Tuesday, 30 September 2008

Northern Passion

Angel of the North, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear

The much promised indian summer finally hit Tyneside last week, and I did my best to make sure that I made the most of it! With the text and processing completed for my next book, Spirit of Cumbria, I continued work on my second book to be released next year, Portrait of Tyneside, and made sure that the laptop was left well alone for a couple of days!

The Angel of the North is an iconic landmark that should be on the 'hit list' for any photographer visiting the region. The only trouble is that it receives 90,000 visitors a year so you may well have to wait for a 'people free' image. Never mind though, you can always indulge in an ice cream if you are having a hot flush in these northern climes!

Michaelmas Daisies at Rising Sun Country Park, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear King Edwards Bay, Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear

The joys of working on a book based around the area where I live, are that the logistics of visiting locations is made far simpler - And I can even have a lie-in for early morning shots! Both of the above images were captured less than five miles from my home. The first of the images, Michaelmas Daisies at Rising Sun Country Park, would not have been possible without the use of my new 3 Stop hard Singh-Ray Galen Rowell Graduated Neutral Density Filter. I had to have the filter sent to my from the states but the quality of these filters is second to none - and yes, I have used Lee Filters!

The final shot was captured on Monday morning at King Edward's Bay along the Tyneside Coast in Tynemouth. Again the filter was invaluable to deal with the lighting conditions. It is true that I could have shot the image twice and merged them behind the screen. Or I could have even used the new graduated filter effect in Lightroom 2 to simulate the filter but there is just something more rewarding about completing the process in camera.

Now, when will it finally stop raining!