Architecture shots in Newcastle

A week after we'd been camping in Northumberland, it was back up to Newcastle (a significant birthday for Amy, and the first weekend without The Childs for a while).  Whilst the weekend was mainly about having fun, we decided to do a bit of architectural photography, more experimenting really with the iPod cameras.

Starting on the winking bridge... what a lovely day for it.

Close-up of the seat.

And the arch of the bridge.

Naturally we went to The Baltic, an old haunt from our Uni days in Carlisle, where Newcastle represented the nearest proper contemporary art galleries.

View from the top.

And the slightly terrifying stairwell- made even more terrifying by mirrors top and bottom (an art installation by Mark Wallinger).

Just a couple of detail shots of the windows in the lift shaft.

Shot of the viaduct from inside a lovely old building, now converted into an Italian restaurant.

Newcastle makes a good effort with the Tyne at night, it looked very impressive indeed.

Next morning, and after breakfast at The Baltic it was a walk along the southern bank of the Tyne...

...over the swing bridge...

...and up to the Stephenson double-deck bridge.

This has been wrapped in scaffolding whilst it was refurbished whenever we used to come here, so it was nice to be able to see it properly for once.

The classic 'Get Carter' angle on the bridge...

And so then it was a last walk around the city, and a rather nice mix of 60's brutalism and Victorian railway viaduct.

Impressed with how the iPod camera coped with the task in hand, though admittedly the weather was very nice.  All in all, another nice trip, and good and nostalgic to revisit Newcastle after nearly ten years.

The Angel

And so the finale from our trip to Northumberland, and a stop at the Angel of the North.

This is one of those amazing sculptures we've both studied in Art History lessons, and have seen loads in passing on the trains and by car, but this was the first chance to stop off at the statue.

Was impressed that it was, well, just a statue.  No souvineer shops, no cafes, none of that nonsense, just the statue.

It was surprisingly awe-inspiring being stood there at the base of the statue- and good weather for a shoot.

Tried a few experiments with monochrome and playing with the contrast too, just to make the Angel a little more sinister.

And so that was a nice end to our trip to Northumberland- a new location, lots of places to shoot pictures, all very enjoyable (and a nice holiday too!)

Not quite the end of pics from this area though- as we paid a return trip to Newcastle the following weekend... more pics to follow.

Northumberland- railway pics

So one big update of the transport photography from Northumberland (because it wouldn't be a Ribbon Art and Photography post without some railway pictures).  Above, the Royal Border Bridge in Berwick upon Tweed, Cross Country service going south.

And then on to the Aln Valley Railway, near Alnwick.

This is a new-build preserved railway- small but friendly.

Everything in this picture is new-build, having been a greenfield site until a few years ago.

And looking the other way towards where the railway will eventually strike-off to Alnmouth.

This diesel was supposed to be doing 'driver for a tenner' experiences, but unfortunately these weren't available in the summer hols, disappointingly.

From the balcony on the brakevan, am attempt at a 'real life' version of the Project Intercity miniatures work.

Typically low-angle shot in the yard.

And the train giving the passenger rides- industrial loco "Richboro", new-build van and a beautifully restored Mk1 coach.

End of the line.

One of the other evenings, went out for a walk with two of the childs, and one of the in-laws, down to Belford Level Crossing (partly for photography purposes, partly for 'Tiring Out The Childs Before Their Bedtime' purposes)

I don't usually get chance to do mainline railway shots with trains moving at this speed, but really the camera couldn't cope with it in failing light (we only had the older SLR with us).

A bit of railway photography was a bit of a by-chance sort of a business- travelling back from Berwick one afternoon, we got stuck in a huge slow-moving traffic que, with no idea what was at the front.  Trying to go cross-country to overtake the jam, we were a little worried to suddenly find ourself face-to-face with the cause of the que, which had turned off the main road at this point...

...a convoy of combine harvesters, though apparently combine harvesters as designed by Gerry Anderson and straight off the set of "Thunderbirds"...

Still, not a bad shot off the bridge whilst we were waiting.

And a last shot- trains passing on the Berwick bridge.