Dunstanburgh Delights

We were blessed with some fantastic weather during the recent photography workshops held at Dunstanburgh Castle situated along the Northumberland Coast.

The 'sunrise shoot' on the Sunday morning provided all that attended with some great opportunities to capture a number of images of the spectacularly beautiful Embleton Bay. The ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle on the headland proved to be an atmospheric backdrop to all of our images.

I captured a number of frames, whilst trying to avoid getting wet feet, in order to capture the convey the movement of the tide. This really is one advantage of capturing images digitally - I couldn't help but recall in horror the days when I used to shoot roll after roll of film to capture the perfect wave.

Later in the day, the remaining members of the group workshop joined us as we explored the harbour of Craster and the coastline surrounding the castle. Blue skies and white clouds provided a perfect backdrop for our compositions throughout the day.

We have four places remaining for our forthcoming 'Allen Banks and Staward Gorge Estate' photography workshop on the 17th October. This will be our last workshop of the year... so if you fancy joining the group to capture some autumnal shots please do not delay booking your place!

Extra date - Dunstanburgh Castle Workshop

Due to overwhelming demand for the Dunstanburgh Castle workshop on the 20th September (which is now fully booked), we have decided to run an additional workshop at the same location on the 19th September.

We will meet at the harbour in Craster at 10AM, from where we will take a gentle walk north along the coast. We will capture images of the Castle from this southerly position before proceeding to within the grounds of the Castle. After a stop for lunch, we will continue onwards to Embleton Bay where we will explore the classic northern viewpoints of the Castle. We wil return to Craster via an alternative route slightly inland. The workshop will finish at 4PM.

This workshop will give you the opportunity to practice your architectural and landscape photography along the Northumberland Coast. The composition of images will be discussed in addition to the technical requirements for successful landscape photography such as the use of filters, the benefits and disadvantages of using a tripod and essential focusing techniques.

There are currently 4 places left for the workshop on the saturday. You can secure your place by clicking here.

Hadrian's Wall Workshop - Places left!

Why not join Jason Friend this friday, along a spectacular stretch of Hadrian's Wall within the Northumberland National Park. As a regular visitor to the region, Jason will be sharing some of his favourite viewpoints of this famous world heritage site as well as his experience of how to make successful images from the location.

We will meet at the Steel Rigg Car Park near Haltwhistle at noon, from where we will spend until 6.00 PM hiking along and photographing the roman wall and its surroundings.

There are a few places left for this workshop. If you wish to secure your place please either book online or by phone - 0800 954 0234.

Autumn workshop dates announced

The last scheduled workshop dates for the year have just been finalised and are as follows:

Warkworth and the Northumberland Coast - 6th September 2009

Join photographer David Taylor on a one-day workshop on the Northumbrian coast in the villages of Warkworth and Amble.

Dunstanburgh Castle & Northumberland Coast - 20th September 2009

Join Jason Friend as he explores the spectacular Northumberland Heritage Coast between the small fishing Village of Craster and the picturesque Embleton Bay, including a visit to the grounds of Dunstanburgh Castle.

Allen Banks and Staward Gorge Estate - 17th October 2009

Join Jason Friend on an autumn workshop exploring the largest area of ancient woodland remaining in Northumberland.

Newcastle upon Tyne Quayside & Jesmond Dene - 18th October 2009

Join Jason Friend on a unique workshop exploring the natural delights of the Jesmond Dene in autumn and the impressive constructions of the Newcastle upon Tyne quayside.

Go exclusive - '1 on 1' Workshop bookings now available

We are also delighted to announce that it is now possible to book an exclusive place on one of our scheduled workshops (only available if the workshop has no prior bookings) for only £150, which is great value for guaranteed private tuition. Our popular and very flexible '1 on 1' workshops are also available throughout the year at a location of your choice. Click here for further information.

