Tag Archives: black and white

09.01.15
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Suspended rain

Suspended rain

Whilst out on a walk around Marchmont Estate at the weekend I noticed that mist and light drizzle had been captured and suspended in mid-air by heavily sagging spider webs.

Not the easiest thing to photograph (brushing against a branch, or a step too close would cause all the water to instantly drop) I managed to find a saturated web next to an old stone wall.

With the droplets in the web catching the light of the low sun, I managed to get close enough to photograph the suspended rain drops and highlight them against the dark shadow of the background dyke, the glistening spheres of water hanging motionless in the air.

21.08.14
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From Embleton Bay

From Embleton Bay

I think it’s safe to say that it would be nigh on impossible to take a photo of Dunstanburgh Castle with a perfect reflection mirrored by the North Sea. Therefore this photo required a little artistic license, and with the help of the Nokia Lumia 1020, I was able to stand in the middle of a large tidal pool and photograph the silhouette of the castle, the scattered overhead clouds and a near perfect reflection. With the camera phone held just millimetres above the salt water pool, it almost appears as if the sea has been calmed to a near glass-like state.

15.05.14
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The long walk

The long walk

Whilst cycling between Howick and Boulmer along the Northumberland coast, I noticed how unusually still the sea was. I didn’t have my normal Canon camera at the time, so I took the opportunity to take snap this photo with my Nokia Lumia 1020. It took a few attempts to get it right , and it almost led to the phone being dropped in the sea, but I didn’t extend the exposure on this shot (to make the sea appear blurred and smooth), I just held the mobile phone millimetres above the water line with the wide angle focus on the horizon. The crisp outline of the fence silhouette cut straight through the sombre moody sky and the still dark sea.

19.03.14
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Rippled water

Rippled water

It’s not every day I see a drain and want to photograph its beauty! This rather unusual drain, or water feature, lies within a pond in Alnwick Garden. The raised pond featured what I can only describe as a square shaped funnel with curving walls, positioned just underneath the water line. Once the pond was still, the overflow resulted in perfectly smooth water gliding down the walls of the drain, with the most gentle of curving ripples at each corner. The play of the light sky and dark drain interior made the water look like it was permanently creased.

20.01.14
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Barnacles

Barnacles

I snapped this photo of two barnacle encrusted boulders near Howick on the Northumberland coast. One boulder, completely covered in barnacles, lay right next to another almost bare rock. The various gradients of light, dark, focus and texture really stood out along the almost straight edge of the boulder – an effect that wouldn’t look out of place in a pointillists sketch book.

05.11.13
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Frost flowers

Frost flowers

I watched a TV show on weird weather not long ago and was fascinated to see frost flowers; delicate fronds of threadlike ice formed by sap slowly leaking from freshly damaged tree branches. Despite being a photographer and regular walker I had never seen frost flowers before. By sheer coincidence, during a walk around Duns Castle just a few days later, I discovered frost flowers almost littering the ground. They weren’t particularly big, and just the slightest of touches was enough to instantly melt them, but I was able to capture the tiny linear formations sprouting from a branch broken in the recent storms.

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!

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.