The Great Print Giveaway

To celebrate the launch of the ‘Time & Light’ photography exhibition at the F-Stop Gallery in Newcastle next month, we are going to offer everyone a chance to own a 9″ x 6″ giclee print from the forthcoming print collection.

This is not a competition as such, as everyone will be a winner, and entry is simple. All you need to do is press the Facebook ‘Like’ button on the Time & Light website, and you will be automatically added to the list of lucky ‘winners’. There are no catches and we wont be bombarding you with spam or unsolicited emails. The only condition is that you continue to ‘like’ the page until the launch of the exhibition on the 11th August. On this date we will contact everyone with the code to use to order the print of their choice.

So, to clarify the above, you will receive a free 9″ x 6″ print of your choice (worth £19.99) simply by pressing the Facebook ‘Like’ button. All you will have to pay for is postage & packaging (£2.49 UK – Overseas £4.50).
What are you waiting for?

Edinburgh Illuminated released

It's here! My final book to be released this year is now available from all good bookshops.

Edinburgh, Dunedin, Auld Reekie or Athens of the North – regardless of your choice of name, it is unquestionable that the capital city of Scotland is one of the most spectacular cities to be found within the United Kingdom, and indeed Europe. A city where the past is never far away yet the modern is always present. A city considered so unique that its future has been protected by the awarding of World Heritage status.

During the light of day, the city of Edinburgh holds a charm that will delight any visitor or resident. Arguably, however, to fully appreciate the splendour of this city one has to experience its delights as it is transformed during the periods of darkness. As the sun sets the lights turn on, giving a new appearance to the streets and features, ones that could not have been anticipated by the original architects.

The powerful visual impact of this spectacle is captured by nationally-known photographer Jason Friend. He has directed his camera towards illuminated Edinburgh and produced this stunning collection of more than 140 images. They offer a fascinating nocturnal perspective which shows how the gracious yet teeming city lives and breathes in the hours of darkness.

Jason Friend lives in the North East of England. He is a regular contributor to Outdoor Photography and Country Walking Magazine and supplies images to a number of worldwide image libraries. This is Jason’s sixth book – his previous titles including Portrait of the Borders, Portrait of Tyneside and Spirit of Cumbria, also for Halsgrove.

Imprint: Halsgrove. ISBN 978 1 84114 887 8, hardback, 214x230mm, 144 pages. Published July 2009.

Click here to view a promotional leaflet showcasing a number of images from the book. If you love the images, why don't you click here to order Edinburgh Illuminated from Amazon.co.uk?

Back on the road

Please do accept my apologies for the lack of news recently but I do have a very good excuse for the missing posts. I'm a Dad! To a gorgeous baby boy whom Lynette and myself have called Rhys.

After a couple of weeks paternity leave, dragging myself away from mother and son was something of a struggle. Luckily a spell of good weather made it all the more bearable! Last week I found myself exploring the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty capturing images for my forthcoming Northumberland books, rural Northumberland in search of wild flowers (armed with my new Canon 100mm Macro lens) and Talkin Tarn in Cumbria where I discussed a forthcoming commission with a client - and also managed to get a couple of nice stock shots.

So it is now business as usual, and I am looking forward to a busy few weeks with a number of forthcoming group and private workshops, judging of the Port of Tyne Reflect Awards and the ongoing capturing of images for my three books to be released by Halsgrove next year. Of course I will also be making time to keep you all up to date with the latest news and images - That is a promise!

Free Tyneside Screensaver

To celebrate the launch of 'Portrait of Tyneside' last month, we have created a very special screensaver featuring 30 images from the book. The screensaver is totally free and features a number of locations from Newcastle upon Tyne, as well as North and South Tyneside.

So what are you waiting for PC users? Download it now by clicking on the button!

Portrait of Tyneside released

My latest book, Portrait of Tyneside, has now been released and can be ordered online from Amazon.

Tyneside is a region where the past, present and future combine to form an eclectic melting pot in the North East of England. Host to the City of Newcastle Upon Tyne and the spiritual home of ‘The Geordies’, the historic glories of its heavy industries mean that there is an undeniably strong industrial heritage to be found in the area.

Nevertheless, situated between the Northumberland and Durham Heritage Coasts, the coastline adjoining the North Sea and Tyneside is undoubtedly beautiful, and whilst there are some stretches of the coast that display the marvels of human endeavour to tame nature there are plenty of other stretches that embrace the power of the wild and maintain their natural appearance.

Unquestionably, the heart of Tyneside is the River Tyne, the main artery running from the coast dividing the regions of north and south Tyneside on a journey through Newcastle and beyond. Life on the Tyne has changed throughout the years. The Romans exploited the strategic values of the river by choosing to start the spectacular Hadrian’sWall alongside the Tyne, along with a number of forts that can still be found inTyneside.

Recently the face of theTyne has had a facelift in the form of an ongoing redevelopment plan that has seen a number of luxury apartments,modern architecture and world-class tourist attractions adorn the river. Inland Tyneside is host to a plethora of landscapes including picturesque villages, working agricultural land and sites of historical importance.

A visit toTyneside has something to offer everyone, whilst for the resident there is always plenty more to discover. Jason Friend captures all of this friendly variety in more than 140 full-colour images which encapsulate the history, heritage, character and scenery of the Geordie heartland.

To celebrate the launch of the book, I will be attending the Blackwells Bookshop, 141 Percy Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, for a book signing session on the 9th May between 11.30am - 1.30pm. If you would prefer a signed copy but are unable to attend the event, please contact me to order a copy directly.

