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The post festive lull, when things go very quiet and I can afford myself a little time to think and plan ahead for the future. This time of year also gives me a little more time to shoot simply for my own pleasure and to do a bit more of those other things I enjoy, finding more time to spend with my family or just to get out on one of my bikes and get some fresh air and exercise.
Shooting purely for the pleasure of it has already figured in my activites so far this year with a visit to one of my favourite stretches of the Northumberland coast at Dunstanburgh Castle. That visit not only produced some rewarding images as the rising sun bathed the sky with glorious warm colours but it gave me a little time to think how I can expand the services I offer as a photographer.



Whilst wedding and portrait commissions remain the core of my professional activities with the more creative performing arts work as my niche I aim to draw further on my extensive experience with the camera. Before I turned freelance I was, for many years, a keen hobbyist with a particular interest in landscape images. Also being a parent has meant that my photographic skills have provided some great images of my two children growing up and having fun in the great outdoors, even something as simple as pond dipping at the local woods can provide timeless images to cherish forever. There is an art however to capturing such images and adding a little extra sparkle and it's something which can be done with almost any camera, one just needs to know the techniques and to dare to take control of the settings, moving away from the auto settings which merely try to capture an average image. It's with this in mind that I hope to offer tutorials ranging from basic camera handling through to taking control of manual settings to the finer points of composition and landscape technique.
Whilst you may need a few pieces of specialist equipment to capture images like these.....





It takes nothing more than an understanding of how a camera records the light to produce something like this......




And for an alternative family shot with a little added sparkle it takes nothing more than use of manual control and knowing where to point the camera



And for those who'd rather let the photographer take the effort the above landscape images are available as prints and canvases in a range of sizes, simply contact me for details.

.......was, as always, a pleasure. I was at Longhirst Hall near Morpeth, first time for me at that lovely venue, to capture the ceremony Denise and Keith shared with their family and close friends. For the photographer the ceremony is certainly the most demanding and intense part of any wedding commission but it's not the start, I'd already visited Longhirst to familiarise myself with the venue and gather a few ideas. It's certainly not the end either, I embarked on the next part of the task at 05:30 this morning as I downloaded my images onto the computer to begin the task of editing. They're now imported to Lightroom 3 for the bulk of the processing work as I check and adjust colour balance and exposure, applying a few subtle effects as I go. Most of my images are exported straight to a dedicated folder as finished JPEG's, a few will have a little extra retouching. Then the final selection is uploaded to a client page, password protected, so the Bride and Groom can view before sharing with family and friends as they wish. My next task is designing the album which is only ordered after the couple have approved my design and suggested any changes they may like.
When all that is done I select a few images, blog the wedding in more detail and add my favourites to my portfolio. In the meantime here's something taken during the quieter moments before the ceremony begins.

Setting up a small business is no easy task, especially in the current economic climate and often one finds oneself seeking some form of help. There are many organisations out there offering funded assistance or special deals for the start up but there are times when good old enterprising means calling in help from friends and family. One recent example was when I spotted a call for help from an old school friend. Hilary is in the process of setting up a small business making winter hats to order and was looking for volunteers to pose for images for her new website. I had the feeling the photography would have been a DIY job so I decided to offer my services. That's what friends are for.





So we set a day when we're both free, gather a small army of volunteers, and arrange to meet in Ridley Park at Blyth. Part of the fun of shooting outdoors is not knowing what the weather may be like and having to cope with the light we're given on the day. I was hoping for reasonable conditions, not too bright and preferably autumnal looking. What we had was rain followed by completely clear skies and overly bright sunshine. Taking shelter from the trees and a handful of umbrellas I set up a single flashgun in a softbox, adding an orange gel to warm the light whilst a cooler white balance compensated for this leaving natural skin tones against a cooler looking background. Then the fun began as hats in many sizes and styles were handed out to our enthusiastic models who were also supplied in many sizes and styles from the young and cute to the young at heart.








We varied locations throughout the park with everyone pitching in ideas and after about an hour and a half a few of us relocated to the beach in search of yet more location ideas. The afternoon seemed to fly by but we achieved quite a lot, not to mention the fun everyone seemed to have.







