Newcastle Upon Tyne

Another grey, miserable but very clammy day. Not the best for photography so these are not the greatest. Taken at the city of Newcastle upon Tyne 15 miles from where I live. The last is on the High Level Bridge which has just opened again after being repainted.

Fields of gold

I hope I'm not boring you with my haybale photos. It's been another grey, windy day but also very warm. Just popped round these fields after being shopping and thought i'd catch the fields before they get cut down. I was surprised to see poppies still in one of the fields.

Lone Cyclist

A very windy and overcast day this poor cyclist was nearly blown off her bike.

Sunset

This was taken last night at the Derwent reservoir near my home town. I used a sunset filter which I've just bought and decided to try out, but the sky was a beautiful colour anyway.

Moorland Graffiti

Up on the moors late evening once again. This was taken at a small reservoir up on the moors near where I live. The building is where they keep the boats. As you can see there's been some kids adding their graffiti touch to the building. You can see the heather is at full bloom now and is such a beautiful purple colour. I love this time of year on the moors.

Haystacks

I went out tonight for an hour before dark. The sky was very cloudy and dark and the sun was setting making some of the clouds light up red. Here's 3 images I hope you like them. I'm off to bed now it's late. Night everyone.

Flowers

A couple of flowers out of my garden.

Haystacks

I never got out tonight with the camera club as it was raining and I thought no-one would turn up. Later on at 8:00pm it stopped raining and i saw the sky light up like a fog of orange light. I ran, put my shoes on, grabbed my camera and got in the car and headed for the top of Castleside. I no sooner got there than the sky went dark again and the sun went down. Just my luck. However I saw some haystacks in a field and decided to take them. The light wans't brilliant so I decided to have a play in photoshop. I've given them a sort of soft focus painterly effect. I like it... Hope you do.

Silver Lady

No prizes in guessing what kind of car this is from. LOL Taken at Belsay hall's 50's weekend. Plenty people there but there wasn't a lot of people dressed in 50's style. A bit of a disapointment.

Bowlam Lake

Best I could do Today Folks. Even though it was sunny part of the day, the light wasn't great at the lake. This was the best of a bad bunch i'm afraid. I have to be honest.

Glass Nuggets

I set off to photograph glass nuggets inside a cheap plastic glass i'd bought at the petrol station one day thinking i could use it for something. Anyway it had a light inside the base that changed colour which was pretty. Don't know what happened to me tonight, but, the photos didn't turn out too good. However, the nuggets inside the glass looked pretty so i cropped the images to select the nuggets. Not brilliant but they're colourful.

Scrabble

Can't you tell the weather hasn't been too good these past few days LOL Just been messing around with my old scrabble board. It has to be well over 30 years old. It's got so many happy memories for me I just couldn't bring myself to throw it away.

My Dad & I used to play Scrabble on the dark nights of winter when the snow was on the ground and you didn't want to go out. We use to have a laugh both of us.... Some of the words we made up and argue they were real was so funny. I miss my Dad so much..... and my Mum too.

First Move

Settings

• Aperture - F/3.2
• Focal length - 16mm
• Exposure time - 1/4 sec
• ISP-200
• Spot metering
• Light source - Tungsten
• Aperture Priority

Romeo & Juliet

Settings

• Aperture - f/13
• Shutter speed - 5 sec
• focal length - 27mm
• ISO- 200
• Metering Mode - Spot
• Light source - Tungsten
• Aperture Priority

Pears

Just been messing around with one of my images in photoshop and adding atexture of words i created.

Chess

Unfortunately I don't play chess but I did buy this glass chess set for photography purposes to experimant with colour and light. You kight be seeing a few of these later on as the months progress and it gets colder and darker on a night. LOL

Dahlia

This is a picture of a poor dahlia rescued from my back garden pot. It's been a little battered with the weather.

