Beamish Museum Steam Gala

The weather was variable, not very warm but with a bit of sunshine some of the time!

Traction engines and a steam lorry in the station yard

A vintage fire engine from the US of A

Speed blur on a tricyle

Plenty of steam on a dull day!

These photos and more similar are available for purchase via Alamy.

Canon 5D 24-105L

Windy Day at Roker

It's the month of April but  a strong north easterly was making it feel more like February! Never fear, it's an ill wind etc... and the Kite Surfers were having a great time.

It appears to be all one word, kitesurfing or kiteboarding and the place is Sunderland - need to get the keywords in for the search engines. Whatever it is it looks to be great fun, if I were 40 years younger and the water 15 deg C  warmer I would want to have a go!

Click on any photo for an enlarged view.

Taking off

Next stop Germany!

Canon 5D 70-200L f4

Lake District in March

Despite heavy rain in the west the water level in Derwentwater is low. Catbells in the background.

Skiddaw looks benign in the sunshine

buts it's chilly at the top!

Swirral Edge leads down from Helvellyn

and, if you walk around Red Tarn, you can climb back up to the summit using Striding Edge. A walk best reserved for a nice day.

Why?

Sunderland and Monkwearmouth

I wanted to get a shot of a Metro train crossing Thomas E. Harrison's Monkwearmouth bridge, and the coal train heading north was an unexpected bonus!

A detailed view of this elegant Victorian wrought iron structure, built circa 1879.

The much more recent steel fabrication, opened in 1929, that is the Monkwearmouth road bridge; with surprisingly light traffic.

It looks like a giant Meccano construction from close up!

This attractive artwork of stained glass advertises Sunderland and Jarrow's 2011 bid for world heritage status which was based upon the twin monasteries at those places and the work of Bede.

The Brandling Junction Railway ran from Gateshead to Monkwearmouth with a branch to South Shields. Before the Wear railway bridge was built this was the terminus. A fine piece architecture in the classical style completed in 1848 by another Thomas, in this case, Moore.

Some of these photos are available for sale at Alamy

Canon 5DII 24-105 f4 L

Hartlepool Headland - Windy and cold, but bright

I took this one some while ago. I guess that this old lighthouse is of a similar construction to the metal lighthouse at Sunderland, with a cast iron frame and wrought iron cladding. I don't know its year of construction, but it was relocated to its present site during WW1.

A beautifully presented row of Georgian houses.

This gentleman had found a sheltered spot in the sun.

The Municipal Buildings and former market hall dating from 1865, a listed building designed by C. J. Adams. According to the public information notices, it was based upon a Bavarian theme.

Lindisfarne

With sub zero temperatures but a clear blue sky, Holy Island looked near its best.

We had been listening to the debate about independence for Scotland while driving so it was appropriate that the cross of St Andrew should be in the sky! Judging by the ceramic plaques on either side of the doors, the building appears to have been an old lifeboat house, now used to store farm equipment.

The levels are well off in this shot, but I prefer the subdued low contrast look that seems to fit the scene.

The much photographed upturned boats that are used as sheds by the fishermen. Trying to avoid a cliche I went for an abstraction, but no doubt that's been done before too!

A study in blue, a freshly refurbished shed.

I saw this vehicle approaching while walking along an embankment, and, thinking that he would be coming my way, scrambled down to a lower level to grab a shot. However he turned off and I had to dash back up the slope and, without time to make any adjustments, take the photo. Sometimes you get lucky!

Well the classic view of the castle, could have done with a more dramatic sky, but you can only take what's there!

The lines of the old lime kilns point obligingly towards the castle.

Some of these photos are available for sale at Alamy

Canon 5DII 24-105L

New year's Eve Ceilidh - Lanchester

Lanchester Wildlife Group organised this sell out event.

The room was too big to fill with flashlight so, for overall shots, I was forced to up the ISO and shoot without flash. Two different approaches, both using ISO 6400 and with the white balance tweaked during the RAW conversion in DPP.

1) Freeze the action 1/100th at f4 24mm

2) Allow some subject blur 1/25th at f9 again 24mm

I think that I prefer this one.

3) Using diffused flash for a closer shot ISO 1600 1/125 f8

At the halfway stage Appalachian step dancers, Step This Way, performed with local lad Colin Tipping playing the fiddle.


Canon 5DII 24-105L