Paws in the Sand
Paws in the Sand (Buy as a print or greetings card)
Here is another shot from the cove at Dunstanburgh in beautiful Northumberland. Surprise surprise there are also some paw prints in shot. I’m sure I’ve said before how much I love watching the sun rise over the sea but I’ll say it again 
The dogs seem to quite like it as well.
On another note I’m sorry I’ve not posted much the last 2 weeks but I’ve been really busy taking shots. I’m also in the final stages of finishing off my first ‘proper’ time lapse video which I’ve had a blast making. I’ll post it up soon for you all to see. Meanwhile I’m off to edit some more shots.
Creeping Towards…
Last weekend I was out mucking about with the sea and my friend Mr P. Unfortunately the weather didn’t co-operate so instead of photographing a stunning sunrise we found ourselves sheltering beneath Clacton Pier. It was still wet (this pier drips much worse than a lot I’ve been beneath) but better than on the beach.
So as the dogs made it their mission to run a marathon up and down the beach, we set up for some long exposures. The conditions under there were pretty dire for photography in many ways, wet, very dark (making focusing difficult) but with points of extreme brightness and a creeping tide. I’m rather paranoid about tides coming in. I’m obsessed with a fear that I’ll get cut off by the tide while concentrating on a shot. In fact I worry about this so much I won’t even wear wellies normally, preferring to wear hiking shoes on the grounds that even I shouldn’t be able to ignore wet feet while looking through a lens.
One thing that always takes people by surprise is how pier pylons make waves bounce about and strange localised currents to form. I really wouldn’t want to be in that water believe me. In fact a couple of teenagers were killed while tomb stoning off this very pier a few years ago. That said I love the creeping misty effect you can get under there with a long exposure.
Blast Beach
This is Blast Beach just south of Seaham Harbour in County Durham, named for the blast furnaces which used to be here in the 19th century. Later it was used as a dumping ground for waste from the nearby collieries but mother nature and a clean up project are returning some of the lost beauty. The cliffs are magnesium limestone and ironically the spoil from the pits which caused such problems for the local marine life has helped to preserve the land from erosion. More recently it was used as one of the locations for the film Alien 3 as the surface of the planet.
I visited in the late afternoon after spending some time down in the harbour. The wind was somewhat stronger than I would’ve liked when perched up on the edge of a cliff, but it did help give these great waves. The picture perfect clouds up in a beautiful blue sky were zipping along as the wind howled and threatened to blow my tripod over the edge. So once I had this shot I decided to beat a hasty retreat, figuring I’d tempted fate enough for one day.
Peaceful Moments
Greetings this Easter Sunday. I wish I could say it’s a beautiful day here but I’m afraid it’s cold, wet and miserable. However it’s a perfect day to spend some time going through shots on the pc. This is one I took recently at Seaton Carew although given it’s composition it could have been taken at any number of places. It was another flying visit to a location, seems to be all I get recently, but it’s still much better than nothing. The rocks here are part of the man made sea defences but are now covered in seaweed. This gives more interest and texture in the foreground of the shot but it also made clambering over the boulders with my pack and tripod much harder. I had visions of slipping and breaking a leg, but in typical fashion I was more worried about damaging my camera kit. This seems to be a common thing with photographers – we’re often more worried about our equipment than we are ourselves. That said I did enjoy myself perched on the rocks…
Ready for the Storm
Earlier this week the north of England and Scotland was hit by a sting in the tail from the departing winter. Snow, hail, high winds, the whole lot battered the country. Being right on the coast we usually escape the worst of the weather snow wise although I did have to fight my way through a blizzard into the shops. One thing that high winds, from the right direction, can do it whip up the sea. So when I was able to get a couple of hours to myself I headed down to Seaham Harbour.
For obvious reasons I wasn’t allowed out onto the pier, but to be honest even I’m not that daft just to get a photo. I was able to get down onto the sand between the inner and outer harbour walls which is where this shot was taken. The workers from the marina currently being built did point out that they wouldn’t be coming to my rescue if I got into trouble. I don’t really blame them as the wind was howling and truly bitter, for the first time ever I was genuinely worried that my tripod might get blown away. Sea Spray was everywhere and I spent as much time trying to clean my lenses as actually taking shots. I don’t know what it is about harbours, piers and lighthouses, but I can’t get enough of photographing them.
Sharing is good….
Remember that beach I blogged about the other day? Well I took the dogs back for an afternoon run.