Hannah Hauxwell

Hannah Hauxwell (born 1 August 1926) was living alone at Low Birk Hatt Farm in an isolated area of North Yorkshire when she came to the attention of the world, first in a Yorkshire Post article published on April 6, 1970 entitled 'How to be happy on £170 a year' and then, in 1973, in an ITV documentary, Too Long a Winter, made by Yorkshire Television and produced by Barry Cockcroft, which chronicled the almost unendurable conditions of farmers in the High Pennines in winter.
Then a 46-year-old spinster she toiled alone in her family home, Low Birk Hatt Farm, a dilapidated 80-acre farm which she had run by herself since the age of 35 following the deaths of her parents and uncle. With no electricity or running water and struggling to survive on £280 a year, life was a constant battle against poverty and hardship, especially in the harsh Pennine winters where she had to work outside tending her few cattle in ragged clothes in temperatures well below freezing. It was Hannah’s spirit, her gentleness and humility, that gripped not only a nation but, as the documentary was syndicated, parts of Europe too. So much so that after the documentary was first screened Yorkshire TV's phone line was jammed for three days with viewers wanting to find out more and help her. Over the next twenty years her life was transformed. A local factory raised money to fund getting electricity to Low Birk Hatt Farm and she continued to receive thousands of letters and generous donations from well-wishers around the world.
Almost two decades after Too Long a Winter, the same TV crew returned to her farm to catch up with Hannah. The second documentary, A Winter Too Many, saw that Hannah had a little more money, which she had invested in a few more cows. The crew followed her to London where she was guest of honour at the 'Women of the Year' Gala. But out of the spotlight her back-breaking work on the farm continued and each winter became harder for her to endure. With her health and strength slowly failing she had to make a heart-rending decision: to sell her family farm and the animals she adored and move into a warm cottage in a nearby village. Both programmes about this extraordinary Daleswoman have been put on a single DVD, Hannah Hauxwell's Winter Tales. Barry Cockcroft also took her around Europe and to New York for further documentaries.
In January 2008 she was still living in the village of Cotherstone, less than five miles (8 km) from Low Birk Hatt Farm.

The images were taken down by Hannahs old house, Low Birk Hatt Farm, where it has been renovated and is owned by a wealthy business man whom I dare not mention for legal reasons. It shows the views of the reservoir and beautiful surrounding countryside. Her house and house name can be seen in the first & second image and image 3 is a picture of the barn door.

Blackberry

The first sign of wild blackberries ripening. This plant was growing through a rusty wire fence.

Settings

• Aperture - f/4.5
• Shutter speed - 1/250 sec
• Focal Length - 137mm
• ISO 100
• Pattern Metering
• Exposure Compensation -0.3 step

Ben is ok.

For all of you that wanted to know how my dog got on at the vets. He has a slight temperature and an infection so he's been given some anti-biotics. I have to take him back on Monday for an injection. Thanks for your concerns.

Another Flower photo

Settings

• Lens aperture - f/5.6
• Focal length - 35mm
• Exposure time - 1/2 sec
• ISO 100
• Spot metering
• Light Source - tungsten
• Aperture Priority

Poor Ben

Poor Ben hasn't been well for a few days so i'm taking him to the vets tomorrow. This picture just shows how sorry he's feeling for himself. He's my pride and joy, the only 'family' I have left in the world, so I worry so much about him. Hope he's alright and it's nothing serious. Say a little prayer and keep your fingers crossed all is ok

Finally

Again another rainy day so i've been trying out my still life & macro work. I've been aiming for a refletion in the water droplet and finally done it.

Still Life

It's been a grey miserable day today and so decided to do some shots of flowers with a blak background (still life). Well they've added colour to the site if nothing else. They aren't brilliant but it's something to work on in the winter months I suppose.

The Houndsgill Viaduct (Gill Bridge)

The Hownsgill Viaduct (The Gill Bridge) was constructed in 1857 and spans 700ft across a ravine, it is made up of almost 3 million white fire bricks and stands 175ft tall weighing approximately 12,0000 tonnes. It has 12 arches each with a 50ft span and at a total cost of £12,500 to build. It was Thomas Bouch an engineer who was given the tender and later knighted by Queen Victoria during his career but later ended his life in disgrace after the collapse of his greatest achievement The Tay Bridge. Before the viaduct was built the rail journey had been interrupted by this ravine and freight had to be taken across it on wagons which were lowered and raised by means of a stationary steam haulage engine.Now, part of the Derwent walk it is still used by cyclists and walkers crossing the ravine and unfortunately now more notably a place where people in despair take their lives, Most recent that of a mother and her child. Because of the suicide activity at this bridge, it has gained a reputation with those down on their luck and, used as a term for feeling low, out of luck and as an insult, a place to go and jump.

Old Mausoleum

These were taken in Blackhill cemetary tonight on our camera clubs Mondayphotographic jaunt. There was only four of us turned up on a very miserable evening. The clouds had just started to break a little and the light started to get better as we got there. We just thought we'd try some moody shots tonight. (The first image is 7 bracketed images merged together in Photomatix).

Settings (1st image)

• Olympus E510


• 11-22mm lens


• Aperture F/9


• ISO100


• Aperture Priority


• Shutter Speed 1/25 sec

Settings (2nd image)

• focal length 150mm


• Aperture F/16


• ISO100


• Aperture Priority


• Shutter Speed 1 sec

Settings (3rd image)

• focal length 38mm


• Aperture F/5.0


• ISO100


• Aperture Priority


• Shutter Speed 1/4 sec

South Shields

The second image shows one the the guns that protected out coastline in the 2nd World War.

The last image shows the cruise liner sailing through the mouth of the Tyne to the sea for it's journey.