St Mary's Lighthouse, Whitley Bay

There was one location in Whitley Bay Rob had in mind for a photo opportunity: St Mary’s Lighthouse. It’s built on a small island just offshore (yes, if it wasn’t offshore it wouldn’t be an island) and is connected by a road which gets submerged at high tide (yes, that’s a causeway ... stop trying to be clever!) When Rob arrived the tide was on the way out and there was a gathering of people standing there waiting for the waters to subside, which they did after around 20 minutes or so. Amazingly, the rain stopped too so Rob had a bit of a scout around looking for a suitable composition then went and got the camera gear from the car. The conditions were nowhere near ideal but as this may well be the last photo opportunity of the trip, it had to be done. No photos were taken though.

Just as Rob was setting up and thinking it probably wasn’t going to be all that rewarding, a local man arrived and started to chat. He had his two dogs and his Nikon camera, just in case, and he agreed the lighting was somewhat boring. They chatted for quite a while about photography and the local area and about how he’s always up at 5am and loves taking his dogs and camera for walk in those early hours. At this point Rob wished he was a morning person!

Afterwards, Rob packed up and left and had driven about four miles back towards where he was staying when the light suddenly changed. It was 20 minutes to sunset so he quickly turned around and headed back to the lighthouse but by the time he got there the light had changed again. He grabbed the camera and tripod in any case just to see what he could get and by now it was a pleasant evening so why not? Once again it was almost dark when he left but hopefully he got a result ... it won’t be the best photo in the world, probably not even a keeper but once again it was great being there as the light faded. There is just something about photography that relaxes the mind and all your worries and concerns evaporate away as you concentrate on the moment. Rob was so pleased the day ended like this.

Tomorrow he goes to North Yorkshire to stay with his friends for a couple of nights and on Tuesday maybe a day out walking. He’ll have his phone with him of course but maybe not the camera, though he might, so there may yet be another instalment before this trip draws to a close.Read more