Cemaes Bay in the Sunshine

Whilst we bury ourselves in the edit for the pics from the Worth Valley Gala this weekend, here's some from a few weeks ago, and a little walk on the beach at Cemaes, Anglesey, where the Spring sunshine was rather nice.

 

Embsay and Bolton Abbey Breakfast

A relative kindly bought us tickets for the Dales Diner breakfast train on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway; figuring we'd need a bit of a pick-up in Feb, we duly booked it and headed over one cold morning to the station.

Fancy.

The breakfast was really nice, a proper full English with black pud and everything- just right for a manky winters day.

37 on the crossing train service.

Even better, the loco in charge was an Austerity tank loco.

Running-round at Skipton. The dull sky made photography a bit of a challenge.

The railway is having a Hunslet-themed gala in the summer; as a fan of Hunslets in general and the Austerity tanks in particular, a return visit will probably be in order.

Attentive staff, lovely food, and a nice start to the day.

Even better, a shot published in Trackside (and the Picture of the Day on The Railway Centre.com).

 

Blue Sky, Sunshine, and Architecture in Liverpool

Amy was helping with a trip to Liverpool recently, with their 6th Formers, so took the opportunity to grab a few architectural snaps and abstracts around the impressive old buildings near Lime Street Station.

As a rule we don't do much photography in Jan and Feb, as the sky tends to be manky and overcast; it was nice to be able to make the most of the bright spring sunshine and clear blue sky.

 

Emerging from winter hibernation...

We've finished our customary winter hibernation. Although to be fair, we've kept working since Christmas (with two open calls successfully entered, and a number of articles published in mags) but the main thing has been the house move.

So, here are some pics from a few months ago when it snowed quite heavily up here in The North. As we type this, it's just been a weekend of high temperatures, blue sky, and bright sunshine, which can only mean another huge snowfall and catastrophic temperature drop are just around the corner...

Anyway, we'll be getting going again with the blogging, both here and the model-making blog (assuming anyone still looks at blogs in 2025?) Our instagram, @bucki_photography, updates rather more regularly.

 

Trains in the Snow; Worth Valley at Damems, one last time.

As well as the shots of the 101 DMU out in the snow on the Worth Valley, it was the first weekend of the "Elf Explorer" seasonal trains.

This would also be the last weekend of regular photography visits at this spot- we're moving, after 13 years, so no longer the massive train set at the bottom of the road...

37075, with the snow rapidly melting away...

...and the visiting Black 5 on the back. I just hoped the snow stayed around long enough to get it on the return.

And indeed, it just about was.  Feels a little melancholy after so many years, but at least it was a nice shot and unusual weather.

And home, to pack... It won't necessarily be the last time coming here to take pics, but it will have to be a properly planned excursion in the future rather than a casual, 'when I feel like it' shot.

 

Blue, White and Yellow

Well, the other week through up a surprise overnight snow storm, so I (Ben) thought I'd take the opportunity for some seasonal pics up on the Worth Valley before if melted away. Seemed appropriate to post them today, given it's both Christmas, and I've gotten a vintage Triang Met-Cam DMU set for Christmas.

As it happened, I needed some pics of the 101 DMU for an article I'm writing for Hornby, so it was a good opportunity to add to the archive, whilst getting some pics for the KWVR at the same time.

Whilst I loved the contrast of the unit in the monochromatic landscape, I thought I'd try some actual greyscale shots too.

A bit later in the morning. By this time, the snow was quickly being eroded away by the rain, and it was turning into a bit of a damp, miserable morning.

A last shot as most of the snow disappeared, a train in the landscape shot.

Snow on the Screen

Bit of a short post tonight- but I was quite taken with the snow on the windscreen of the car one morning in November.

A bit of creative lighting whilst the car was ticking over before work.

Close-up...

Streetlight...

Torch.