Private Photo Course in Northumberland

We have just returned home from running a 2 day private photography course in Northumberland. The weather was jolly kind to us, we had quite a bit of sunshine and no rain. The waves were spectacular too, with high tide in early afternoon.

We were based in Berwick upon Tweed in Northumberland just 2 miles south of the Scottish border. The course was a Christmas present for Jo from Morpeth, just north of Newcastle. Jo wanted to get back into using film cameras and brought along her Canon EOS 300 with a couple of zoom lenses. We covered everything from choosing the film, loading film into the camera, taking exposure readings with the camera meter, composition and use of tripods. We used a mixture of Ilford HP5 for hand-held shots and Ilford FP4 film for shots taken from a tripod.

We started on Berwick Beach with the basics then moved on to Eyemouth as there is lots to photograph around there, harbour with boats, beach, rocky shoreline and lots of waves at high tide! It was cloudy in the morning but the sun came out while we were in the Contented Sole pub at lunchtime, as it often does! Fortunately, it stayed out for the afternoon.

On the Sunday we met in Beadnell and headed back north to Bamburgh for the castle, beach and sand dunes. The sea was a little way out still but we took some castle shots, including reflections on the wet sand, rocks and patterns. Then we drove around to take the castle from the sand dunes on the south side.

We continued south but it was too early to take Beadnell Harbour as it needs the tide to be high so we went for an early lunch at the Craster Arms in Beadnell. Crab sandwiches were on the menu so Jan and Jo were happy! Next it was down to Beadnell Harbour for the high tide shot. Unfortunately, there is lots of scaffolding around buildings at the harbour and earth moving equipment, a dumper truck, van and car so it wasn't ideal. Jo can always come back when it's all cleared away being so local. Then we finished by heading south to the beach just north of Dunstanburgh Castle. The rocks on the beach here are round and are shiny black when wet. They make a great foreground with the castle ruins behind. The tide was high and we were in danger of being washed away at times! Fortunately, both Jo and I had high boots so remained dry shod. Waves were crashing over one of the large rocks in front of us and onto the beach so we had lots to go at, including the castle shot of course.

Jo then had a short drive to get home to Morpeth while we headed north to finish our trip by taking some photos of the Kelpies horse head sculptures near Falkirk. That's the subject of another blog post!

Jan took all of these almost action photos on her Nikon D90 to give you an idea of the places we visited.

Checking Camera Settings, Berwick Beach

Eyemouth Beach Wave Watching

Eyemouth Harbour AM

Eyemouth Harbour PM

Eyemouth Beach Waves

Dunstanburgh Castle Beach #1

Dunstanburgh Castle Beach #2

New Images of Northumberland

I added several new images of Northumberland to my web site a few a weeks ago. They included several castles as well as Berwick. Here's a sample. The rest are on the web split between Landscapes and Cities (with a bit of overlap), use this link to see all of the Northumberland images.

Bamburgh Castle and Waves

Bamburgh Castle and Sand Dunes

Beadnell Harbour at High Tide

Lindisfarne Castle and Boat Hut

Lindisfarne Castle and Posts

Berwick Beach Reflections and Lighthouse

Northumberland course day 2

Today we spent the day on Holy Island/Lindisfarne and had pretty good weather all day. No camera again for me.

We started around the huts made from upturned boats, then took pattern pictures amongst the lobster pots before moving to the jetty.

Then around the harbour for shots of the castle and old lime kilns.

From here we went to the Crown and Anchor pub for lunch. The priory and harbour followed before we finished with the classic shot of the castle with old jetty posts in the foreground with waves crashing in behind us. Had to go back for this at the end of the day as tide was too high earlier.

After a quick wash and brush-up it was down to the bar to review the results from the day; lots of good shots.

A quick nip round the corner found us at the Wetherspoons pub for dinner. This was chosen for its position next to the main bridge.

As we saw the light start to fade we made our way down to the bridges to take the lights and reflections between the 2 road bridges. In total we were out for over an hour doing night photography. Everyone had some good shots, probably the best being the early ones before it was completely dark so that we kept detail in the sky.

Tomorrow we do more castles.

Northumberland Course Day 1

Had a full day with clients on our landscape photo course based in Berwick. No camera with me today so that I could give my full attention to the group.

We started in Berwick with bridges and a few town shots, then up behind the old barracks. Nice light.

Eyemouth was next and was good at all locations. Lots of working boats, sunshine and a few reflections. Then pictures of a seal being fed fish in the harbour entrance. This was followed by catching waves crashing against the sea wall.

Lunch was in the Contented Sole with a pint of Speckled Hen. After lunch it was down to the rocks near the mouth of the harbour for the waves and patterns.

Next was down to Coldingham Bay. Here it was great for patterns in the sand, reflections of the clouds on the wet sand wall(see photo), waves and a rider on a horse riding through the sea.

We ended the day at Spittal Point opposite Berwick lighthouse and breakwater. Nice light and tide still going out but didn't stop Andrew from misjudging it and getting wet feet. Fortunately Jan caught it for posterity and it will appear on the web site in time!

Castles and Coast

Today started with snow flurries and a cold day in Berwick.

After a quick wander around Berwick we headed for Bamburgh for the castle, rocks and sand dunes. It started dull but very quickly cleared and had me running back to the car for my camera gear, foolishly left as I scouted the beach.

