Recent Work

Summer 026

I’ve just returned from another lovely week in Shrewsbury and Chester, which I always enjoy, despite arriving just in time for another heatwave. I’m not sure if it was the second or third one this summer, I expect there may be more. So, I should be getting used to the heat by now, especially as I’ve worked in potteries. The heat from kilns is great in the winter, but in the summer, somewhat challenging.

The only times I seem to have become acclimatised, is when working abroad. A hot and humid Atlanta comes to mind, well I have been watching the football. Leaving the airport was actually like walking into a kiln, but I soon got used to it. I must admit, I’m always rather pleased to be back in a somewhat cooler and greener North East.

The North Sea can often influence the weather, a few days of sunshine followed by a sea fret is quite normal. This year doesn’t appear normal, or is this the new normal that has been widely reported? Harvesting appears early again and I’ve already spotted blackberries, which the blackbirds are enjoying. They don’t appear to have as much competition, I’ve been saddened and concerned by the lack of Starlings this year.

On a lighter note, I’m now just about ready for a summer of shows, prints have been ordered, mounted and packed. There are some new greetings cards, including one image that has been selected and shortlisted by Side. I’m afraid these will only be available on my stand, another good excuse to go, as if you needed one. I’m very much looking forward to it all, and again, it will be great to see some of you there.

Spring 026

There are certain signs that spring is on the way, the early Blackthorn blossom or those first daffodils. For me it’s the call of the lapwing out on the moors. As I wandered down to Belmount Farm above Edmundbuyers for some large format photography, I heard them calling, peewit I replied and hurried down to see them tumbling through the air.

They stayed with me during the day and into the next as I returned and headed up to Bolts Law where they were joined by Oystercatchers and Greylag geese at Sikehead.

Having mentioned getting out with my large format camera, I’ve almost gone the other way with an Olympus Trip 35. I recently had it serviced by the excellent JFR Film, who also repaired a fairly common red flag fault. I’ve enjoyed the freedom of a mostly point and shoot camera, so much so, it’s been joined by a rather lovely Nikon L35AF.

There’s also been quite a few additions here, it’s been a rather busy spring. From some Urban Exploring in Byker and Killingworth to the Belsay Horse Trials and Northumberland County Show. With many shows now booked up, I think it’ll be a busy summer. Check out my Events page, I’ll hopefully see some of you there.

Northumberland County Show

It’s been a couple of years since I was last at the Northumberland County Show. I’m often away when it’s on, usually in Scotland, I like to go before the midges get interested. This year I was a bit more organised, I’d had a trip to Wales earlier in the month and so I was free for this year’s show. I was able to go to the Belsay Horse Trials the previous week.

Being a bit of a show veteran, I know it’s wise to get there early, but not too early. Parking up was easy and well organised, then it was just a pleasant walk across the Tyne to the entrance and into the showground, it was all very quick and easy too. I can certainly recommend booking online beforehand and getting a show guide, very useful.

With the sheep pens busy setting up, it was over to the cattle area where judging was already underway. This is something I love about this show and I could almost spend all day here, but with a bit of speed shearing sheep in between, it was almost time for lunch. The afternoon was spent wandering, meeting people, visiting the food and shopping tents, attending various events, ice cream in the shade of a tree and spending time amongst the heavy horses, which was rather special.

There is so much going on that you could experience a different show every year and still not tire of it. I must admit though, by late afternoon, rather tired and content, it was time to head home. It was all a great day and such a really well organised show, almost as if they’d thought of everything. I’m already looking forward to next year.

The majority of the photos taken were with my Nikon D850, it’s nice to give it a run out. I also had my Nikon F6, with a 50mm lens and some Ilford HP5+ black & white film. I even found some space in my camera bag for a little Olympus Trip 35 with a roll of Kodak ColorPlus 200 that needed finishing, currently away being developed.

A young boy in a white coat holding a rope attached to a horse at an outdoor event, with several children and adults in the background.

Black and white photo of a woman leading a cow with a numbered tag at a livestock show or fair, with people and a tent in the background.

A woman in equestrian attire leading a foal with a number '216' on its blanket at an outdoor event, with a large tent and several spectators in the background.

A group of people dressed in Viking costumes at an outdoor event, with tents and banners in the background, some playing musical instruments and others chatting.

A line of people at an outdoor event, many wearing Viking helmets with horns, some with musical drums, standing under tents with various displays.

A woman leading a llama at an outdoor event. She wears a coat with a badge, a lanyard, and numbered badge, and holds the llama's leash. There are tents and other people in the background.

A group of people in white coats examining alpacas at an outdoor event, with tents in the background, on a sunny day.

A black-and-white photo of a crowd at an outdoor event with police cars and a tent in the background. People of various ages, including children and adults, are walking around, some talking or holding items. The police vehicle has the words 'Forestry

A row of large tractors at an outdoor exhibition, with people walking and observing in the background.

A black and white photo of a woman and a man sitting on folding chairs outside, next to a horse, with trees in the background. The woman is wearing sunglasses on her head and a leopard print sleeveless top, while the man is in a white shirt. There is

Black and white photo of a horse being groomed or prepared for a show, with handlers and equipment around it at an outdoor event.

Two racehorses with bridles and harnesses, standing on a platform at a horse racing event. Two men are attending to the horses, one from behind and the other adjusting the bridle.

Belsay Horse Trials

Every year, driving past Belsay, I’ll see the signage, the cross country course and jumps all laid out for the Belsay Horse Trials and think, I must go. So, this year, with promising weather and online tickets purchased, it was just the matter of a short drive to Belsay. Parking was easy and well organised, it was then just a short walk up to the entrance and straight into the main event arena.

This is where most of the trade stands, food and family entertainment are located. From here, the event spreads out over quite an area and yet everything felt connected, well organised and very friendly.