Northumberland Spirit

The last few months have seen me photographing the cities of Newcastle upon Tyne and Edinburgh and whilst this may have given me something of a creative rush of blood to the head, I must admit to being somewhat pleased about the subject for my next two books to be released by Halsgrove in 2010.

It probably seems an obvious choice for someone based in Newcastle to be commissioned for a book (or two) on Northumberland but I seem to have only managed to work on books based on areas surrounding the county, so I am delighted to announce that the Spirit of Northumberland and Perfect Northumberland are the titles of my latest projects!

Work is well and truly underway with 'Spirit of Northumberland' and I am hoping to have it finished by the summer of this year - There is one advantage to having a large stock photography collection of the region! 'Perfect Northumberland' is slightly different as it is going to be very much based around the seasons and as such it will take me a year to capture the images. It really is a hard life!

I photographed this little fellow (or lass) today whilst visiting the National Trust owned Wallington. There were a few of these little red devils playing in the warmth of the spring sun (I suspect they may have had more than playing in mind... use your imagination) but this one squirrel continued to return to a small patch of land immediately in front of the wildlife hide. It took a couple of hours to capture this shot and whilst I doubt Andy Rouse will be quaking in his boots, I must admit that I like it!

Spirit of Cumbria teaser

Spirit of Cumbria has now been in the shops for a couple of weeks, so I thought I would wet your appetite with a slide show of images from this small book with big pictures!

If you are keen to get your hands on my latest book, it can be ordered online from Amazon. I also have a small number of signed copies available, so if you would like to order one directly from myself please contact me.

The Spirit of Cumbria is here!

I have great pleasure in announcing that my 4th book, The Spirit of Cumbria, has now been released and can be purchased from Amazon.

Cumbria is home to the deepest and largest lakes as well as the highest peaks to be found in the country. These all fall within the boundaries of perhaps the most famous of all of the English National Parks – The Lake District.

However, there is much more than the Lake District National Park to explore here. The Howgills and the northern Pennines afford commanding views across the county to the visitor originating from the east, whilst the distant form of the fells and peaks, for any visitor heading from the north or south, offers a more subtle introduction to the region. The Irish Sea borders the west of the county with the nearest neighbours being the Isle of Man and Scotland, whose uplands can be viewed rising from across the peaceful Solway Firth.

Overall Cumbria offers some of the most stunning scenery in Britain. Jason Friend has travelled the length and breadth of the county to reveal in more than 60 classic images the true spirit of Cumbria.

But don't just take the publishers word for it! You can see it for yourself for only £4.99 - Click here to order it from Amazon!

Edinburgh Nights

Edinburgh City is undoubtably one of the most spectacular cities to be found within the United Kingdom. A perfect blend of old and new, natural and man made constructions, Edinburgh City is a dream location for any visiting photographer. And I am delighted to announce that it is to be the subject of my 6th solely authored book (to be released by Halsgrove in 2009).

There is something very special about this forthcoming publication. Unlike all of my previous books, the images are captured during the hours of darkness - The only source of lighting being the artificial city lights. As a photographer who spends a vast amount of time hanging around waiting for the sun to emerge, I am finding it quite bizarre shooting images where the reverse is the desired lighting conditions. In some ways it is also very liberating as I am no longer tied to the normal considerations of weather patterns and I can actually still create memorable images even in spells of overcast skies. Whilst the above shot of Edinburgh Castle was captured on a clear winter night, the image of the Scott Monument and Princes Street was captured on an overcast day at dusk - Proof that even on the dullest of days that there will always be a small pocket of 'cross over lighting' from day to night when the sky will retain some form of colour. A good dose of light pollution from the city lights will also help to ensure a degree of colour.

The Ferris Wheel and Helter-Skelter in the Princes Street image are part of the cities christmas celebrations to be found at the East Princes Street Gardens. If you are planning to visit Edinburgh over the next couple of weeks, I fully recommend that you visit the fair and join in the festivities. If you are a budding photographer ensure that you take your camera and tripod and try capturing some images after dark - The Ferris Wheel offers a number of creative opportunities. The image to the left was the result of a 30 second exposure at f19. A simple way to achieve this kind of image is to set your camera to aperture priority and select a small aperture such as f16 or f19 - The resulting exposure should be long enough to provide the desired result.

Northern Passion

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!



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!

In Search of Spirit

Since my last post, I have had the pleasure of exploring what I consider to be finest landscape to be found in England, The Lake District, in search of new images that have that elusive photographic element - Spirit.

In my honest opinion, capturing the essence of a location (a.k.a Spirit) which I visit is the most important aspect that I try to convey in my images. For example, a clear, summers day spent photographing landscapes in the UK will often produce pleasing results. But this does not mean that the true character of the landscape is revealed. My favourite working conditions are during unstable weather fronts as I find that it helps me to (sometimes) capture images with the required spirit.

Take this image captured last weekend from Hardknott Castle Roman Fort looking towards the highest mountain in the region - Scafell Pike. As any visitor to the Lake District will tell you, it more often rains than shines in the Lakes meaning that a Lakeland shot in the heat of the afternoon sun will rarely convey any mood or suggest any essence. However, if you are mad enough to stand near the edge of a crag whilst a near gale force wind nearly knocks you and your tripod over, then maybe you may just capture some of that spirit.

This was the last trip for my forthcoming book 'Spirit of Cumbria' and I must admit that I have been very pleased with how the book has been taking shape. I will now spend the next few weeks processing the RAW files and scanning some of my old panoramic images before the completed project is passed to the safe hands of my publisher.

I can't wait to show you all the results!