From the Peak District the road trip continued to the north east of England and the Northumberland coast. I had visited Northumberland before but then more along Hadrian’s Wall. What follows are my landscape and seascapes photography experiences on the first visit to the Northumberland coast.

Embleton Bay Dunstanburgh Castle

I was renting an attic studio apartment in a converted farm just up from Embleton Bay. Out of the Velux window I could see Dunstanburgh castle. After unpacking, the first evening on the Northumberland coast just headed down to the beautiful Embleton Bay just before evening golden hour began.

The ruins of Dunstanburgh castle in the background made a strong subject and focal point catching the light of the evening golden hour. Framed up the composition with sand ripples in the foreground and gentle breaking waves in the midground.

The remainder of the evening at Embleton Bay was spent exploring the sand dunes and framing up possible compositions. Could not believe that I had such a beautiful location almost to myself. Mid June though on the Northumberland coast and it was quite cool, almost wanted to put my gloves on. One visit here was not enough, I would make more repeat visits to Embleton Bay and Dunstanburgh castle over the coming week, but there were also many more locations to explore on the Northumberland coast.

Bamburgh Castle

No visit to the Northumberland coast would be complete without a visit to Bamburgh castle. I was using The Landscape Photographers guide to the Northumberland coast for a hitlist of locations to visit. I was working during the day so was heading outdoors after 5pm. This works well during the summer months as it not get dark until 11pm this far north on the Northumberland coast. Working during the day gives you something to do saving your energy for the evening light, golden hour, sunset and blue hour. It also pays for the road trip. The weather was a little blustery my second evening on the Northumberland coast as I approached Bamburgh castle from the north.

Framed up a nice composition of Bamburgh castle from the north facing south. At this point wanted to take a long exposure but discovered my only filter a 6 stop ND was broken, I had sat on it on my last trip to the south downs. Dont leave your Lee ND filters out of their protective tin cases. When on the Northumberland coast long exposure seascape photographing is the norm. I would have to reorder one and get delivered to a nearby Amazon locker. The above photo of Bamburgh castle would have been a lot better with motion blur in the water over the dark rocks in the foreground. Later a rainbow appeared over the castle but I was in the wrong place. Again hitting home of patience with landscape photography. But when you are in a new location discovering compositions its hard to stay still. The light makes all the difference in the above composition hitting Bamburgh castle front lit with the sun setting behind my back.

After a walk down the beach returned to what I thought was the best area for compositions that included Bamburgh castle and the rainbow was still putting in a faint appearance, without a polariser it was almost invisible but still there. The sunlight was snubbed out by low cloud behind me which brought the evenings photography expedition along the Northumberland coast to an end. The plan was to make repeat visits to Bamburgh castle hopefully with a replacement ND filter.

Rumble Churn Dustanburgh Castle

My first evening at Embleton Bay had just been a ramble. After studying The landscape photographers guide to Northumberland, the iconic location to shoot Dunstanburgh castle is from Rumble Churn. Rumble Churn is black boulders on the beach at the southern end of Embleton bay also known as the ‘death rocks’ as they are very slippery when wet. The black rocks add foreground interest leading up to Dunstanburgh castle. The rocks of Rumble Churn looks a lot better when wet, so high tide is important preferrable on its way out.

The first task of the evenings photography expedition was a drive into Alnwick to pick up my replacement ND filter from an Amazon locker. Only a 6 stop as no 10 stops were available, still using the Lee filter system along with my old Canon 5D mk4 DLSR. There is a ledge that you can stand on in front of the rocks, then a case of lining up a composition with vertical or portrait working best for me, emphasising the tower ruins of Dunstanburgh castle.

A 30 second exposure worked best as the sun was setting behind adding colour to the clouds in front and above the tower ruins. Took a lot of long exposure photos that evening on Rumble Churn capturing the receding waves and tide over the black rocks. Better to use a remote shutter release and press at the right moment rather than use a n second delay.

Tried a landscape orientation frame from Rumble Churn that had to include the ledge I was standing on, think it works but prefer the vertical frame.

On the walk back from Rumble Churn caught a nice sunset over Embleton Bay with the silhouette of a fisherman on the beach adding scale.

