Dunstanburgh
1st September 2009
I had a call from Jim Howarth in August reminding me that it was about time we went out on another trip together. Although I do often work alone, I also find working with other photographers very productive at times.
It’s all too easy to fall into the same routines, especially when visiting locations you have worked on before. It turned out that apart from our trip out the the Farne Islands last year, Jim had not photographed along the Northumbrian coast. The weather looked favourable so a plan was quickly agreed.
I suggested Dunstanburgh as a safe start, easy to drive to in time for the early dawn.
I had this shot or similar in mind, I had tried something like it before, in January last year, but had not quite caught the richness of colour that I was hoping for.
The conditions were almost an exact mirror of my last try but the sky was a deeper blue which was perfect.
It was just a matter of waiting for the first glow of the sun to illuminate the castle before breaking over the cloud on the horizon and blowing the contrast out of all proportion.
I cannot understand photographers that refuse to go back to a location they have shot before. I can see that it is difficult to find new shots sometimes, but as conditions change and my own skills improve, I quite often get shots that are just that little bit better than the ones I thought were the best I could achieve before.
I think landscape photography is a discipline that requires patience, perseverance and the occasional bit of luck.
The next objective, and one that I knew Jim was very much looking forward to was Lindisfarne, with a quick stop at Bamburgh on the way.