Guest photo from North Tyneside

As you may have seen in a previous news entry, the weather for the North Tyneside Photography Workshop was less than ideal. However, I think that workshop participant Ritchie Coatsworth has produced some stunning images from the day including this image of Tynemouth Pier. But what did Ritchie have to say about the day?

"I had a great day and picked up some valuable advice and tips. I am really pleased with the images I ended up with even though the weather wasn't at it's best. It was good to be around others that enjoy trying to take a good photo, I'll certainly be doing some more workshops."

You can view some more of the images from the workshop by taking a look at the Flickr group or in particular Ritchies photostream.

We still have a few places remaining for the forthcoming Hadrian's Wall Photography Workshop on the 15th March. Click here if you fancy the opportunity to capture some great images like Ritchie!

North Tyneside Photography Workshop

Even the weather could not discourage our workshop participants yesterday, with Jeff, Steve, Pam, Greg, Ritchie, David and myself spending a most enjoyable day photographing the North Tyneside Coast.

The image included here was one that I captured on St Mary's Island, and is a classic example of the kind of image that is possible to capture in even the worst of conditions.

If you would like to join me along the North Tyneside Coast in May during late spring, with hopefully better weather than yesterday, please click here.

Snow comes to Northumberland - Ingram Valley Workshop rescheduled

The last week has seen Northumberland receiving a few days of snow and whilst it has not been covered like some other areas in the country, I have decided to reschedule the forthcoming Ingram Workshop for the 22nd March.

This decision has been purely made due to safety issues regarding the access of the valley and also the terrain that we will be covering on the workshop.

If you would like to join me on the early spring photography working in the Ingram Valley, please click here.

North Tyneside Workshop nearly full!

I am pleased to announce that the North Tyneside Photography Workshop on the 20th February is nearly full and that there are currently only 2 places left. If you are considering joining me on my own home patch, I recommend that you book your place as soon as possible to avoid disappointment!

I am also thrilled to announce that fellow North East photographer David Taylor will be joining me on the day to share some of his photographic experience so this workshop really does look like it is going to be a enjoyable and memorable day!

If you simply can't wait that long for the North Tyneside Workshop, there are plenty of places left on the forthcoming Ingram Valley, Northumberland Photography Workshop on Sunday 8th February. It looks like it will be a small group so everyone will get plenty of '1 on 1' time with myself.

Fingers crossed and we will even get the chance to shoot some classic winter landscapes. Let me show you why most photographers just love photographing snow.

I know I do!

South Tyneside Workshop

Yesterday I had the pleasure of the company of Jeff and Steve during our first workshop of 2009. For once the weather was on our side and as you can see from the photo of the workshop participants, the picturesque Souter Lighthouse looked stunning against the backdrop of a deep blue sky!

Jeff and Steve set me the challenge of creating a HDR image from a sequence of exposures. Coastal shots are not ideal for combining exposures as the movement of the waves (and also in this case the movement of the clouds) will simply make the image look slightly unrealistic. So for this shot I decided to process a single RAW file twice - once for highlights and another for the shadows. Which I then combined before converting the image to black and white.

I will openly admit that it is not one of my greatest images but I do like the composition and I will definitely be returning to Marsden Bay at sunrise (and low tide!) in the near future.

A great day was enjoyed by all and I would like to thank Jeff and Steve for their company and sense of humour! If you would like to join me on my next workshop along the South Tyneside Coast, we will be running another workshop there on the 19th April.

2009 Photography Workshops Announced

We are delighted to announce the schedule for the forthcoming North East England based Photography Workshops, to be held during the first quarter of 2009.

New for 2009 is that all of the Photography Workshops are now entirely based in North East England, and all are led by award winning Newcastle Upon Tyne based photographer, Jason Friend.

The first five workshops for 2009 are held in the counties of Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. The workshop details are as follows:

South Tyneside Coast - 18th January 2009.

The South Tyneside Coast has to be considered as one of the most picturesque stretches of coastline to be found in the North East of England. Join Jason Friend for an early morning start to hopefully capture a sunrise image like the one above!