For more info on the hats please visit Hilary's website http://www.handmadewinterhats.co.uk/

Surface Area Dance Theatre are continuing to cement their reputation as an innovative dance company and, once again, I've had the opportunity to capture some fantastic images. I joined them for the dress rehearsal of their latest piece "The Hard Sell" which creative director Nicole Vivien Watson choreographed to respond to her thoughts about the woman's place in the modern world.





For the first time Nicole has brought spoken word into her work with a monologue delivered by principal dancer Molly Hodgkinson. From there the piece explores contrasting themes of power, manipulation and vulnerability as both Nicole and Beth Laughran build up their prominence in the performance. Humiliation creeps in as Molly manipulates Beth into posing for Nicole who snaps away with a Polaroid camera.






The entire performance, set to digital music, is recorded by digital artist Ewelina Aleksandrowicz and streamed live through a projector onto the rear wall. Molly's monologue is replayed over the loudspeakers whilst Beth brings the piece to its climax.




Working with Surface area always gives me the challenge of shooting in minimal light yet I seem to feed on their own creativity to produce some of my most visually stunning work



This blog links to another blog on my Live Journal page where photography, cycling and a few other things feature in a few tales of everyday life and, when I find the time, the odd short story.

I never see much point in shouting out about the ordinary jobs I get and the jobs which are worth shouting about don't come all that often. One of those jobs did come along though but that will be saved for it's own post when I can add some images, all I'll say is that I spent yesterday afternoon with Surface Area Dance Theatre during the rehearsals for "The Hard Sell". I always enjoy working with SADT partly because it allows me to feed off their own creativity and produce some visually stunning images.
Recent shoots have included some family portraits and a portfolio shoot with a model, images from which will also be added to the site in due course. Another recent opportunity saw me spending a couple of hours shooting some ice hockey, no big league stuff, just a local recreational team my brother-in-law plays for, but there's no shortage of action to keep me on my toes and hone my sharp shooting skills, I suppose it's a bit like an athlete training for competition.
Next on the horizon is a family fun day at West Hartford Fire Station in Cramlington. There'll be loads of activities and challenges taking place throughout the afternoon of Staurday 3rd September and I'll be wandering around with my camera taking shots of the action. Visitors will be able to purchase prints on the day with a donation from sales being split between the Princess Ellie Trust raising money for research into meningitis and the Firefighters Charity. I also have some more portfolio work to arrange but thiat depends on the availability of myself, the other participants and of course the good old British weather. having said that on my last shoot I triumphed against frequent passing spells of rain.
There's plenty of "behind the scenes" work to keep me busy with album design and client consultations which are all part of the service I offer in my wedding coverage ans I'm also continuing to take enqiries for 2012 weddings but still have plenty availability from this November onwards. I'm also planning a refresh of this site with a slight change to the layout and I'll be moving my landscape images to another site so i can concentrate on the core of my business, weddings, events and portraits.

So that's it for now, watch this space for an update on my work with surface Area Dance Theatre and a report on the Fire Station Open Day

A gorgeous June day saw me photographing the wedding of Laura & Dan at North Shields registry office. Part of my brief was to capture some images of the bridal preparation however circumstances on the day dictated otherwise and I had to contend myself with some nice shots of Laura and her dad Ian just before they set off for the ceremony.



On arriving at North Shields Registry Office I prepared myself for the imminent arrival of the wedding car then I was off up to the first floor in readiness for the start of the ceremony, capturing a few images of the pensive groom as we waited. Laura was just late enough to be fashionable and entered the room happy and smiling. The emotions kicked in and, as she took her seat, the tears started. Everyone, bride included, saw the funny side of those tears washing out her false eyelashes.



Allowing Laura time to recompose herself the registrar began the ceremony and as vows and rings were exchanged I discretely captured those important moments from my position tucked into a handy corner. Following the signing of the register I moved forward to set up some poses around the table, diligently arranging the floral display to fit in my composition.





Repositioning myself near the exit I then captured the newlyweds as they made their way out, stopping to pose for a few more shots on the imposing staircase. North Shields Registry Office has a private terrace which can be used for group photo's overlooking the river Tyne, however some damage to the gutters above meant a temporary closure. Fortunately there is a reasonably attractive paved area at the front of the building which provided enough space to capture the group photo's.



Afterwards there was a short journey down to the Fish Quay where the reception was held at Cassia Sambucca. At one time the thriving hub of the local fishing industry North Sheilds of today pales in comparison to it's heyday. There is still a reasonable trade in fresh fish but the fishing vessels are fewer than they once were, however a sailing boat moored buy the quayside provided a great backdrop for a few more formal images.





