The path

Souter Lighthouse

It’s a long and winding path that leads towards the light, dotted along the way with memorial benches commemorating those souls from South Shields who had a particular love of this beautiful coastline.

I was about 600 yards from Souter Lighthouse at Marsden, South Shields when I took this shot, on the embankment next to Whitburn Point nature reserve.

Some extreme black and white treatment has been used on this in Photoshop dodging and burning the sky (which at 2:00 pm was not all that dramatic!)

Camera details;Pentax K100D, 135mm lens, 1/750 second, f8.0, iso 400

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Running repairs

Lighthouse and pier repairs

A few running repairs to the lighthouse and the south pier as South Shields gets ready for it’s invasion of summer visitors. And if anyone fancied a quick run along to the end to find out what is happening, then let me remind you that the distance from the pier head to the lighthouse is exactly one mile!

Camera details; Pentax K100D, 450mm lens, /1000 second, f8.0, iso 200

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Craggy views No. 4

The south pier and lighthouse

This picture is the final in this mini series of views from the top of Marsden Craggs and the old quarry in South Shields, to remind you, I was positioned next to Marsden Hall, check the Google map link to see where I took the pictures from.

This one was cropped from a larger image and I’ve posted this today to illustrate the compressing effect of the longer lens, in reality the lighthouse at the end of the south pier is almost two miles away from the houses that sit atop Blackberry Hills on the Coast Road in South Shields. Yet with this 450mm lens they appear just yards apart!

Camera details; Pentax K100D, 450mm lens, 1/1500 second, f5.6, iso 200

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Craggy views No. 2

The view 17 miles distant

Here is another view from Marsden Craggs, South Shields, this one looks up the coast. Moving from the bottom of the frame upwards we first see two horizontal structures, these are the two piers of South Shields and Tynemouth, just above them is Tynemouth Haven with it’s ruined castle and abbey. The white lighthouse in the middle distance is at St. Mary’s, or Bait Island, and on the extreme left we can see the gigantic wind farm of electricity generating windmills at Blyth/ Cambois.

I’ve labelled the huge chimney of the aluminium plant at Lynemouth in the distance and a quick measure on Google Earth tells me that the straight line distance from where I stood was 17 miles!

Camera details; Pentax K100D, 450mm lens, /500 second, f9.5, iso 200

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Quiet solitude

The Groyne Lighthouse, South Shields

Some people enjoying the peace and quiet at The Groyne Lighthouse, South Shields, fishing for codling or flounders in the harbour. Here the River Tyne exits to the North Sea beyond the two piers on the horizon.

This is a Photoshop composition, the original coloured layer had an orange gradient laid over it which was then masked. I painted on the mask with a soft black brush at 40% opacity to expose the rocks and the lighthouse then reduced the opacity of the layer to suit.

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