Goldsborough Gold

 Another evening for a late walk. This time I drove a short distance though the village of Cotherstone and up the dale towards Hury reservoir. Further on I parked along the quite road and set off up to Goldsborough. Yet again the moor was well covered in snow which made it difficult going. As we headed up the hill away to our right I could see the sun over Shacklesborough at this time hidden behind one lone cloud but with the possibility of dropping down inot the open shortly.

Goldsborough.

With perfect timing the sun lit up the flanks of the low crag, blue sky above and warm glowing snow. There wasn't going to be much time before the sun sank below the hoizon so we stepped out to reach the top of the hill. Deep snow on uneven ground doesnt make for a quick pace but we did it and still with time to spare..just.

Sundown.

From below the crags we got the best view of the sun, its glow reflecting off the icy surface of the snow. It was perfect and my efforts had been rewarded.

 As usual these photos where taken with just the Lumix, no filters or tricks and the colours as they were captured in camera, why did I need to do any more? Nature at its best.

 

The snowy wastes.

 It wasn't until later in the day when I was able to get out with the dogs for a decent walk and it looked promising for a good bit of light towards the end of the day. I headed off up to West Plantation and a track that leads up to Gilmonby Moor. The snow was still fresh and deep with no signs of previous visitors. During the day the sun had been quite warm and this had thawed some of the snow. The unusual thing was that the loose snow had thawed quicker than and that had even been slightly compacted so as I walked I could see the tracks of birds and small aminals and their marks were standing proud of the surrounding snow.

Grouse Tracks.

The low evening sun cast shadows from the tracks....very odd. As we progressed onwards the gate to the morr was so deep in snow drift that instead of opening it we just stepped over it. Now out on to the open moor the going was very tough, at least a foot of fresh snow, in places solid enough to take my weight but the next step down into the depths, hard work. It seemed like ages before we reached the lunch hut which sits alone on the moor. Today it looked not unlike Scotts Hut with the low sun and whiteness.

The Lunch hut.

There was quite a stong wind in the cold air and with the sun disappearing fast it was time to re-trace my steps..yet more hard work but at least this time I was able to use the footsteps in the snow that I had made previously.

The last of the sun.

Soon we were back in the plantation and it was just about dark as we reached home. Well worth the effort to see this sort of scenery and light.

 

 

And still there is snow.

 Never would I have thought that here in late March I would still be out getting photogrpahs that were more akin to deep winter. At least some of the lanes were bing cleared so I ventured back up to the lanes that were filled in with snow on recent days.

The sheep were still roughing it out round the feeders.

The road near us continues up to a couple more remote farms which must have been cut off over the past few days and it was good to see the council workers clearing the route so they could get out.

Snow blower in action.

The walls that line the lane are stone but quite fragile so the snow blower was called in to throw the snow up and over the barrier which made for quite an impressive sight.

 Still no sign of a thaw here though.

 

Andy Beck Images- a bit of background.

 I just thought that I would post a bit of background on myself and my photographs mainly for those who have just found me and my work through various media.

 Yep, that's me.

I am fortunate enough to actually be a full time professional artist and this is me in my studio (with one of my photographs not a painting). We live in a farmhouse in Teesdale, County Durham, high on the North Pennines.

 To me photography is a hobby which brings in an income which suppliments my artwork. I love going out and finding those subjects which have the potential for a good photograph or even a future painting whether it is locally here in the dale or further afield. Our location means that we are ideally situated to reach areas such as the Yorkshire Dales or the Lake District in a short space of time.

 I am not only a self taught artist but also a self taught photographer. My early days with a camera were in the mid '70's with a Zenith 35mm and then an Olympus OM1 and I learnt to develop and print my own photographs in a basic darkroom. (Those were the days). Nowadays I, like most photographers have moved on a bit with the advancement of digital kit. However, I would like to think that my early experiences have given me a great base for my current work.

 Quite a few people seem to be surprised that nearly all my current photographs have been taken on a fairly straightforward compact camera, a Panasonic Lumix LX5.

Lumix LX5

To me this camera is a great little camera, it's simple, robust, shoots in RAW as well as Jpeg and has a reasonable zoom. Nearly all the time I shoot with it set on Manual or Aperture Priority as this gives me control of the shots.

 Occassionally I use a Canon 350d, even though this has a lower resolution it does allow me to fit filters for certain shots. However, more and more I just use the Lumix. Shortly I will possibly invest in a decent DSLR with a better range and quality.

