areas for sunset photography would be La Corbiére Lighthouse in the southwest corner and Plémont beach in the northwest. These are the two locations for these photographs.
A Week in Borrowdale
During my recent holiday near Grange, in addition to standing and sitting on Ashness Jetty I was able to explore other parts of the Borrowdale valley and the area around Derwentwater and Buttermere.
Eboracum Roman Festival 2017
This morning I decided to go and look at the Eboracum Roman Festival which is in it's 2nd year. The centurions gathered in the Yorkshire Museum Gardens and were inspected by the York Civic Party before setting off around York on a military parade.
Cloud Inversion over Derwentwater
Whilst staying in Borrowdale I happened to wake up at 5.30am and noticed that there was a huge bank of cloud hanging over the valley and Derwentwater. I dressed and grabbed my camera bag and raced up to Kettlewell Car Park and Ashness Bridge to photograph the cloud as the sun burned it off the water.