Afternoon Light on Whitby Harbour

Nothing complex about this frame, just a plain view across the harbour of a seaside town in Yorkshire. What makes it interesting is the detail—of water, of craft, of the background houses, and the low sun behind the POV. That’s a scaled down replica of Cook’s Endeavour, historically tied to Whitby, where the young James Cook worked in the mid-1700s. The focus was good, I held the shot straight (no rotational correction was needed), and managed to catch the essence of the place, as it felt, on that evening—7^th of November, 2010. Minor adjustments to colour, contrast and sharpness in Irfanview; Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

 

Holiday Snap

Fishing boats in Whitby Harbour, Yorkshire, England. Such a simple shot, but one so easy to mess up for so many reasons. Note, the vertical pole is parallel to the side of the frame—this is not adjusted, I managed to get the camera actually level for once! There are no passers-by wandering in front of the lens, there’s no ubiquitous garbage can, no bird dipping suddenly into the shot, no sun glaring off a window somewhere. It all came together, probably by accident, but I remember taking my time, being patient, and waiting for the elements to gel. It’s a bit deceptive too, the river is so calm, generating those nice ripply reflections, and the blue sky looks warm, but this was the November of 2007 (during my second UK trip, when I did some field research at a cemetery in Leicester toward my PhD) and the Christmas decorations were already up. Out beyond the breakwaters there was surf running—I got pictures from the west cliff of white waves coming in, the same afternoon. Nearly twenty years ago—but like yesterday in my memories. Minor adjustments to colour, contrast and sharpness in Irfanview; Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

Photograph of the Photographer

Sometimes life presents you with an irony, like shooting yourself in a mirror. Here, the photographer becomes the study. This was the 15^th of November, 2011, in the British sea town of Whitby, and I had gone exploring on the rocky shore below the cliffs eastward. Among my studies of the grey weather, of sunrays through cloud and reflections on wet mud flats, I found such a study on offer, when I noticed this photographer who had taken his equipment out across the rocky platform at low water to shoot back west toward the breakwaters and lighthouses. His pictures were probably pretty spectacular, while mine was simply opportunistic, and smile-worthy. It’s not often one photographer captures another in pursuit of his craft! Minor adjustments to colour and contrast in Irfanview; Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike. Mm

Dark Land, Dark Sky

 

There’s no way to really describe some places, you have to be there and experience them. This is Whitby, in Yorkshire, one of my favourite spots, photographed in November, 2011. I was on the east cliff, up by the church and old abbey, and the weather was doing some interesting things—great banks of cloud coming over from the west, so the late afternoon sunlight shafted through, making ‘Godrays’ as they call them. But the way the chip handled the conditions created this set of images, almost gone away to black and white, and the relationship between the sharp, in-focus areas and the general murk is amazing. No wonder Stoker set Dracula in this beautiful, creepy, Gothic place! The view across the River Esk toward the moors is amazing on the clearest days; in weather like this it’s downright haunted. One might say this is a flawed picture because of the contrast and lack of definition, but it’s an honest reproduction of what was there on the day, and it stirs the soul to look into such a moment. Minor adjustments to colour, contrast and gamma values; Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

The Dark Capture Lottery

 

To an old chip, low light could be the kiss of death. But, in a way, the new super-fast light-gathering digital cameras have taken some of the trickery out of it, because it used to be very creative—trying to accommodate a long shutter speed in low light without blurring the shot. Now you can point and shoot at thousands of ISO (ASA as film speed was rated in the old days), without incurring unacceptable digital grain, but a decade and a half ago it was not so easy. This is the Georgian Crescent in Whitby (the hotel where Bram Stoker wrote Dracula may actually be in this picture!), the night before I set out for home at the end of my November, 2011 trip. I took a wander around the town with my camera to see what I could catch. Light on the river, street lights, street scenes—but all hampered by the light gathering ability of the reliable (old) camera. I’m unsure exactly how I got this one to come out sharp—I may have balanced it against a street lamp or other vertical post. If it was hand-held then it was simply luck that I didn’t move while the shutter was open. But by this point in my travels it was second nature to support the camera against something solid to prevent movement when shooting in the gloom. Minor adjustments were made in Irfanview. Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

Small Harbour

Tour boats at moor, Endeavour Wharf, Whitby, England, November 17^th, 2006. The weather was overcast, as you’d expect so late in the year—note the Christmas decorations are up on the lamp posts. Conditions were not the sort that give you bright, sharp pictures, but I shot what presented itself and there was usually something of interest, if not of earth-shaking photographic merit. This was my first UK trip, to attend a conference at the University of Sunderland, and my first time on British soil in 36 years. I stayed three weeks or so and had a wonderful time, taking 1481 frames in the process. This is not a lot by some standards, I know! Contrast, brightness and colour were adjusted in Irfanview. Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

Gulls on Painted Water

I love shooting reflections, and sometimes, when you close in on a reflective surface to exclude the ‘real world’ source material of the reflection, the result can become abstract art. Here are seagulls on the placid waters of Whitby harbour, Yorkshire, England, photographed on Sunday, November 7^th, 2010. I had taken a long stroll around town in the afternoon, visited the abbey on the headland, and would soon be shooting the lights after dark, but here the ambient conditions were suspended near the end of day, and the waters picked up this artsy look—almost like an illustration coloured in. Minor-adjustments to contrast and colour only. Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

Blue and Gold—A Whitby Twilight

 