 As you may have seen in my photographs, I like to experiment a bit in my subjects even though most are landscapes I find it enjoyable to pick detail from the environment such as trees and walls. It makes it more interesting for me and hopefully for you as the viewer.

I tend to do as little work on the images as possible on the computer. I only use Photoshop Elements, this is to tweak the levels, sharpness and even at times the colour. To me, the image should be "real" and not an overworked computer enhanced fantasy. They may have their place but not in my portfolio I'm afraid.

 Selling my work is not my highest priority but it is nice when it happens. There are plenty of other wonderful photographers out there who I can't compete with and nor would I want to. No, to me, to get out with the dogs, always take the camera and look for a possible shot is all I am about. The fact that so many of you seem to enjoy what I do is all well and good. Hopefully I will inspire you to get out there yourselves and enjoy the landscape and look at it anew and hopefully get your own decent shots.

Have fun!

If you would like to see my artwork then do take a look at my website: www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk or even become a follower to this blog.

Thanks.

Andy



 

Wild winter.

 Today was really a case of revisitng the locations of yesterday. No one was travelling far in this weather but at least today the sunshine made a welcome appearance. There was no let up in the stong winds though.
 Walking back up to the Sleightholme lane I was quite surprised to see that since yesterdays visit an attempt had been made to clear the deep drifts. However, no sooner had the diggers done their best but it left a gap for more snow to take its place. Impressively, the dumped snow now formed high peaks on the lane edge and in the sunshine it looked like mountain peaks.

Mountain Ridge?

Apart from the fencepost which is above the wall height this could be mistaken for an unknown ridge of Munroes...out of scale of course.

 I made my way as yesterday along towards West Plantation. Today the drifts were much deeper so I decided to take some shots of the sheep which were sheltering along side the wall. The light snow coated their fleeces and made a dramatic scene.

Snow Sheep.

The balck and white simplicity seems to make this scene bleak and harsh, just how it was. Swaledale Sheep are a hardy breed and they stay out all year. Cold and snow is better than heavy rain I suppose.

And the snow came...again

  Well, the forecasts were right. Along with strong winds we have had an overnight fall of snow which has found us blocked in. No chance of driving anywhere today so it was a case of walking around the local vicinity. Mind you, it did look rather different with the snow banked up againt the walls and filling the lanes. The spindrift swirled around any obstacle forming neat shapes on the leeward side.

Sleightholme Lane.

Beyond this point there are three dwellings, no chance of them driving along here today. The lane was completely filled in for the next 500m. The form of the snow was quite graceful in shape.

The Winter Wall.

 This wall leads towards West Plantation. To get here we had to cross fields where the snow had been almost blown clear. As a consequence of the wind the banks of snow reached many wall tops forming deep drifts. It was dramatic and picturesque but a harsh environment. Soon it was back to the house and the warmth.

Both Ends of the Day

 The sun has been absent for the past few days so it was a bit of a pleasure that when I let the dogs out for the first bit of fresh air of the day that I saw a glow to the east. It wasn't much as we had a bit of fog lingering. However, the potential was there so I dashed inside for the camera. Even in the few short moments the colour in the sky had enhanced. I hot footed it out of the front gate and into the snow covered field to ensure the shot had a decent subject in front of the by now glowing sun. For a few brief moments I stood and fired off a number of shots. The camera was set on "manual" as it is for most of the time, and I adjusted the exposure to bracket the images. A little underexposure tends to capture the colours and not burn out the highlights.

Morning Glow.

The pastel colours were enhanced by the mist and of course the snow's blue hue complimented the sky. This just shows that a compact camera can do a pretty decent job even in difficult conditions.

 Later on in the day I took the dogs for a walk over towards Loups Hill, Cotherstone Moor. I was looking for the possibilites for future subjects, either as photographs or paintings. Sadly the light was no where near as good as this mornings but the cloud did produce a good backdrop to this desolate barn.

The Desolate Barn.

Potential for future work and luckily enough its only a short distance from home so I can pop over there at short notice.

Local wandering in the snow.

 I'm just so busy in the studio at this time thgat today I only ventured out locally with the dogs. As ever, the camera was to hand and my eye was on the lookout for anything like a decent shot. As you can see, the snow hasn't even thawed slightly, if anything we had another dusting overnight.
 Now I admit, not every trip out will result in a brilliant photograph but if you don't practise the looking for that special shot then I believe you will never improve your work.
 Here's the two shots that I came back with.

Retired for Winter.

 I pass by this old machine regularly on my walks, most times it doesn't warrant a second look but today my attention was drawn to the contrast between the white snow and thew black barn wall. The contrasting patterns of the corrugated iron and the machine added to the shot.

