Category Archives: Photos; Borders and beyond

Photos of the Scottish Borders and north Northumberland taken by Scottish Borders Website Design

16.09.13
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Sea, sky and space

Sea, sky and space

When I set up my blog I entitled the category for my photographic posts “Photos; Borders and beyond” because most of my photos are taken in or near to the Scottish Borders. I’m glad I made use of the term “beyond” however, as it is most fitting for this photo of sea, sky and space taken at 33,000 feet somewhere over the North Sea. I’ve often seen stunning views, beautiful sunrises and unique sunsets from plane windows, but more often than not an ugly engine, enormous wing or dirty window didn’t allow for an artistic photo to be taken. On this particular occasional I was dawn to the blueness of everything, and suddenly realised there was no engine or wing in sight, and that the window was completely devoid of scratches, grease, condensation and frost. From the tight confines of my seat I was just able to extract my wide-angled lens from the bowls of my bag, and after several attempts I snapped this photo; looking down on the sky, up into space, with the curvature of the earth just visible on the horizon.

12.08.13
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Circular shadows

Circular shadows

I went for a hike up around Whiteadder Reservoir the other day and was lucky to catch a break in the clouds just as I was passing the overflow area. The low sun cast stark shadows across one side of the circular concrete steps, creating an interesting combination of contrast, symmetry and texture. I don’t often take architectural photos, but I was drawn to this shot by the repetitive play of the light and shadow over the curving steps. When it comes to photos of the Scottish Borders it’s not what most people would immediately think of!

24.06.13
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Return to Embleton Bay

Return to Embleton Bay

I returned to one of my favourite haunts at the weekend and in between the showers I managed to capture this photo of Dunstanburgh Castle (with Lilburn Tower in the foreground) from Embleton Bay. The clouds, lighting and mood were changing by the second, and I made the most of the shallow beach to photograph the castle with the camera just a few inches above the retreating water in order to capture a reflection of the sky. It’s been a few days since I took the photo and I think my feet have just about warmed up again!

17.06.13
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Silken seaweed

Silken seaweed

I popped to the coast at the weekend and whilst walking I came across an area of large round boulders covered in silky smooth seaweed that was so vivid it was almost luminescent (and also bone jarringly slippery to stand on). With the midsummer’s sun directly overhead, the harsh shadows cast by neighbouring boulders made for a stark contrast between the bright green of the seaweed and the near black of the shade. I took quite a few shots but opted to put this one on the blog as I love gentle curve that falls around the edge of the boulder, with dark shadow one side and the crisp green lines of the seaweed on the other.

25.04.13
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Spring fields

Spring fields

I have just upgraded my camera, and whilst experimenting with a new lens and filters, the setting sun cast its last rays of light across a newly ploughed field on the not too distant Merse. The perfectly straight and deeply shadowed plough lines accentuated the smooth curve of the hill, and in black and white the vivid markings look quite mesmerising; like a screw thread cutting through the landscape.

18.03.13
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Winter returns

Winter returns

This wasn’t the scene that I expected to see from the window in late March. A thick layer of frozen snow blanketing the fields of the Merse, punctuated by dark bales of uncollected hay and ominously low moody clouds closing in on the only light of the day. It still feels like the middle of winter, rather than the dawn of spring.

14.01.13
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Castle Wood

I went for a walk around Hen Poo at the weekend and managed to capture a photo of the pond in Castle Wood. Traditionally photos of reflections have bright skies and dark hills mirrored by a pond or lake. This scene captured my imagination as it almost appeared as a negative. Instead of light skies the background the trees were almost black in the long winter shadows, with the delicately frosted reeds vivid white in comparison.

02.12.12
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Frozen fields

I went for a walk along the old abandoned Duns to Greenlaw railway line yesterday. As a result of all the recent rain, a huge swath of this field was underwater. The cold nights had frozen the flood waters a peculiar milky white colour, and in the bright full sun of the early morning the distant ridge eerily looked like a misplaced sand dune.

09.11.12
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Darkening skies

I managed to visit a couple of my favourite childhood haunts at the weekend; Dunstanburgh Castle and Embleton Bay. Just shy of the castle I turned to see dark glowering storm clouds churning overhead and captured this rather brooding photo.

11.10.12
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Calm before the storm

Sunrise over the Merse

There was an absolutely glorious sunrise this morning, and I managed to capture this photo just as the sun spilled over the Merse, with the distant shadow of Cheviot to the south and the dark blue sky of the fading night overhead.