After working in the limited space to capture further shots during the reception with the all important speeches it was time for me to bid Laura & Dan a farewell, wish them a happy future together and thank them for allowing me to be part of their special day.

Long title but it's taken me even longer to get round to blogging this. Last year saw my first foray into performing arts photography as a guest of Surface Area Dance Theatre when they performed "Saros" in the disused Pilgrim Street Fire Station. This lead to further work not only with Surface area but with some other local companies. Roughly a year after that first encounter and I find myself back working with Surface Area documenting their latest piece "Reparation". Actually this was the fourth time we'd worked together with previous pieces "Buried" and "Dust" being documented by myself.
Surface Area are noted for staging their performances in some of the unlikeliest but most striking locations and Reparation was to be no exception as it was planned to take place in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne's Norman Keep.
With just a week to go I'd been busy with a few other commissions and was looking forward to covering a gig on the Saturday evening however a last minute cancellation meant I was at a loose end. I could have taken the evening off and stayed home with a DVD but I was keyed up for a shoot. Spotting another dance event being staged as part of "The Late Shows" I took the opportunity to get down to The Stephenson Works with my camera. As I hadn't been commissioned in any way and was merely using the event as an opportunity to network and to add a bit of variety to my portfolio meant that I had the opportunity to experiment a little. The Stephenson Works was opened in 1823 by George and Robert Stephenson and was the worlds first purpose built locomotive works. The space inside is quite vast and worked well as an open informal dance space where Nicole Vivien Watson, Molly Hodgkinson, Tim Bennett and Beth Loughran could perform their partially improvised piece. Not everything worked but I was able to think about how I could improve on an idea of using long exposures to create ghosting effects.


There were of course plenty of images captured using my tried and tested techniques.





The following Friday I was back to doing what I get paid to do, provide high quality images in often challenging situations. Nicole had asked me to attend the rehearsals and preview performance for reparation which was to be performed by molly and set to live music by Mico and Dave Nuss of New York's No Neck Blues Band using such instruments as a Hurdy Gurdy and Singing Bowl. The Castle Keep was built between 1168 & 1178 and is a stunning location. The challenge for me was not only working live in such a confined space with no time for any re-takes but doing so alongside a videographer.



Fortunately I was able to capture everything I needed during rehearsals to give a real sense of the piece. especially so as the acoustics, whilst enhancing the minimalist music, meant that every single noise my camera made would be amplified, I'd already made my mind up that I wouldn't be shooting during the preview but I was able to enjoy the performance form an audience members perspective for once.






Not only was I documenting the event for Surface Area but The Wire magazine were doing a review of the performance and needed an image. This one made the national press.

St. Nicholas church is set within Cramlington Village which is tucked neatly between the modern shopping centre and the surrounding housing estates. With no through traffic this provides a lovely peaceful location for a wedding. I'd been booked by Dee and Steve to provide relaxed natural coverage of their ceremony followed by a reception at Northern Rugby Club in Gosforth. My day started just after 2 pm ready for the first guest to arrive followed by Steve and his best man. When the gold Rolls Royce arrived with the bridesmaids I knew I'd have a little time to capture some images of them dressed in beautiful pale blue before the car returned with Dee ready for her big day.



A wedding is a very important day in someone's life and photographic coverage needs to be unobtrusive and sympathetic to the intimacy of the ceremony. I'm pleased to say that I was noticed for being, well, hardly noticed throughout yet I managed to capture some beautiful images which portray the story of the day. Once outside it was time for me to stake my ground, gently though so as not to be too domineering, and capture some group shots.






An old London bus had been hired to take the wedding party to the reception and it was my intention to capture at least one image of the bus en-route. This I did on Fisher lane near Seaton Burn Roundabout giving me enough time to get back in my car and head the buss off before it reached it's destination.



Once at the reception I busied myself capturing the guests arriving, the bride and groom mingling and the children making the most of the open space of the rugby pitch before a few more outdoor formals are taken. Then it's on to the speeches which never fail to provide some great expressions of surprise and mild embarrassment .



