Black Headed Gull in winter plumage

Black Headed Gull in winter plumage

Saturday 31st January 2015

The last day of January and I have made the first month with a picture a day. I can see it will get harder as I try and find something 'different' to photograph for the next 334 days! In Driffield it was nearly constant rain/sleet today, I had to take my Grandson to feed the ducks on the canal (his request), so the camera went with me. Being less than three, I had him on reins, bag of duck food in one hand and camera around my neck. I was trying to get him to throw the food in the air, so that the crowd of gulls would swarm in and I would get a great shot. In the end, he just dropped the food onto the floor and I just managed a quick shot of a passing black headed gull, before we retreated to the car for another rain/sleet shower. Taken with a fast shutter speed and shallow depth of field.

Wolds Lane

Wolds Lane

Friday 30th January 2015

A chance to get out on my bike in sunny weather, but with a bitter cold wind. Riding along Spellowgate out of Driffield towards West Lutton, I was riding directly into the northerly wind. It was mid afternoon and the low sun was beginning to cast shadows. I noticed this lane leading off to the left. I liked the way the hedge defined the track and the sun was just picking out some snow in the middle of the track near the tree. The tree was also dominant and the long shadows were cast right across the frame, coupled with the contrast from the contours and the ploughed field, led me to choose black and white over colour.

Cowlam Well Dale

Cowlam Well Dale

Thursday 29th January 2015

The weather forecasters got it wrong again! I kept seeing on TV last night big patches of white drifting across our area, so was expecting a good covering of snow this morning. Hardly anything. I decided I was in need of a good walk, so parking the car at Cottam I took in three dry valleys of Cottam Well Dale, Cowlam Well Dale (and I found the Cowlam Well) and Phillip's Slack which is Open Access, meaning you can walk anywhere within the boundaries coloured on the OS map. It was a great walk. I love the enclosed valleys and could not resist a photograph looking south east along Cowlam Well Dale, with a tiny dusting of snow. 

On the edge of the snow

 On the edge of the snow

Wednesday 28th January 2015

Today was the day when the snow was forecast. Looking at the weather map a big patch of white was over the Wolds about 2pm, it didn't materialize. I went out mid afternoon near Huggate, it was very sunny towards the south west. I felt the wind getting stronger, turning round I saw the snow storm almost upon me. I could see the tree swaying in the wind and I was about to get covered in the white stuff. Time to take the shot and retreat to the car. Ten minutes later, it was sunny again!

Marston Moor Monument

Battle of Marston Moor Monument

Tuesday 27th January 2015

A trip out to Fountains Abbey was planned, but a late start and running from sunny weather at Driffield to very overcast weather around York resulted in plan 'B' - there wasn't one! We headed around York bypass and onto the Wetherby road when I saw the signpost for Marston Moor. Having just read a fascinating book by Jack Binns - 'A place of Great Importance', Scarborough in the Civil Wars (I never realised that 'us Scarborough folk' were such 'turncoats'), I had to take the right turn.
Looking onto the monument and the battlefield in front of me, I was taken back to the scene on the 2nd July 1644 when Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarians defeated the Royalists. Four thousand Royalists and several hundred Parliamentarians lost their lives, the majority buried in mass graves in the fields beyond the monument. Taking a photograph now seemed an invasion of their privacy. I took it, but with feeling. The leaden sky and the peaceful outlook called for a black and white image.

Exmoor Pony

Exmoor pony

Monday 26th January 2015  Flamborough Head

Walked from Flamborough North Landing up the coast on what turned out to be quite a nice sunny afternoon. We had not gone far when we saw two Exmoor ponies just off the footpath busily munching on the long grass. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust look after this area, being the Flamborough Cliffs Nature Reserve. Exmoor ponies are hardy and are used to keep down the dominant grasses and allow the wildflowers to flourish.

String

Ball of string

Sunday 25th January 2015

Again confined to the house and looking around for odd things to photograph. I found a new ball of string which had been wound by machine into an intricate pattern. The criss-crossing of the string was too symmetrical for me, so turning again to Photoshop I developed an image that just about resembled string, with the darker shadows between rows giving it a kind of 3D effect in places.

Abstract

Abstract

Saturday 24th January 2015

I knew I would not be able to get out and grab another scenic today, so I chose to work on table top images. I needed an everyday object that I could turn into something, a bit abstract! I set up the photograph and then with the aid of Photoshop ( I use it all the time) tweaked it and changed the colour. What was it before - several clean cotton buds! I like it as a stand alone piece of surreal artwork.

Carnaby Folly

Carnaby Folly

Friday 23rd January 2015

Drawing back the curtains this morning, I saw a faint red sky, I guessed it would be a good sunrise. Grabbing my camera gear I set off towards Bridlington and saw the sky was fantastic, but I needed something in front of it. In desperation, I headed up onto Woldgate remembering Carnaby Folly. By the time I got there, walked half a mile over the fields (must get up earlier), the great sunrise was over. Luckily for me, there was a mist over the sea and the sun was finding it hard to penetrate the mist. I wanted the folly as a silhouette and it was still possible.
Carnaby Folly sits on the top of Woldgate an old Roman road linking York to Bridlington. The folly itself was built in the 18th century, by Sir George Strickland who owned nearby Boynton Hall. It is octagonal in shape (extension added later) and I understand was modelled on the tower of the four winds in Athens. -  I don't mind the wires!