I may have photographed horse eventing at shows before, but I didn’t really know what to expect. I took a few cameras, digital and film, as well as one with a longer zoom lens. It could stay in the car and I could always return if I needed it. It took me a while to find my way, I just took photographs and as the day developed, so did my photography. A post lunch visit to the warm up area proved to be a turning point. Just watching horses and riders together, the way they moved, the feel and the sound as they passed by was all very inspirational, even with that occasional horsey smell too.

So, I concentrated on taking more candid, almost portrait photographs during the afternoon. My longer lens stayed in the car, I could get pretty close to any event action taking place and besides, there were quite a few event and media photographers out and about. It was also a bit of a hike back from the top field, the weather was nice and there was ice cream to be had.

Urban Explorers

As part of this year’s Spring selection, I’m adding another section that focuses on one photography aspect that I’ve recently become involved in. I can’t say it was planned, just a bit of online lunchtime procrastination spent looking for future local events. A series of guided architectural walks hosted by the Farrell Centre and led by Euan Lynn caught my eye.

The event looked very interesting, a bit different, so I booked my place on the inaugural Byker Estate tour. I’ve walked through the estate a few times over the years, taught a few pottery classes there, but knew very little about the Byker Estate, designed by a team led by Ralph Erskine. A few weeks later, on a lovely sunny morning, I made my way to our meeting place at Byker Metro station and met up with our hosts and a group of people, who were great company and keen to explore.

It’s safe to say that it was all very enjoyable and I managed to take a few photos with my previously mentioned Nikon L35AF, which seemed almost perfect for this kind of event. My only regret is not packing some colour film, there was some lovely colour contrasts, I can always go back though. I’ve since booked the next two events at Killingworth and Peterlee, I’m sure photos from these will appear in due course.

Byker Estate

Killingworth

Meeting up at the White Swan Centre on a chilly Saturday morning, I soon learnt that our starting point was once part of the Citadel. Having been reduced in size and remodelled, it was almost a metaphor for what had happened to Roy Gazzard’s vision for Killingworth township. Thankfully, the earlier rain had passed, and we set off into the baileys and garths, Killingworth had elements of Northumbrian castles and medieval towns in its design. Euan’s knowledge and enthusiasm was infectious and all too soon, we reached the Stan Bonnar hippos.

The time seemed to fly by, and although the remains of this social engineering project and development are mostly gone, there was still an awful lot to see and take in. From the lake, where a monorail was once proposed, to the Ryder and Yates industrial buildings. We even passed by Thelma and Bob’s new house, I’ve since been watching Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?

I didn’t take too many photos on the day, there were only fleeting moments of sunshine and I was getting over a cold that was lingering longer than it should. A couple of days later, with a sunny morning, I headed back. This is when most of the photos were taken and meant I could explore further. This method seemed to work well and I’ll take this Peterlee, I get the impression that many of the threads running throughout these walks will come together here.

Winter 025 - 026

With a broken spoke, my cycling this year was cut a bit short. By the time I was able to make a repair, winter arrived and brought a lot of wet and windy weather. So, it was back on with the boots and into my local woods. This year I replaced my trusty, but well worn Scarpa boots with a pair of Altberg Malham walking boots. I purchased them from their shop in Richmond and the service and fitting was excellent, despite the assistant being a Sunderland fan. They barely needed breaking in and are very light and comfy, highly recommended.

So, I’ve often been chasing the light or a break in the clouds. There’s been some frosty mornings and a bit of snow, but it’s been mostly rain. At least I’m lucky enough to be able to look out of the window and just head out between the showers. Despite this, I’ve managed to produce some varied and pleasing work. At least there was a welcome break to Yorkshire, which despite the forecast was mostly sunny. It’s not often I’ll go through 4 rolls of film in a weekend.

Over the last few months, I’ve been become involved in a new initiative called InSide. It aims to bring together photographers through monthly meetings, to support and grow a community of photographers and practitioners. This developed from a future of photography forum, hosted by Side Gallery and Photo Connect last summer.

I went to the first meeting with some trepidation but came away feeling very positive. The meetings are monthly and hosted by Side. It’s still in its early stages, mostly getting to know each other. At the last meeting, some members presented their work, and I really enjoyed seeing such a diverse range of photography. There’s some amazing work and talented people in the region. I shall be presenting my work on February 16th, it appears I shall be amongst good company and looking forward to it, mostly.

Autumn 025

It may have felt a bit like Autumn for quite some time and yet at the Alwinton Border Shepherds Show, the last show of the season, it seemed like summer. It was such a glorious day, which I didn’t get to see a great deal of. It was so busy, I barely managed to get out of the craft tent, just a brief wander over to the sheep pens and a chat with some of the shepherds. So many thanks to all involved in organising not just this, but all shows and events. It can be a thankless task, especially when the weather isn’t kind, as it unfortunately was at Thropton Show.

I must admit that a really successful Alwinton Show has given me a much needed boost, that I can take into the rest of the year and in terms of photography, it was perhaps my best ever show. It’s always good to get out and exhibit my work, ever since selling my wares on Armstrong Bridge many years ago, I’ve always enjoyed it, great meeting so many lovely people.

After a bout of Covid, I’ve been getting out in the hills again. I’ve been working on my ancient landscape project, which has already developed in terms of context and process. All quite naturally as I continue to explore and get into the landscape. I’ll be adding a work in progress page soon.

My pinhole cameras have been out again, as well as my large format. After developing my last negatives, I’ve decided to leave using tilt alone for now, a case of trying to run before I can walk. I have bought a new 120mm lens though, I say new, it’s about 30 years old.

Storm Clouds Over Oxford - Medium Format

The Flying Scotsman - Full Frame Digital