It was high tide and windy so the waves were crashing over Harkness Rocks. Jolly impressive! Bamburgh Castle was in the background but difficult to get the angle I wanted on the shot for fear of being washed away!

After shots of Bamburgh Castle from the sand dunes we headed for Dunstanburgh and another castle.

The tide was still high and needed care among the rocks but I wanted wet rocks in my foreground so took my chances. Blue sky here but it was heavy rain by the time we had walked around to the Craster side. An April shower!

Called in at Beadnell on the way back. Clear blue sky again. Nice light on the old lime kilns behind the small harbour but low tide so just unattractive mud as foreground. One to go back for.

Late lunch at the Craster Arms here and Black Sheep Bitter on good form.

Last stop was Spittal Point in Berwick. A beach opposite the lighthouse on the breakwater. It was low tide so I could walk out pretty close for panoramics of the lighthouse and waves.

Another good day. Sorry forgot to take any snaps on mobile phone, just 8 rolls of Ilford FP4 120 film. Will take a few weeks to get to them as still a big backlog.

Tomorrow we go north into Scotland.

Sunny Lindisfarne

We arrived in Berwick upon Tweed by 10pm last night ready to take photos and sort final details for course next week.

Today started around Berwick while we waited for the tide to clear the causeway to Lindisfarne. Nice light, clear as a bell too. Photos around the old fortress and down on the beach.

Lindisfarne is about 20 minutes from Berwick and the causeway must be a bit under a mile long. First stop was the harbour with the huts made from upturned boats a bit before midday. Always good for pictures. Lots of lobster pots too for pattern pictures. Best view of all was across to Lindisfarne Castle with blue sky and white fluffy clouds above.

Then past the castle to the lime kilns (in photo) for pictures back to the castle. From here we walked round the coast north to the sand dunes then round and back to the village for a break at the Ship Inn for a pint of Blessed Bitter. It was nearly 3pm by now so just crisps for lunch, too late for anything else. A good time for a break as the light had long gone.

A quick stroll around the village and we ended up at the jolly friendly Crown and Anchor for a pint of Sacred Kingdom.

After all of these delaying tactics the sun had returned so we went back to the harbour via the Priory. The light was now on the other side of the huts, boats and lobster pots. This made for excellent foregrounds for shots of the castle.

Back to the car and a short drive to the dunes at the Snook just before the causeway. The sea was a long way out so no photos.

Stopped at a beach near Berwick on the way back for shots of the waves racing in over what looked like limestone pavement. It was 6.30pm now, the light was pretty much gone so time to return to Berwick for food at Wetherspoons.

Tally for the day: 7 rolls of Ilford FP4 film making 70 negatives in total using my Mamiya 7 camera, mostly with an orange filter to darken the clear blue sky. Unusually for me I took lots with the standard lens (80mm) rather than my more favoured wide angle (43mm). I didn't want to reduce the size of my subjects by pushing them too far back in the pictures.

Hope the weather holds tomorrow as we head south for some coastal castle shots.

Landscape Photography Course - Northumberland in April

There are still 2 places available on the Landscape Photography course that we are running in Northumberland in April. The dates are Monday 16th to Wednesday 18th April. We meet at the Cobbled Yard Hotel in Berwick on Tweed (TD15 1DJ).

Day 1 is spent in Berwick and the coast to the north (just in Scotland), including Coldingham Bay and the pretty fishing villages of Eyemouth and St Abbs.

Day 2 will be on the island of Lindisfarne with castle, lime kilns, harbour and boats, priory, sand dunes, etc.

Day 3 is around Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh castles and the coast around them, which includes sand dunes, rocky pools and round boulders on the shoreline.

There will also be time for night photography around the old town of Berwick on one or two of the evenings.

The group will be limited to just 5 people with 2 tutors, me and my wife Jan. Suitable for digital and film camera users. The cost is £375 for 3 days tuition in lots of stunning locations and we do all the driving once you arrive.

See my web site for more details: www.davebutcher.co.uk

Berwick upon Tweed in Winter

We came up to Berwick yesterday in the snow and ice. Took 6 hours instead of 4 because of difficulty getting out of Peak District (snow storms and sheet ice on roads), big detour and traffic jams.

We are here planning the landscape photography course that we are running here in April 2012. It will be 1 day around Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh castles, 1 day in Berwick, Eyemouth and St Abbs, and 1 day in the Cheviot or Lammermuir hills.

Good day today, cold and clear. Big waves on the coast at Eyemouth and St Abbs, good for pics. Light went early though, by 3.30pm it was the start of night photography! Main bridge in Berwick looks great with Christmas lights and It's a full mooooon.

Tomorrow we're in the hills, hopefully. They are snow covered so should be good if clear. Will return home via Newcastle for some night shots; I have had a few requests at recent shows for shots from here.

As luck would have it, we found a Wetherspoons pub in Berwick. Just finished dinner and on to 2nd pint. Ruddles bitter and this one, Goodwill Bitter, were both cloudy but tasted fine. Looks like they're rushing them through!

Off to take more night shots soon then back to Travelodge on the north side of Berwick. Jan dozing after large Merlot, will have to wake her carefully!