I concluded my stint with the first dance to live music by provided by enduring Tyneside R&B group The Junco Partners and a great rendition of the Chuck Berry song "You Never Can Tell". With five memory cards from two camera's to edit I bid Dee and Steve a farewell and thank them for asking me to play a key part of their big day.

Shooting outdoors you're never really sure what the weather has in store and, more importantly, what the light is going to be like. You can check the forecast and get a general idea of the conditions you'll be working with but we all know how changeable the British weather is. Especially on the North east Coast.
As it turned out on one of my latest shoots the conditions could not have been much better, there was some nicely diffused sunlight, interesting clouds out to sea and, over to the west, some heavy cloud developed toward the end of the evening. That heavy cloud added drama to my final images. As I was working with four of the older students from The Michaela Percival School Of Dancing a bit of drama gave my images so much more impact than I could have achieved working in a studio.
On arrival at Blyth beach though there seemed to be quite a bit of sea spray and haze hanging around and at first I thought I would be struggling with the light. Fortunately I carry a portable lighting setup by way of three flashguns, two brollies, a softbox and wireless triggering system. As I wanted to make the most of the surroundings though I opted for a single flash inside a softbox, combined with an orange gel to warm the light. I then compensated with a cooler white balance, this keeps the skin tones realistically warm and, at the same time, intensifies the blue tomes in the sky.
The first shots we took made use of some low wooden platforms, treating them as mini stages. I benefited from some great creative input from my willing participants as they used their dancing skills to strike some great poses.

With those first shots in the bag it was then on to the concrete outfall. I'd planned the shoot to coincide with the tide being in and, with a light wind coming from the east, we were treat to some great wave action. My main aim was to capture some jump shots but we also worked out a few other ideas, some from me and some from Corina, Megan, Reid and Sophie.
A suggestion was then made to do some cartwheels on the sand but all this barefoot barmyness was leading to cold toes so we warmed up with thick socks and reviewed the work we'd done.

At this point the sun was beginning to cast it's orange glow through gaps in the heavy cloud so we headed onto the grass for some more shots before another suggestion was made to use the beach huts as a setting. We then wrapped the evening up with a final shot using that dark cloud as a backdrop to a scary pose from Reid and Megan.


I'm not sure if my four accomplices quite knew what I had in store for them, more so how much input they'd have but we all had a great time and they have some great images as a result of their hard work and tolerance to the cold North Sea.

When my dad was a lad the North east of England was rich in coal mining activity. Those days are long gone but many legacies remain, slag heaps have been landscaped and turned into recreation areas and former waggonways have been used to create a vast network of footpaths and cycle routes. Just to the north of Newcastle is one of these old heaps, Weetslade, and a well surfaced track leads to the top. I'ts not too hard a climb on a decent bike and after enjoying the views stretching as far as the Cheviots there's an exhilarating descent back down to that network of cycle paths. I quite often use this area when I have an hour or so spare just to take the mountain bike out for a spin and blow out the cobwebs. Secretly I'd love to get on the road bike and head for those further hills to the North but never seem to have the time.
What's all this got to do with photography then?
Should I confuse you even more by bringing a drummer into the mix?
O.K then. A few weeks back I'd done some promo shots for Neal Wood, using a community centre as a makeshift studio. I did get a few good shots but struggled a bit with the lighting. With the room lights on I couldn't darken the background enough, without them I couldn't focus very well.

I was also wanting to do something a little different so we decided to scout out an outdoor location. Weetslade heap was Neal's suggestion, being local and easy to access and I was happy to go along with that though I did have a few more outlandish locations in mind but they had a few too many drawbacks.
We actually started the shoot at a slightly different location, one of the old waggonways which links to the hill heads eastward toward the coast and passes under the A189. The underpass, not surprisingly, has had a number of visits from local graffiti artists and I thought this would make an interesting backdrop. Neal did at one point proclaim that it was the weirdest place he'd ever set up a drumkit but with my SB900 in a softbox, a gold reflector next to me and my 35mm prime lens we set about capturing the first images of the evening.

With the last hour of sunlight upon us it was time to relocate to the hill and, with the help of Neal's friend, we began our ascent. With almost my full kit on my back and two heavy duty lightstands I also ended up carrying the drum stool. Now that brings us sweetly back to the cycling. Walking up thet hill was a bit of a hard slog but thankfully all that cycling keeps me pretty fit and I took things in my stride. With the sun dipping toward the horizon it was time to did a second flashgun out of the bag to throw a bit extra light onto Neal. I also switched lenses, first to my 24-70 f2.8 then to my Sigma 10-20 for some wider shots.

