The contrast between the straws and the surrounding buildings caught my attention. In the jungle of glass, steel and concrete these straws just seemed out of place, yet made an image where I though none was to be found.
The concrete construction in the foreground is a WWII pillbox, or small bunker. It is built to blend in with its surroundings, whereas the castle in the background is quite the opposite. Built on a hilltop clearly visible from both sea and land, sending a clear message to friends and foes.
WWII pillbox bunker north of Dunstanburgh Castle
This image is from harbor at the isle of Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, and the castle in the background is Lindisfarne Castle.
The two upturned boats in the foreground have been cut in half and made into sheds - I guess to store tools, nets, ropes; tools of the trade for the fisherman who owns it. Life as a fisherman is hard with a lot of toil, sweat and blood, and even tears for those lost at sea - sons, brothers, husbands and fathers.
To me the two upturned boats represent a much more interesting bit of history than the castle in the background. Their history started just a few generations ago - it could have been my grandfathers boat, my fathers shed.
Lindisfarne harbor, Northumberland
After a cold, windy few weeks it feels good to have enjoyed a mild, sunny day again.
Northumberland is an open, rural stretch of english countryside and I developed a thing for these isolated groups of trees dotted around the landscape. So it became a kind of quest to find a nice group of trees without too much clutter next to it.
Northumberland, near Embleton
This shot from my trip to Northumberland is from the beach just north of Bamburgh Castle. I have tried to keep it simple, with the concrete blocks in the front pointing in the direction of the castle on the horizon, and leaving a bit of breathing space on the left hand side of the frame. The concrete cubes in the foreground are anti-tank defenses from the early stages of 2nd world war when German troops seemed unstoppable and the threat of an invasion of the British Isles was overhanging.
Bamburgh Castle and 2nd world war tank defences
After starting at the beach of Embleton Bay for a sunrise shoot, we went north to Bamburgh Castle. We started at this lighthouse and made our way back towards the castle. I have used focus stacking to make sure I would have the lighthouse and the rock in the foreground in focus in the final image.
Lighthouse north of Bamburgh Castle
Sunrise on Embleton Bay, looking towards Dunstanburgh Castle. I have tried to make use various elements on the beach to lead the viewer into the image. I could perhaps have moved back a bit to give the stump a little breathing space. But all in all, I am pleased considering that I am on the steep end of the learning curve.
Sunrise Embleton Bay, looking towards Dunstanburgh Castle
One of the things I wanted to work on during the workshop was composition. Moving beyond the rule of thirds, how to use lines and shapes to create an image from the broader view. There is a huge difference between having the image in front of you as opposed to being out there. Out there you have the whole horizon before you, and you have to decide where to point the camera, and what to include, what to exclude - what you want to draw the viewers attention to.
Embleton Bay looking towards Dunstanburgh Castle
As I mentioned in my previous post, I was out of town last week. To improve my skills as a photographer I decided to go on a One2One workshop with the british photographer Steve Gosling. He was one of the instructors on the PhaseOne Iceland PODAS last year, and I got good advice from him during that workshop.
Steve specializes in producing contemporary landscape images, a type of photography which is different from my usual modus operandi. I tend to concentrate on details and smaller parts rather than the broader view; landscape photography tends to baffle me and my landscape images often reflect this.
Occasionally I manage to produce a landscape image that looks half decent. But I wanted to learn more and be able to make an image and say "I wanted that there", which does not happen often with my landscape photographies, rather than "hey, that looks cool". So I decided that I needed some help and turned to Steve Gosling for guidance.
Embleton Bay north of Dunstanburgh Castle, just before sunrise.
Just one more post from the Opera House to get back on track again. I have been out of town for a few days, and I will tell you more about that in the upcoming posts. Stay tuned. This is a slightly different take on the oak panels covering the walls in the foyer area, again with the low angle of the sun emphasizing the pattern of the oak staves.
This is an image of the oak panels covering the walls in the foyer area. I like the way the low angle of the sun accentuates the pattern of the oak staves.