Emblestone

You have a real treat today because Rob has transferred a photo from his ‘real’ camera so you can see what he didn’t manage to achieve. The main picture of this footprint is actually taken towards the end of the day and in one of the other photos you can see exactly where he took it, though in the phone shot the sun was a little higher so there’s more light on the castle ruins. The main photo however was set up to be an almost seven minute exposure to get that soft look in the sky. Due to the way that’s taken it actually takes fourteen minutes to capture so this was very much a final opportunity because the light would be completely gone afterwards. So, after a fourteen minute wait the result looked great on the back of the camera but when Rob checked he found it wasn’t in focus: Damn and Fish Ladder! These things happen, though they shouldn’t of course, but you get the idea and as long as you don’t look too closely it’s kind of okay ... and it wasn’t the best of the light in any case. :-(

The day had started with Rob seriously oversleeping which was a bit of a surprise as he wasn’t all that tired at bedtime. During breakfast he confirmed the weather for the day (excellent) though that was pretty obvious given the sky was almost clear blue on the way in. It didn’t stay that way for long but there was plenty of sunshine and pleasant temperatures right through the day. If only it’d been like this in Scotland, it was really nice.

Having confirmed visiting details with Rob’s friends in North Yorkshire, where he’s staying for a couple of nights on the way home, he headed north back towards Bamburgh to look for photo opportunities along that area of the coast, with the aim to be in Embleton Bay around tea time to hopefully catch the evening light around Dunstanburgh Castle.

Most of his time today was mooching around on beaches so he hasn’t bored you with those photos. It was a relaxing time though with no pressure on where to be or what to do except knowing where he needed to be around 6pm and he’d already chosen exactly where he would be parking the car. And so it was.

It was still bright and sunny when he arrived at Embleton and though there were a few people around it was really quiet given it was a holiday weekend, though it was getting towards tea time so maybe they'd all simply gone home. Sunset was around 8.15pm so again Rob spent time looking for compositions as the tide receded. He’s not sure he got anything worth showing but somehow all of a sudden it was 7.30. He spent a little time chatting with a young couple from Newcastle which isn’t all that far away of course. The girlfriend was patiently waiting for her boyfriend to take his shot then the talk went photography, cameras and places they’d like to go. Looks like Iceland gets two more tourists at some point as that’s a location they’d already placed on their list.

In the end it was a late finish and almost completely dark when Rob got back to the car. A bright star guided Rob to a McDonald's for his evening meal though it didn’t turn out to be much of a religious experience and he even almost enjoyed it. The star was actually Mars, by the way, and there was an impressive full moon too.

Tomorrow is the last day of the trip with the forecast rainy, the same as pretty much everywhere it seems, so a quiet day in store perhaps? Rob will have the camera gear with him and is sure to capture something but who knows what that will be.

(In case you’re wondering, the evening shoot wasn’t a disaster because there are other photos which were okay.)Read more