So, two different locations in one evening and one more happy customer. I'm now planning to do a shoot with some dancers, I wonder what kind of location I might pass next time I'm out on the bike.

Yes, a fake wedding, though in a genuine wedding venue. Wednesday 20th April saw the fruits of a couple of months labour in organising a bridal portfolio shoot. Our venue was the delightful High House Farm Brewery at Matfen in Northumberland with Dresses supplied by The Bridal Gallery in Cramlington.

During the last couple of weeks leading up to the shoot I was beginning to wonder if my efforts would actually bear fruit, I had the venue, some willing fellow photographers, a dress supplier and some flowers and a makeup artist but getting models was proving to be difficult. I had plenty of interest at first, at least from "brides" anyway but found that many had to drop out due to other commitments. With less than 24 hours to go I got a text from one of the other photographers saying he'd found two more brides with a third maybe.

Arriving at the venue at 9am on the day I was greeted by a very excited Sally Urwin, the marketing manager for the venue, telling me she'd found a groom, possibly two. So we faced the likelihood of one guy marrying five girls in one day, popular guy or what?
As it turned out Joe, the original groom, would be sharing Nicola, Liz and Rachael with Andrew, though Joe was the more natural of the two guys. Our models all put in a great amount of work and kept Amy the makeup artist busy.

The venue itself was a pleasure to work in with the possibility of capturing some lovely images amongst trees and flowers with the Northumberland countryside as a backdrop and the more quirky settings you'd find not only on a farm but one with a micro brewery on site.
So we have a venue, dress supplier, florists, models and makeup artist getting professional images for their own promotional use in exchange for their time but what's in it for the photographers? The simple answer is the opportunity to try out a few new ideas and new equipment without the pressures of a real wedding, in other words we had time to make the mistakes one needs to make in order to push ones skills further and the opportunity to swap ideas with each other.

Hopefully I'll organise another shoot later in the year but the wedding season is picking up and I have more important things to concentrate on.


If you're looking for a venue with a difference then i'd highly recommend High House Farm Brewery not only for it's quirky nature but for the warm and friendly hospitality.

Apparently not it would seem but that's the question someone posed to me recently. To be perfectly honest I don't think I have an official blog page, blogging is something I don't really know much about. You'd think that someone who is passionate about their photography and who has, from time to time, dabbled with creative writing would spend time telling the world about his latest exploits. I did try and look into a separate blog as some photographers do but couldn't get my head round all the jargon I kept seeing, how to set the page up and link it to my regular website. And websites are not really something I know a lot about, I'm not a web designer or software expert, I'm a photographer. Yes, I use computers but familiarity with the technology I need to work with photographs is about all I'm really concerned with.
I take pictures, I set my camera to record the specific subject in front of me, compose the image and press the shutter release then load to RAW files to my hard drive. From there the I use Adobe Lightroom 3 to check the image for white balance, exposure, sharpness then make necessary adjustments along with any B&W conversions. Some spot healing and cropping may also take place before TIFF's are created and opened up in Photoshop Elements where layers are sometimes used to enhance the images slightly before being saved as final JPEG's. From there selected images find their way onto the web where they can be viewed either by my customers in a private gallery or by any passing surfers in my public galleries, on Facebook or Flickr, and that's it.
Maybe one day I might get the hang of this blogging lark (still don't know if this is a real blog or not) but for now I need some balance in my life. I have a young family who one day will grow up and will only need me when they really do need me, right now I want as much dad time as I can create. I also need me time and sitting at a computer is work, I need to relax and play. I started today with an hour on the bike, or at least planned an hour but somehow added forty minutes and an extra loop to my ride but that's O.K., I was in no rush to get back. When I did get home I felt I'd burned some energy but kept myself fit in doing so, I also felt mentally recharged. Beneficial to my success as a photographer, you bet. Lugging all that kit around and being able to think fast are important attributes. much better than blogging or, due to the way I feel I've blah blah blahed than maybe it should be a blahg.
Still don't know if this is a blog or not, you tell me. Email info@michaelhallidayphotography.co.uk.

You can wake up now, I've finished.

