Northumberland Landscapes - Kielder Woodland I

[caption id="attachment_5691" align="aligncenter" width="950"] Woodland on the shoreline of Kielder Reservoir (I)[/caption]

 

Kielder

On the hunt for Northumberland landscapes again, we headed out to Kielder Water in the Northumberland National Park.

It's a huge landscape consisting of the Kielder reservoir and surrounding forest park.

We had little time here, as it was an hours drive to get there, so it was more of a scouting mission for a later visit but it went quite well anyway.

We started off with the cake and coffee, first this time, in the Tower Knowe Visitors Centre. I know, I know, it's usually last as a kind of reward but we like to mix it up (rock 'n' roll baby).

After food we headed down to the shoreline, time was passing quickly so we only had a short while to explore before heading back to the dam to try and get something there as well. The woodland along the shore is very photogenic and we soon came across the scene you see in the main image.

Sort of "Lord of the Rings" style.

Click.

 

More Info

Kielder also hosts the Northumberland International Dark Sky Park and was awarded Gold Tier Dark Sky Park status by the International Dark Skies Association (IDA) in December 2013 – the highest accolade the IDA can give. If astro photography is your thing you really can't miss this place.

Also, at the heart of the Dark Dky Park is the Kielder Observatory, astronomy facilities at there best.

 

The Shot

Still had to stand in the water for this one but the shot itself wasn't too technical. Shot with a Canon FD 28mm on a Sony A7r.

 

Links

Wikipedia - Kielder Water

Kielder Water website

Visit Northumberland - Kielder Water

 

Getting there ...

Northumberland Landscapes - Morpeth Viaduct

[caption id="attachment_4669" align="aligncenter" width="950"] Morpeth viaduct crossing the River Wansbeck in Northumberland[/caption]

 

The Viaduct

A recent spell without transport allowed us the chance to find Northumberland landscapes in the more local area of Morpeth.

Following the River Wansbeck right through Morpeth we found a crossing just before the mill on the Whorral Bank, crossed over and kept going.

To our delight, there was a huge viaduct hidden along the valley. I had heard of the viaduct but was unsure of its location and wasn't expecting to run into it today.

The sun was providing dappled light through the trees and the river was lazy so the refelections were looking particularly good beneath the viaduct.

Click.

One of the more hidden Northumberland landscapes.

The Shot

It was very calm that day and there was little wind to upset the surface of the water. The River was lazy and the clouds were not moving so a long exposure would have provided no obvious benefit.

 

Links

Wikipedia - Morpeth

Northumberland Cam - Morpeth Viaduct

 

Getting there ...

You can park in Morpeth and follow the river or there is a layby on the main road, under the NHS Health Centre as you leave Morpeth, just before you start to climb up the Whorral Bank.

Lake District Landscapes - Autumn Bridge

Landscapes

[caption id="attachment_1470" align="aligncenter" width="950"] Autumn crossing of Skelwith Bridge, Lake District[/caption]

The Story

A hiking trip, doubling as a landscapes photography trip to the Lake District brought us to the Skelwith Bridge area.

Parking in the National Trust carpark, we walked down through what I believe to be Bridge How Coppice (speak up if I'm wrong) and followed the River Brathay towards Skelwith Bridge.

About 300 yards from the main bridge and Chesters By The River we came across this amazing, contemporary, footbridge crossing the river. The camera had to come out!

It was Autumn and the trees were lovely colours so we spent a while here before heading down to Chesters for, guess what, yep, coffee and large pieces of cake.

 

The Shot

Used  a tripod here, low down, and hyperfocal focussing to keep everything nice and sharp. Had to wait for a clear period as there were a lot of tourists hiking past.

The Processing

The shot was processed in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Dfine, RAW Pre-sharperner, Nik Color Efex

 

Links

Check out our other landscapes post from Skelwith Bridge

Wikipedia information on Skelwith Bridge

Chesters By The River

 

Getting there ...

Northumberland Landscapes - Gibside

[caption id="attachment_1353" align="aligncenter" width="950"] Gibside Sun[/caption]

Gibside

Took a photography trip with a good friend and fellow photographer to the National Trust property of Gibside in Rowlands Gill, North East UK. Not technically Northumberland Landscapes but landscapes galore there were.

It was rather cold and had been raining but we persevered, glad we did.

It's a fantastic place with ACRES of grounds to explore. As we found out when a fellow visitor suggested we hike to the farthest corner for a fantastic tree, which we could not find. It did allow us to see most of the grounds though.

The journey back down the hill brought us to the iconic avenue of trees leading up to the chapel.

It started raining so we sheltered under a tree, then the sun poked it's head out through the clouds above the chapel, serendipity! Camera out, quick!

Landscapes then coffee and cake in the cafe.

 

Landscapes

If you like landscapes, check out our previous Northumberland Landscapes post in Alnmouth.

 

Links

Wikipedia Information on Gibside

 

Getting there ...

Northumberland Landscapes - Lone Northumbrian Tree - Part II

The Landscapes

A recent post detailed our trials, tribulations and results when faced with shooting Northumberland landscapes containing a lone tree.

The result yielded three images worthy of printing and, obviously, a triptych was bound to happen ...

[caption id="attachment_912" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] Lone Northumbrian Tree Triptych[/caption]

... imagine these beautiful landscapes, in a black frame, on a crisp white wall.

Links

Wikipedia information on Alnwick

Wikipedia information on Shilbottle

Alnwick Tourist Information

For more information check out Part I of the article

triptych, tree, trees, lone tree, northumberland, landscape, fine art