Penshurst Place Art and Craft Fair

We drove down to Penshurst Place near Tonbridge today and set up our stand. Lots of marquees and over 200 exhibitors. We are in marquee E, stand 21, right next to one of the doors.

It took us a bit longer to set up as the ground was a bit lumpy but we sorted it out in the end. The ground is quite firm; I feared the worst knowing what it's been like in the Peak District. Didn't need boots to walk around the site as trainers were fine. Hope the weather is good for us.

The show opens at 9.30am and closes at 5.30pm, every day, Saturday to Monday.

Lots of black and white photographs, books and more. Show offers too.

Hope to see you over the weekend.

Jan and I are just relaxing in Wetherspoons in Tunbridge Wells. The Titanic and Adnams Broadside are going down well.

Leeds Photo Trip

We returned from visiting our friends in Leeds late Tuesday. I ran off 7 rolls of Ilford FP4 120 film but processing will have to wait a couple of weeks.

The arcades were the main event really and I took photos of 5 of them, including County, Cross, Queens, Thorntons and Grand. Didn't see any security to curtail my photography which made a pleasant change to London. Tuesday it was raining all day so only took photos on Monday.

We have 2 shows on the next 2 weekends, in fact a total of 7 days of shows, as well as a lecture.

Today we are packing up for an art and craft show at Penshurst Place near Tonbridge Wells run by ICHF. It is on for 3 days starting Saturday 5th to Monday 7th May, 9.30am to 5.30pm. We set up our stand tomorrow. For more details click this link.

Next week we set up a show at Hatfield House run by Living Crafts. I used to live in Hatfield just at the foot of the road up to Hatfield House so am looking forward to seeing some of my old haunts again. The show days are Thursday 10th to Sunday 13th May, 10am to 5pm. I am also giving a lecture on the Thursday night in Birmingham so Jan will have to run our stand alone for part of the afternoon and following morning as it's a 2 hour drive each way.

Leeds Here We Come!

Finished 3 days of courses yesterday, 2 days of photo in the Peak District and a day in the darkroom. Really lucky with the weather, especially Saturday. All took good photos, always good to see.

We are now off to Leeds for 2 days, visiting Phil (a good friend from my ski mountaineering days) and his partner Josie. They live in the city centre so taking the opportunity to do some photography.

Hope to also find time to try some of the local hostelries.

Wet London, Dry Peak District

Yesterday, our last day in London, was wet all day. No photos but walked about 10 miles so at least we had some exercise. Also visited the Gloucester Arms in Kensington and Mabels Tavern near Euston Station. Pints of Youngs London Gold, Fullers London Pride, Shepherd Neame Spitfire and Bishops Finger. All on good form.

Train slightly late. Home a bit before 11pm, to bed by 1pm.

Today I'm walking to Buxton to run Gallery in the Gardens and it's a lovely day in the Peak District. If you can get out to the hills today take your camera, could be a good one!

London Marathon

It was London Marathon day today so we avoided the areas busy with the race.

Covent Garden is always busy so we started there to give us the best chance of clear shots. It worked!

Trafalgar Square was next but was starting to get busy. Shots worked mainly above head height. Good blue sky with a few clouds to help.

Leicester Square was still a building site, as it was on our last visit 13 months ago. No photos here so on to Piccadilly Circus. Eros was good against a blue sky.

Then time to change to the business area around Bank and Leadenhall. Photos of the Bank of England, Royal Exchange, the Gherkin, Leadenhall Market, Monument, and a very interesting building behind New City Hall. Oh, I also took a shot of the London Marathon from near London Bridge.

My back was painful after all of this so we had an early finish, just as heavy rain started. Later on liquid refreshment helped the recovery, this time in Wetherspoons near Tower Bridge on the south bank.

Forgot to take a digital image on phone to illustrate this post, sorry. Just 26 rolls of Ilford FP4 120 film exposed so far (260 negatives in total).

Last day tomorrow.

London Sun and Rain

A good day in London with lots of sun and blue skies with lots of fluffy clouds. Just a few light rain showers. Good weather for black and white photography.

I now have shots of the Tower of London, Shard, St Katherine's Dock, Battersea Power Station and the Albert Bridge. I also have new shots of more familiar places like Tower Bridge and City Hall.

Some of the Battersea Power Station images were thanks to the generous offer of Pippa, whom we met at an art show last year. Her apartment is right on the banks of the Thames with an unobstructed view. Perfect.

The attached photo is of the Albert Bridge at night. This is thought by many to be the prettiest bridge in London.

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.