perfect

 10th Feb 2021, Buston, 3pm

A beautiful winter walk

close to the sea

 10th Feb 2021, Shilbottle, 8am

I love living close enough to the coast that I can hear the waves raging at night and the sea is my distant horizon in the morning. 

After the colours of sunrise faded the snow clouds rumbled on out over a snow-splattered Coquet Island.

Before, during and after a snowy shower

I've said before that I'm no bird photographer.  This morning I was trying to photograph a Robin as he perched on a snowy branch.  A Robin - that most friendly of little birds and subject of millions of picture-perfect photographs. 

Whenever I lifted my lens he dotted from here to there, turned his back on me and insisted on staying on my sunny side so he was silhouetted against the dawn sky.

Eventually I gave up as my fingers froze.

Back home and I quite like the result.  Every photograph is a story!

winter sunrise

 9th Feb 2021, Alnmouth, 8am

It looked grey and snowy at home but at the beach there was beautiful colour in the sunrise for the first time in ages.

There was a covering of snow above the high tide mark.

snow fun

 8th Feb 2021, Longhorsley, 10am

At last the rain has been replaced by snow and today the sun's come out too.

mini-beast

 A few days of very dull wet and windy weather.

5th Feb 2021, Alnmouth, 8am

6th Feb 2021, Buston, 4:30pm

7th Feb 2021, warkworth, 10am

conversations

1st February 2021, Warkworth, 3pm 

“Shall we sit here til the sun sets?” Asked the dog. 

“If you like” said the man... 

And so they sat for a while not talking, just watching the sky and listening to the sea. 

While they sat, the darkness in the world was hidden by the sun and the noise of the world was drowned out by the waves.

special light

 31st January 2021, Rothbury, 8:30 am

This beech tree caught my eye.  It looked starkly beautiful with it's winter coat of snow on each branch

A slightly musical rose hip if you know what to look for...

These fine ice crystals are caused by water leaching out of the wood where the bark is stripped away.  The water is being pushed out by osmotic pressure so the crystals grow out from the branch.

There are certain places where the light has a special quality. Often these places attract artists. 

So it is in Rothbury where the light across Coquetdale is often beautiful when in other places it's just flat and dull. I think it's to do with the the mist over the river but maybe it's best not to seek the scientific explanation every time.