cliche or classic?

8th January 2018, Cannonball Boulders, 8am

As we walked up towards the castle it was a long time until sunrise but the sky was calm and beautiful

Many of the photographers visiting the Dunstanburgh Castle area of the Northumberland Coast are after this one shot of the so-called 'cannonball boulders'. I've seen hundreds of beautiful, if similar, images of this scene. I've been here a few times myself. Today I noticed there was no-one else there so I wandered down to the twisted limestone outcrop of saddle rock and set up my compact camera on my 6" tripod to see what I could make of the movement in the sea.

The main limiting factors were not gear related:  The cold wind was blowing relentlessly into my face robbing me of concentration and patience and the sub-zero air was freezing my hands into numbness.

One day I'll maybe come back with my SLR and all the kit - or maybe I'll just stick to my normal wanderings. There's so much more to photograph than just this one location.

This one is a 3 second exposure

This one is a 0.4" exposure

8th January 2018, Beadnell Bay, 11am

A beautifully shiny beach for my morning run...

8th January 2018, Football Hole, 4pm

Looking east with the sunset somewhere behind me. The wind is fierce and chilly. Out over the sea sits “the belt of Venus” an atmospheric phenomenon where pinky-red light is scattered from the setting sun to colour the sky on the opposite side of the sky from sunset. Between the horizon and the belt of Venus is the dark band of the Earth’s shadow. No, I don’t really understand it either but it’s quite cool and very beautiful

on the level

7th January 2017, Embleton bay, 8am

Sunday morning walk
Waiting for sunrise again
I do this a lot

I write a haiku
To pass the time until dawn
At peace with my thoughts

I was rewarded by a sunrise worth waiting for.  The skaith is a very interesting shape this morning.

(The horizon is not truly horizontal in this photograph.  When I made it 100% level, an optical illusion meant that it looked squint.  After much deliberation about the Correct Thing To Do I decided to publish the version that looks right.)

dogs on a dull day

5th January 2018, Embleton Bay, 8am

A grey sort of a day.  Not much in the landscape caught my eye until I saw Daisy silhouetted in a small batch of brightness

Later I turned my attention to the Lowry-esque figures of the passers by on the beach.

5th January 2018, Football Hole, 4pm

I wasn't going to bother sharing these photos to the blog as they are just phone snaps from a very dark and windy afternoon.  People really liked them on Facebook so I thought I should add them to the blog.

grey to orange

3rd January 2018, Embleton Bay, 8am

Before sunrise it was all greys and blues this morning with last night's rain clouds breaking up and heading East

 As sunrise came closer the wee patch of orange spread across the sky.

photobombed

2nd January 2018, Embleton Bay, 8am

Today's message is to get there half an hour before sunrise.  The light is often at it's best before sunrise.

This was the pre-dawn colours at 8:15 am

...and at sunrise at 8:35 when most of the colour had drained from the sky

that which remains

1st January 2018, Howick Gardens, 1pm

Not every walk turns into a photographic assignment but sometimes the light and the story just leap out and have to be documented. I make no apologies!

Today's walk around Howick Gardens was bathed in low winter sun shining onto wintery trees and remnants of last year's vegetation.

Unusual to find ferns in full summer greenery in January.  These ones are right by the Howick burn but the stream was in so much shade relative to the fern fronds that it faded to darkness.  The sunlight managed to find a gap through the surrounding trees to shine just onto this one plant.  Maybe that's why it's still green.

Where the trees meet the sea at Howick Bay

These are the remains of last year's hydrangea clusters.

New Day. New Year

1st January 2018. Dunstanburgh, 8:30am

walking up to the sunrise for the first dawn of 2018.