Last of the old Year

 Just managed to fit in a short walk over Cotherstone Moor this afternoon. To say it was dull and grey would be an understatement but at least the dogs got a good run out. Oddly enough the only thing that was of note (and worth getting the camera out for) was a pretty good spot of a Black Grouse in the hedgerow as I drove home.

Black Grouse.

Not the easiest subject to get a decent photo of, a black bird against a grey sky but more the enjoyment of seeing such a fine bird.

Frozen Hedgerow

  I am hardly ever without my camera and you never know what photo opportunity will present itself. Today was one of those dull grey days with a lot of fog and any chance of a photo seemed slim. A short local walk was called for and earlier in the day we had a good spell of rain (makes a change from snow I suppose). Falling on already cold ground the rain had coated everything with a thin layer of ice. The nearby hedgerows were also coated and whilst the dogs ran around in the fields I managed to get a couple of shots. The effect was passable but I realise that the limitations of the camera prevented these photos from being great.

Iced Hawthorn

Crystal Seedhead

Coated berries

Frozen waterfalls in Teesdale

  The long period of cold weather recently here in Teesdale has produced some pretty impressive scenes. We are lucky enough to have something in the region of 87 waterfalls in the dale if you believe the info on the O.S. Maps. Obviously High Force and Low Force are the most popular but today I walked to a couple of others to see what they were like. Fortunately they are within walking distance of my home so not much effort was required.

Trough Gorge.

Looking a bit different to how it was earlier in the year.

From there it was a visit to Hugill Force, a fall of about 30' which is hardly visited due to its location.

Hugill Force. Not quite fully frozen but still impressive.

A Thaw is iminent so these scenes are unlikely to be around for much longer.



Winter Sunrise

   Always worth having the camera to hand especially when a sunrise like this turns up.

Boxing Day Sunrise-Arkengarthdale.

Just as I let the dogs out first thing as we were staying with friends in this high Yorkshire Dale.

Christmas Day- Wild Boar Fell

 As is usual for us, Christmas Day involves a decent hill walk and this year was no different. The plan was to re-visit a route that we did three years ago to the nearby Howgill Fells and in particular Wild Boar Fell. The early morning as we approached the start looked promising. However, a good cloud cover meant that only the very start of the day produced good light the rest being either low cloud around us or snow showers.

Dawn on Wild Boar Fell

Early Light, Mallerstang.

Sun through snow shower.

Not a truly great days for photographs but a great day to be out on the hills. More photos from this set are now online at http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/ in the On Location section.

Christmas Eve

  It's a bright and cold winters day here in Teesdale and this morning I was able to get a couple of shots on the way into the gallery.

Red Grouse.

Swaledale in snow.

Bowes Castle

Waiting for feed.

River Greta and Gilmonby Bridge.

Country Bridge, Barnard Castle.

Now much more ice on the river than  last week.

Things have been extremely busy here on the run up to Christmas so I haven't been able to get out as much as I would have liked but hopefully this will be put right in the New Year.
 Meantime, here is wishing you a Very Merry Christmas and thank you for your response to this new venture.
Andy

Website updated

  It has taken a few days but at last I have been able to introduce the purchasing buttons for all the images. Up until now all orders for the prints have been from either emails, phone calls or by personal calls into the gallery so hopefully this will make things a bit more user friendly. I have also given an indication as to which prints we have framed and on display here at The Teesdale Gallery for those who live close enough and would like to buy already framed prints.

A Teesdale Winter

I have just edited a small selection of photographs together from the recent wintery weather here in Teesdale. Hopefully it will give a sense of the beautiful scenery that has been produced even though the quality of the compressed photos on the clip is reduced compared to the originals.

Wainwright Society Calendar

 I was really pleased to see that the Wainwright Society Calendar for 2011 has now sold out, raising £9000 for the MRT. http://www.wainwright.org.uk/calendar/index.html
 Of course I was pretty chuffed when earlier in the year two of my photographs were selected to be used as part of the calendar.

Ill Bell Ridge.

Well done to all the team at the Wainwright Society for getting the calendar produced and sold.

Catching up with framing.

  The response to the photographs has been such that I have had to spend today in the studio framing some more prints. Even though it's quite time consuming there is something rather satisfying about putting either these photographs or my paintings into the frames myself.

After printing the images to such a high standard I have decided to continue the quality in the framing by using only traditional wood mouldings for the frames and conservation quality materials in the mounts etc. This would normally add to the expense of the framing but as I am completing the task myself I am able to keep the costs down. I look forward to hanging some of these new images in the gallery in the next day or two.

A short walk near Windermere.

  I had to pop over to Kendal today to deliver some work so I took the opportunity to give the dogs a bit of a walk near Windermere. The weather was not too good with low cloud covering all of the high fells so I opted for a stroll up to Orrest Head, my fouth visit of the year. The snows from earlier in the week were now thawing fast with only patches on the fell sides that I could see.

Troutbeck Valley.

One of the best views today was the patch of sun on Sour Howes and the light in the Troutbeck valley.

The Langdales.

Normally this view of the Langdales is inspirational, not today though, with only a shaft of light on the water's edge providing interest.

A walk before work.

 I always carry the camera with me even on the shortest of walks. Today was no exception and as it was a day in the gallery for me and the dogs we took a short walk to the east of the town. As we left the outskirts of Barnard Castle the sun was just rising.

Sunrise over snow.

It looked as if any sun this morning would be limited judging by the higher cloud but I took the chance and walked towards Egglestone Abbey, about a mile downstream from the town.

 

Dawn at Egglestone Abbey.

I had timed it just about right as the warm sun was just hitting the walls of the ruin as I approached. I already have a good shot such as this in my portfolio but its still a great sight to see. Now heading back towards the town we followed the banks fo the River Tees and in some places it was almost completely frozen over.

First light on the frozen river.

For a period of time the early sun faded and we walked back towards Barnard Castle and it was only after we crossed back over the County Bridge did we get a last glimmer of early light on the warm stonework.

County Bridge in early sun.





Winter on the River Tees

 This afternoon looked promising for a bit of a walk up into Teesdale. The snow from the past few days showed no signs of thawing as the day time tempreatures hardly have been above freezing. There were bright blue skies as I headed up to Bowlees. I wasn't the only one who thought this would make a great subject as there were other photographers out making the most of the winter scene such as Brian Swales.



Gibson's Cave and Summerhill Force.




Low Force and ice on the Tees



High Force- not as much ice as I would have expected.




River Tees



New website up and running!

 It's taken a few weeks but at last I have been able to get the new website functioning and published. It still needs a few tweaks and the purchasing butttons to be loaded but it seems to be working fine. The reaction to the prints on display in the gallery has been excellent even though the display is limited as Keith who does the printing has been snow-bound in wildest Yorkshire.