LindisFarne Northumberland Coast

The next evening on the Northumberland coast and the weather had taken a turn for the worse with overcast skies and rain. The plan was to scout out the holy island of LindisFarne maybe with the intention of returning under better conditions. Problem with visiting LindisFarne is high tide over the causeway. You can check safe times for visiting and leaving on the visit Northumberland website. On this day I would be OK till around 8pm before the tide came back in.

It was still a mad rush around the holy island of Lindisfarne trying to see the mains sites like the castle and the priory. The causeway itself with its tide platforms is photogenic. Each subject deserves circling to discover the best compositions which takes time. Managed to get a shot of the priory before having to leave. The deal is with visiting a new location you are completely at the mercy of the conditions during your brief time there, you would be lucky to come away with great photos, best to keep expectations low. I had a small window for some repeat visits.

Cheviot Hills

On my last day within Northumberland was going to take a boat trip from Seahouses to the wildlife sanctuaries of the Farne Islands. For the Farne Islands it would have been wildlife photography with the 400mm lens rather than landscape. As it was my last day it was a decision between the Farne Islands or the Cheviot Hills which are part of the Northumberland national park. The loner in me won and chose the Cheviot Hills, for the Farne Islands you would be sharing a boat with many other people.

On the road to the Cheviot Hills pulled over to capture some light hitting the landscape which looked impressive. By the time I arrived in the Cheviot Hills it was another wet overcast day. I was feeling exhausted now from being on this road trip for 2 weeks. I kept pulling over having a 10 minute power knap. These little power knaps can really refresh you if feeling tired. In fact I think when on a 2 week landscape photography expedition you should take a break, a day or two off here and there to recharge. Go in to town, have a massage, a nice meal, drink, go shopping, buy yourself something nice, watch a movie.

Embleton Bay Sunset

The last evening on the Northumberland coast and the weather turned quite pleasant. After a good meal and couple of pints of ale in the castle hotel in Embleton(highly recommended) I took a casual walk down to the bay to photograph sunset.

From the sandy beach of Embleton bay decided on a long exposure using my newly replaced 6 stop ND filter. The tide was gentle and there was some interesting clouds in the sky above Dunstanburgh castle which was catching the last light of golden hour. A nice way to spend my last evening on the Northumberland coast but was ready to return home.

Northumberland Summary

Enjoyed my first visit to the Northumberland coast. The original plan was to continue into Scotland, but felt exhausted and decided to return home. In hindsight I think to get the best out of a new location you should target just that location and maximise your time there. In that context Northumberland had come second to the Peak District. It could have been a different experience had I visited Northumberland first. I felt a week was too long there but not long enough in the Peak District. But this could be due to my tiredness what with working during the daytime. Anyway here is list of bullet points to take away from my Northumberland coast photography experience.

• Seascape photography usually benefits from long exposures so make sure you have ND filters with you.
• With an incoming tide and long exposure seascape photography do not let the water swirl around your tripod legs.
• Keep your filters in their protective cases when not in use, they are easy to break and very expensive to replace.
• Any equipment that is missing or needs replacing can be ordered online and delivered to a nearby Amazon locker for pickup often the next day.
• Get plenty of rest, take a day or two off from the pressure of photography.
• When on the road taking 10 minute power knaps can be really refreshing and a source of new energy and inspiration
• Rather than visiting multiple locations on a roadtrip it may be better to concentrate your efforts on just one maximising your time there.
• On wet overcast days you can still get outdoors scouting out locations. Or use these days to take a rest, veg at home do some post processing.
• Being based on the Northumberland coast you can get a mixture of seascape, landscape and wildlife photography by including visits into the national park and the Farne islands.
• If intending to photograph wildlife on the Farne islands be sure to bring a super telephoto lens.
• With the home from home experience I would avoid renting studio flats over a cottage. Not quite the same still better than a hotel.
• Keep your expectations real, its your first visit and don’t have the local knowledge and time to return when conditions are optimal. Enjoy the location and shoot what you can.
• To optimise your limited time and to get a hit list of photogenic locations be sure to bring the photographers guide to Northumberland the Fotovue Photographing Northumberland.
• Coming from the south east along the M1, you can pay your Dart Charge before you leave rather than a deadline of 24 hours afterwards.

Check out the Northumberland landscape photography gallery