Plessey Woods, Northumberland - 30th January 2009.

A favourite location for photography during the winter months, join Jason in the Plessey Woods Country Park near Morpeth, Northumberland where we will hopefully get a chance to view the endangered Red Squirrel.

Ingram Valley, Northumberland - 8th February 2009.

Explore your photography and join Jason Friend on a day workshop in the Ingram Valley, part of the Northumberland National Park.

North Tyneside Coast - 20th February 2009.

Join Jason Friend in his home patch as he shares his intimate knowledge of the North Tyneside Coast - gained from numerous years photographing the highlights of this often overlooked region.

Hadrian's Wall, Northumberland - 15th March 2009.

Join Jason Friend along a spectacular stretch of Hadrian's Wall within the Northumberland National Park. As a regular visitor to the region, Jason will be sharing some of his favourite viewpoints of this famous world heritage site as well as his experience of how to make successful images from the location.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about the 2009 workshop schedule is the price tag! All workshops are planned around a 6 hour day and cost only £50 per person. Book your place soon as these photography workshop dates will probably fill up quickly!

2009 Photography Workshops Announced

We are delighted to announce the schedule for the forthcoming North East England based Photography Workshops, to be held during the first quarter of 2009.

New for 2009 is that all of the Photography Workshops are now entirely based in North East England, and all are led by award winning Newcastle Upon Tyne based photographer, Jason Friend.

The first five workshops for 2009 are held in the counties of Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. The workshop details are as follows:

South Tyneside Coast - 18th January 2009.

The South Tyneside Coast has to be considered as one of the most picturesque stretches of coastline to be found in the North East of England. Join Jason Friend for an early morning start to hopefully capture a sunrise image like the one above!

Plessey Woods, Northumberland - 30th January 2009.

A favourite location for photography during the winter months, join Jason in the Plessey Woods Country Park near Morpeth, Northumberland where we will hopefully get a chance to view the endangered Red Squirrel.

Ingram Valley, Northumberland - 8th February 2009.

Explore your photography and join Jason Friend on a day workshop in the Ingram Valley, part of the Northumberland National Park.

North Tyneside Coast - 20th February 2009.

Join Jason Friend in his home patch as he shares his intimate knowledge of the North Tyneside Coast - gained from numerous years photographing the highlights of this often overlooked region.

Hadrian's Wall, Northumberland - 15th March 2009.

Join Jason Friend along a spectacular stretch of Hadrian's Wall within the Northumberland National Park. As a regular visitor to the region, Jason will be sharing some of his favourite viewpoints of this famous world heritage site as well as his experience of how to make successful images from the location.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about the 2009 workshop schedule is the price tag! All workshops are planned around a 6 hour day and cost only £50 per person. Book your place soon as these photography workshop dates will probably fill up quickly!

2009 Photography Workshops

The workshop schedule for 2009 is due to be announced on the 1st November 2008, and I am pleased to announce that a number of changes have been made to the structure including a new, lower price!

The forthcoming 2009 workshops will be entirely based in the North East of England, a logical progression if you consider that the area is not only incredibly photogenic but also on my own doorstep - meaning that I will be in a position to show you some hidden gems of the North East.

The new structure of the workshops will mean that the days are slightly shorter than the previous dawn to dusk workshops - a frequent request from our participants last year. However, we will ensure that you will be on location for a chance to shoot images during the 'golden hour' either at sunrise or sunset - depending on the location.

The cost for the workshops has been slashed to only £50 per person - and you can save another 20% simply by signing up for the newsletter and being among the first to receive the details of the forthcoming 2009 photography workshop schedule.

Click here to subscribe to the photography workshop newsletter

Whilst you wait for the 2009 dates to be announced, may I remind you that places are still available for the Lancaster Fireworks Display photography workshop. Also, why don't you take a look at the images captured by our clients during 2008.