If it is January then I must be in Whitby. It is always my first holiday of the year and one that I enjoy very much. It is always quiet down on the front and on the piers and I am only a five minute drive from the delights of Saltwick Bay.
This year I made two trips to the bay. I, along with a few other togs, visited pre-dawn on Sunday morning and then I returned a couple of days later to explore the area around Saltwick Nab. The light on Sunday morning wasn’t particularity promising but fortunately the sunlight shone through the bank of cloud for a few minutes before rising up out of sight.
I recently met up with Ruth Grindrod for a day’s photography in the Yorkshire Dales. We have chatted on Facebook for a while so it was really nice to actually meet up and for me to show Ruth a few new locations.
I have just returned from a week’s holiday in Northumberland and as usual I spent my days entirely on the coast. As the week progressed the weather deteriorated but once I was togged up in my waterproofs I still ventured forth onto the beach so that I could watch the waves breaking offshore and on the sand.
Having recently joined the RPS Landscape Group I decided to sign up for a day’s shoot on the Wirral Peninsula. We visited three locations; the Perch Rock lighthouse, New Brighton groynes and the West Kirby Marine Lake.
The weather on Arran was extremely variable which meant that apart from rain dodging we were able to enjoy some stunning light offshore. Here are some of my favourite photographs from the week on Arran.
A friend at York Photographic Society kindly wrote on my 2nd hand OS map some of the locations and walks not to be missed on my recent visit to the Isle of Arran. As I was travelling with a good friend who wouldn’t want to stand behind me in the cold whilst I took photographs I usually set off early morning with my camera and returned to the house in time for breakfast.
At the end of August I set off on my annual holiday to Grasmere where I was due to help at Grasmere Sports and then to enjoy a few days with my camera.
Last weekend I went on a David Speight workshop in the Yorkshire Dales and on Sunday morning we walked up Twistleton Scar and onto Scales Moor to find the eggy erratic. This wasn't as straightforward as you may think as we caught the tail end of Tropical Storm Ernesto which meant the weather was distinctly unpleasant.
I recently completed one of my Bucket List trips on a cruise between Vancouver and Seward (Anchorage) to enable me to visit some of the remote places in Alaska. Cruising is not my holiday of choice but it gave me the opportunity to visit some amazing places which were way beyond my expectations.
On my recent trip to the Rockies I expected to see quite a few glaciers in the area around Lake Louise and along the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper. However, nothing prepared me for the scale and magnificence of the icefield of Glacier Bay, Alaska.
A few people have asked me about the process of applying for the LRPS Distinction and my motivation for doing so. Whilst I had some experience of editing photographs in digital software I was a complete novice when it came to printing and preparing prints for exhibition. I joined York Photographic Society to learn from other members through discussion and feedback via project nights, competitions and exhibitions.
I woke up at 4.30am and looked out of the window towards Walla Crag and noticed that there was some mist which was obviously hovering over Derwent Water and the sky was just beginning to get light. There wasn't a moment to lose so I flung on the previous day's clothing, grabbed a pair of socks along with my camera bag and rushed out of the cottage. At the same time I was trying to think where to go.
At first glance the famous scree slopes on the south side of Wastwater look like they are just composed of loose rock which stretch approximately 2,000 feet, from top to base. I took a series of photographs of the gulllies, trees and rock faces which are quite abstract in nature but which together provide a powerful impression of the magnitude of the screes.
Last week I went on a small group workshop with Lizzie Shepherd to explore Nidderdale (near Blubberhouses) and to photograph details, trees and the Washburn Valley. I really enjoyed my day in the valley focusing on images that are out of my comfort zone and that didn't involve sand, the sea and waves.
As the current President of York Photographic Society I have one evening scheduled for me to give a presentation. Whilst I have given short talks about my photography I've never spoken for an hour and a half about my 'work'.
I have been enjoying different aspects of coastal photography and I've been inspired by Rachel Talibarts 'sirens' photographs of waves. In addition to photographing sand, big skies and piers etc I thought I would like to try photographing breaking waves. There is so much power in the water and I love the point at which the wave develops a sharp edge just before it breaks up into spray.
My original plan was to drive to Saltwick Bay for photography closely followed by fish and chips. However the low tide was an eye watering and wellie flooding 2.4m so that was a non starter. After a lot of investigation on google and OS maps I decided that I would visit a little beach south of Bridlington called Fraisthorpe.
After we had all survived the Beast from The East at the start of March i set off for a springlike week in the Peak District. I enjoyed a balmy afternoon at Ladybower Reservoir but then the snow and gales set in. By Sunday morning Tideswell was swamped by a foot of snow and I was going nowhere in my car.
In December readers of Outdoor Photography Magazine were asked to submit photographs taken in the challenging conditions of stormy weather. As these are the conditions I like best there was no problem in me submitting a few of my favourite images.