I photographed my first wedding as a favour for a friend and very quickly realised I had a passion for capturing the emotion of a bride and grooms big day. From that moment I decided to pursue this wonderful area of photography further and worked alongside some established wedding photographers to gain valuabe experience. During each wedding I aim to capture key moments of the day in beautiful detail whilst working as unobtrusively as possible.

Why pay for a wedding photographer?
Why indeed, with the advent of digital photography more and more people then ever before have cameras and those cameras are getting pretty clever, almost to the point they’ll take the picture for you. It’s not surprising then that wedding couples will ask friends to take their photos rather than pay for a photographer.
But look at it this way, you pay good money for a cake that gets eaten, flowers which wilt and a posh car that you sit in for probably no more than half an hour. Why economise on the one thing which often becomes the only lasting memory of your big day. Sure you could still just get friends to take some snaps but won’t they prefer to enjoy the day themselves. So that’s why you’re better off hiring a photographer. The job of photographing a wedding isn’t all that easy either, you’re on the go from start to finish, making sure you capture all the key moments, the must have portraits and using your trained eyes and ears to spot those great candid shots before they happen. That’s why you need a photographer who can concentrate fully on the task and who knows how to get the best from the working environment.

But why does it cost so much?
There are lots of reasons. Firstly a wedding photographer often spends a lot more time on one commission than people realise. We spend time with our customers before the wedding to make sure both parties are happy working together. Often a wedding photographer will do some pre wedding shots to get an idea of how a particular couple will behave in front of the camera, after all we want to give the best results we can. And giving the best results involves using high-end equipment, which costs a lot of money, but even the best kit can break down so back up equipment needs to be ready to use. All this expensive equipment needs to be kept up to date and needs to be insured. Insurance is also needed for public liability and professional indemnity, not that a professional photographer is going to let a customer down but there’s always that minimal chance of circumstances beyond our control.
Back to the subject of time, there’s still work to be done after the big day, editing and processing images then building the album. Of course you want the best quality album or prints you can afford, I use a professional lab for my albums and printing and quality comes at a cost.
So that’s why it’s worth investing in a photographer for your big day.

What can you expect from Michael Halliday?
Before your wedding we will meet up to discuss your individual needs, I will also carry out a pre wedding shoot which helps to establish a great working rapport and will provide a set of beautiful lifestyle portraits to compliment the images from your big day. Leading up to the wedding I'm always available to discuss any aspect of the commission. When you place a booking your wedding becomes my sole priority for that day. I will arrive by the agreed time and I'm yours till the last shot is taken regardless of whether it is a simple civil ceremony and reception or the full day from the bridal preparations to the first dance.

How quickly are the images ready?
There are some photographers who will have the first proofs upoaded to a website by the following day. In my view that is way too soon, after a full day working the last thing I want to do is start looking through the shots, I'd rather approach this part of the commission feeling relaxed and refreshed. Each and every image needs to be viewd before the fist selection is made, then begins the process of any retouching and colour correction required. A small selection of images my be enhanced with subtle effects whilst others may be converted to black & white. Only when the full set is complete will I upload to a password protected web page where they can be viewed or, if you prefer, a DVD slideshow can be provided. I will never keep a client waiting longer than is neccessary but will never compromise quality by rushing a job.
Then it's up to the bride and groom to select which images they'd like in thier chosen style of album. Again I approach this stage with the utmost attention to detail and will not submit a design for printing until I'm happy with the layout.