Round Barrow, Garrowby

Round barrow - Garrowby Wold

Thursday 22nd January 2015

I get a sense of connection with 'the ancestors' whenever I see a 'Tumuli' or burial mound. This is ancient people making a statement about the choice of burial site and in this case at the very top of the Wolds, it commands a superb view all around. Situated on Garrowby Wold on the western edge of the Yorkshire Wolds and overlooking the Vale of York, it dates from the late neolithic to the late bronze age, so 2400 to 1500 bc. It was excavated in 1876 by the Driffield archaeologist J.R. Mortimer when it was found to contain four bodies and some pottery. The mound is 22 metres in diameter. It is one of many in the immediate area, all with good views!

Deer at Sledmere

Deer at Sledmere

Wednesday 21st January 2015

A friend and I went out early onto the Wolds in search of a sunrise - no chance, it was snowing heavily on the tops! Returning back with some nice snow shots, we noticed that the deer on Sledmere Estate were quite close to the fence and footpath. They studied us with curiosity (why wouldn't they) and almost posed for the camera, with a snowy backdrop. Nice one!

Abstract cheese grater

Abstract

Tuesday 20th January 2015

A complete change from scenic images. I am aware that my blog is fast becoming a travel log. whilst I enjoy visiting places and taking photographs, I also need to look at stretching my imagination a little bit. So it was into the studio (garage - and very cold) and with the subject backlit with flash fired at a reflector, it produced an interesting abstract image. Okay, you guessed - it's the humble cheese grater of course!

Burton Agnes Duck Pond

Burton Agnes Duck Pond

Monday 19th January 2015

A colder day than yesterday, took about half an hour to thaw out the car for a trip to Bridlington. About an inch of snow and severe icing in Driffield, but just a few miles towards the coast - nothing. On the outward journey saw that the pond was frozen in places, decided to take a photograph on the way back. I love this duck pond, there is always such a variety of ducks/geese etc. and lots of them. To the left and uphill is the famous Elizabethan, Burton Agnes Hall and the 12th century Manor House.

Frost on plants

Frost on plants

Sunday 18th January 2015

Last night was probably the coldest night of 2015 in Driffield so far. Woke up to a very frosty garden. I just had to get up and take some shots. This image summed up three seasons in one. The fallen leaves, the dead branch and the new shoots of bluebells. I like the contrast.

Poppy Lady, Helmsley

Poppy Lady

Saturday 17th January 2015

Is this the latest fashion wear in Helmsley? Seen standing guard over an allotment. Someone has made a real effort at dressing her, even has a string of pearls. Face looks familiar!

Skidby Windmill

Skidby Windmill

Friday 16th January 2015

The first time I have been up close to Skidby windmill. Situated between Beverley and the Humber Bridge, it was built in 1821 and owned by the Thompson family from 1854 to 1962, who sold out to Allied Mills. Beverley Rural District Council acquired the mill and in 1974 it was restored to full working order, using wind power. The outbuildings now house the museum of East Riding Life.

Cottam Well Dale, Wolds

Cottam Well Dale

Thursday 15th January 2015

The Yorkshire Wolds are formed from chalk. The deep fertile valleys were cut by glaciers, but instead of rivers flowing through them, they are dry due to the porous nature of the chalk. Boundary fences consisting of hedges and trees quite often occur running along the middle of the valleys. Cottam Well Dale is located east of Sledmere village. With a low afternoon sun, the shadows from the trees emphasize the structure of the valleys. I even managed to include a dog and owner taking a stroll!

Dog Hill, Driffield

Dog Hill

Wednesday 14th January 2015

Returning late afternoon to Driffield via Spellowgate, I could not resist a photograph of this clump of trees on a high point just north west of Driffield. I normally associate trees in a group like this as covering some ancient burial site. With that in mind I wanted a fairly low shot, straight into the sun (I love Contre Jour photography), exposing for the sky just above the trees, to give me the silhouette effect that would suggest 'they' were still there and living on through the trees! A freezing cold day, the ice crystals in the sky gave a slight halo to the sun at the outer edges of the photograph. Alas, when I got home and checked the OS map for the name of the burial mound, none listed, all I found was 'Dog Hill', not the association with the past I was looking for.

Driffield Canal, Wansford

Driffield Canal

Tuesday 13th January 2015  Wansford

Had to get out on my bike for some fresh air and exercise, stopped at Wansford a couple of miles south of Driffield. This is the Driffield Canal, some of the vegetation has recently been cut back and some of the weed removed. The pub on the left is The Trout Inn which serves good wholesome food. Beyond the bank on the right is the infant River Hull.

Lone Ash Tree

Lone Ash Tree

Monday 12th January 2015

When I first saw this tree and the open space, it just epitomized the Yorkshire Wolds for me. Many years ago, trees featured a lot in the landscape, but with the agricultural revolution came massive open fields. In more recent times, hedgerows were grubbed out, so in places there is very little in the way of shelter and so not much wildlife. To see a defiant ash tree standing alone on an exposed upland with no shelter from the battering winds is testament to survival and maybe a little sympathy from the farmer? Photographers will say it should be positioned on a third not half way. I disagree, the open field and the sky have to dominate to show open space, but the tree in the middle has to take centre stage.