Roots.

 In West Plantation there is a great mixture of trees, from very old Scots Pines to wonderful mature Beech trees like this one. The blown snow gave a form to the roots and the colour of the lichen on the trunk really enhanced the frame. It was only when I got home and downloaded the shot that I noticed that fallen branch on the right. We had some discussion on my Facebook page as to whether the branch was a good or bad inclusion in the shot....the branch stays.

A Little bit Abstract

 With the bleakness of the current spell of weather I had to be a bit inventive with a subject for a reasonable photograph today. I only ventured out from the studio a short distance and I recalled the old hedgerow in a nearby field which I had passed by just a few days ago.
 The dogs were happy enough to run through the fields of fresh snow whilst I made my way to the line of trees. I had to be careful to approach the subject from a distance so that the foreground snow remained undisturbed. The object of the exercise was to produce a very stark image in black and white and todays conditions seemed to be almost perfect. Here is the result.

Treeline.

The image has had very little editing done to it. Converting to black and white was the main task which rendered the foreground completely white. The only other real work was to remove the top of a distant telegraph pole inbetween two if the trees. I'm rather pleased with the result.

More Snow

 Its late March and in recent weeks we have seen the return of birds such as Lapwings and even Curlews to their breeding grounds here in Teesdale. Well they got a real shock this morning, heavy overnight snow left us with a white world. This was possibly the heaviest single snowfall of the winter and a bit of a reversal of the seasons.
 Still, it was as ever a good chance to take the dogs out and carry the camera for any potential shots.

  The lane was pretty well covered with snow and the tractor tyres had left their usual pattern which seemed to point into the photo. Walking on I passed a field or two where the hardy Swaledale sheep were in the open. By chance there was a small neat group just on the other side of the wall. Their interest was taken by the dogs who were running in the field that I was in. All it took was for me to line up the shot with the distant farm behind and take the shot.

You can't plan this type of photograph, what it takes is having the awareness of the possibilities to turn a simple scene into a decent photo, and some luck.

Twistleton Scars

 I had the opportunity today to visit a location in the Yorkshire Dales which I had seen on other sites which had the potential for some great photos. Twistleton Scars is an area of Limestone Pavement just top the north west of Ingleton. Its only about 40 miles from home but with my time spent over in the Lake District recently means that I dont often get chance to travel elsewhere. So late on in the afternoon I took the dogs up onto the Scar to explore. It didnt look at first as if the weather would play ball, the sun had disappeared behind cloud.
 This gave me a great chance to explore this new landscape, it was wonderful, the limestone was dotted with twisted stunted trees and erratic boulders which would present superb opportunities for photographs. Luckily for me as I was admiring the scenery the sun did make the appearance I was hoping for.

Erratic Boulder.

For a short while the conditions were perfect, the low light striking the tops of the weathered rock. I used my Compact Lumix LX5 most of the time, set on manual and hand held I enjoy trying to capture the scene with this uncomplicated camera. Of course, a top quality DSLR would have had benefits but using my skills with a simpler tool has its rewards.

 I wandered around looking for the right locations to show the possibilities for future visits and the time soon passed and before I knew it the sun had set and it nwas time to make my way home. Not before capturing one or two decent shots.

 Both of these shots have had hardly any post processing, the light was just superb, the only drawback was that Ingleborough which would have made a dramatic backdrop was shrouded by cloud. Never mind, there is always a next time.

Cloudscape over Shacklesborough

It is only a short drive for me to head into a different part of Teesdale. This evening there was a bit of late sun so I took the dogs out for a quick leg stretch up past Cotherstone to Goldsborough a cap of Millstone Grit which sits neatly on the moor above Hury Reservior. The 10 minute walk from the quiet road soon brings you up to the flat top of the hill. Over to the west sits a matching outcrop of Shacklesborough about a mile or so distant.

 By chance I timed it pretty well to get a possible chance of a decent sunset photograph. The walk was the main intention but a sunset would have been a bonus. I only had the Lumix LX5 with me so it was just the opportunity to capture the scene as it was.

As it happened, I was lucky, a large black cloud which had been blocking the sun soon dispersed and there was a glimpse of the sun, nothing too strong but just a hint before it dropped behind a distant cloud layer on the horizon. I managed to get off a few shots before the whole scene changed and the light was gone.

 To me it's the clouds that make this photo, I love the drama of the sky and the hint of the sun peeping through.

 Well worth the effort of the drive to Cotherstone.