As a photographer there aren't many subjects I wont try. in fact I'll point the camera at just about anything which falls within the boudaries of decent, moral and legal. This weekend I've enjoyed four of the subjects which attract me most.
One of the subjects I particularly enjoy is Performing Arts and I've had the pleasure of working again with Surface Area Dance Theatre. As part of Dance City's celebration of five years in thier new building SADT were performing Dust and they asked me to become involved as photographer. I was invitied into the studio space they are using in a redundant office building in the centre of Newcastle, no shooting unfortunately due to the size of the room as it may have caused a distraction to the invited audience. It did however allow me to get a feel for the piece and give me some ideas of what to capture.
Afterwards I headed back to my car which I'd left in Mannors multi story car park, one of the many buildings erected in the 1960s/70s as part of T Dan Smiths vision for a new city. To many these buildings form nothing more than a concrete jungle but there is a certain grace in the curved lines used on some of the structures. I decided to see if I could make something of the raised walkway but wanted to put my own stamp on it. I love the natural world and how, despite mans invasion on our planet, nature continues to stake it's claim. I also love the idea of things seemingly out of place. in the middle of this concrete jungle I found a fallen autumn leaf, that leaf was to become a key feature of my shot as I placed it right in the foreground. Taking a low perspective also helped to accentuate the prescence of the leaf, the only sign of the natural world in the concrete jungle.
On Saturday morning it was back to nature but with mankind making an unwelcoe presence. My car was booked into the garage for a service so, while I waited, I wandered off in the direction of Cobalt Business Park with my Lowepro bag faithfully slung on my back. There are a number of old railways and waggonways in the area and they have been integrated into a much valued green space and nature reserve. My personal mission was to go looking for fungi so I made my way into the undergrowth in search of these minature marvels of nature. Of course crazy photographers aren't the only humans attracted to these secluded dens, lager cans were strewn everywhare. I did find what I was looking for though and spent a good hour getting my macro lens down to ground level to capture the minature world beneeth my feet.
Later on Saturday I was back in Newcastle and back with Surface Area Dance Theatre to take some shots during thier dress rehersal at Dance City. Armed with my recollection of the previous days performance and a 50mm f1.8 on one camera with 70-200 f2.8 on the other I set about capturing some great images of Nicole and Molly. I was also welcomed to stay for the next rehersal by The Bare Toed Company with thier performance contrasting sharply with Dust. Unfortunately I was unable to stay for the evening performance but I would have only capture a few extra long shots. Most of what I needed I managed to get from stage level during the rehersal.
Finding myself in Newcastle with time on my hands and sunset not far off I'd have been daft not to take advantage of the situation and spend a little time doing some cityscape shots. The quayside area never fails to provide with it's fine collection of iconic bridges and the wonderful architecture which has resulted form the recent regeneration the area has undergone. On arriving at my chosen destination I could hardly believe my luck, the Tyne was so flat calm it was a perfect mirror. So that was me thoroughly occupied for the next couple of hours putting my own spin on the classic locations and searching out new ideas whilst making the most of those perfect reflections.
A busy start to the weekend has resulted in some great images covering at least four subjects. Could it get any better?

A dance event. Haven't done any dance photo's for a while and I get the feeling this will be something quite special. I've been invited to photograph the main event which is on a Saturday evening in a few weeks time as well as the technical rehearsals during the daytime. I've also been invited in to a studio space the dance company are using on the day before and they're also staging a performance in a well known newcastle location during the following week though I may be away then so will have to miss that one, regrettably.
I'm looking forward to this.

Well this website fianlly went live today with my own domain name, I just have to continue fine tuning things to get the site the way I want it.
I got out to do a sunrise this morning, something I don't seem to have done much of this year. It's not that I like to stay tucked up in my bed in the mornings, no way, I'm mad enough to get up during what most sane folk would term "the dead of night" in order to get to my chosen location in time for sunrise. I just don't seem to have made as much effort of late having had too many other priorities to handle.
Anyway, back to this morning, and what a crazy morning it was. I'd originally intended to head for Whitburn, there's an interesting bit of coastline there even though high tide today would have presented a few challenges. I also want to get a shot of Souter Lighthouse. so I set off at twenty to five and headed southwards but as I joined the A19 at Cramlington the sky was making me change my mind, a large patch of flat greyness seemed to be lingering over the South Tyneside area so I did an about turn and headed further North instead. Where to go was my next thought. With such a high tide there are a lot of places on the coast that would normally be ruled out. My first thought was Creswell as I've never done a sunrise there yet.
On arriving at Cresswell I looked down to the beach, or rather what little beach there was and certainly no decent rocks in view. Damn I thought, this won't do so I climbed back in the car and probed my mind for another location. The Howick/Craster area has a lot to offer but I doubted I'd get there in time for sunrise. My next thought was Newbiggin, anothet spot I'd never done a sunrise at.
I initially scouted around Church Point but found very little to inspire me. Relocating to Needles Eye at the other end of the bay I finally found some decent foreground rocks to perch upon and await the sunrise. But, and there's nearly always a but, a strip of cloud on the horizon meant that the sunrise wasn't going to be much to get excited about. I did come away with some decent images and managed to capture a sunburst through a gap in the clouds but it's fair to say i've had more fruitful mornings.