This is a longer view toward the Gothic church in Skinner Street, Whitby (I posted a close up almost exactly a year ago, “Cold Stone, Warm Light,” on July 20^th, 2023) which I captured around November 6^th, 2010, during an afternoon and early evening stroll through the quaint seaside town on the Yorkshire coast. The sun never rises very high at that time of year, so time of day is often difficult to pick from a photograph. This was probably not much after 4 in the afternoon, but the streets are filled with shadow, very blue against the golden light catching the upper parts of the church. It’s a magical place and a magical time of year, just after Guy Fawkes’ Night, when autumn slides quickly into winter. I remember having a drink at The Granby Freehouse, at right of the picture, still a very traditional pub at that time—I’m not sure if it has succumbed to development and updating in the 14 hears since. I set a scene in my first vampire story right there in that street (appearing soon in an anthology with Hiraeth Books!) Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

Echoes of Long Ago

The ruins of Whitby Abbey are among my earliest memories. I would have first visited in the mid-1960s, and remembered them well when we came to Australia in 1971. I have had the chance to visit again on a couple of my UK trips—now, alas, also many years ago. I took this shot on Saturday November 6^th, 2010, the day after arriving in Whitby from London. This was designated a rest day, so I was not catching a train anywhere else, just wandering around that quaint town by the North Sea. I visited the abbey and did a lengthy photo shoot in the afternoon light. I captured many studies of the stonework, long eroded by the salt wind—the abbey stands on the east headland—and one can lament the destruction of these great Medieval buildings. How amazing it would be to see this place in perfect condition, a relic of most ancient times. This pic was taken in good light, and required only the most minor adjustment—contrast and colour. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

When Everything Holds Still...More or Less

 

Shooting after dark is a hit and miss affair with a camera that was never rated for it. These days digital ISO settings are into orbit and you can dial up undreamed-of sensitivites to capture scenes in effective darkness. But older and cheaper cameras are not so fancy, and when I visited England in 2010 I had never heard of such “virtual film speeds” as are now commonplace. I took a stroll around the Yorkshire seaside town of Whitby on the evening of Sunday, November 7^th, 2010, and got some interesting results. The Whitby lifeboat towed in a boat that had apparently broken down at sea. The swing bridge was opened to allow the craft to pass up-river to the trawler berths, and I was there to record the interesting effects of town lights upon the waters of the harbour. The evening was luminous, a while after sunset, and though most of the pictures were blurred, here and there a few magically crystallised out. Here is a view of the bridge opening, and the lighting seemed to gel perfectly—this shot is not enhanced in any way. I'll post others from that evening at a later date. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Cold Stone, Warm Light

England is a land whose history presses close, and reminders of past eras are everywhere. This traditional stained glass window is part of the frontage of the Gothic church on Skinner Street, in Whitby, North Yorks, which I photographed late one evening around the 5^th — 7^th of November, 2010. The warm light makes the stonework glow, this west-facing wall catching the last rays of the afternoon sun, and I remember walking those streets, camera in hand, before going down to the harbour to capture the town lights after dark. This was the last time I was in Whitby, and I can hardly credit that almost thirteen years have gone by! The high-telephoto image has not been processed or enhanced in any way. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Jurassic Coast

These are the fossil-bearing cliffs of Whitby, Yorkshire, UK, photographed in November, 2006. The whole area is rapidly eroding and dedicated fossil hunters work the shoreline constantly. The shot was taken from the base of the east breakwater, and shows how unstable the strata is. The composition was a simple framing and the low light conditions were registered very well by the chip. Sharpened and balanced. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Sun Quadrant

Click image to view at 1000 pixels wide

Shooting into the sun quadrant is always an adventure, as the characteristics of your lens will interact with the lighting angle and any other local conditions to create flash and glare, often intrusive factors but sometimes aesthetically pleasing on their own merits. The prismatic artifacts in the dark area are particularly interesting. This shot was taken at the base of the east breakwater in Whitby, North Yorkshire, UK, in November, 2006, looking toward the west side of the harbour, something of a reflex shot to catch the passers-by in the midst of the glare, and basically see what happened. Sharpened only. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Street Scene in Shadow

Click image to view at 1000 pixels wide

This frame was taken in the morning at the top of the eighteenth-century Henrietta St, Whitby, in November, 2007. The shadow of the east cliff is cast over the mouth of the River Esk and flattens the contrast, and this frame, looking back down the steep street, catches the compression of perspective with a medium telephoto factor. The verticals of the buildings become the theme, and the horizontal of the road surface the element giving meaning to the verticals. The absence of pedestrians creates an almost staged air, and a quite artistic feel. Sharpened and contrast- and colour-balanced. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic, telephoto. Image by Mike.

Bridge on the Esk

Click image to view at 1000 pixels wide

This is an intensively reworked shot. The original was taken, with plenty of telephoto dialed up, in November, 2006, through a train window (note the marks), looking under the road bridge just inland of Whitby, alongside the River Esk in North Yorkshire. This perspective, framing the historic buildings on the East Cliff, is hard to obtain from anywhere else but the moving train. The image was squared up using fine rotation, then extraneous top and bottom areas were cropped. The softening effect of the window (due to shooting obliquely through it, rather than square-on) was ameliorated by sharpening around 15%, then the contrast and colour were adjusted. The final result is not up to the standard of shooting without that dirty window in front of the lens, but the unusual composition goes a long way to forgiving the shortcomings. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

The Cold North Sea

Click image to view at 1000 pixels wide

Clear weather brings an almost warm feel to this image, when the fact is it was chill on this day in November, 2007, and the wind was almost too strong to stand against, thus the huge waves pounding onto the Yorkshire coast. I took this shot from the base of the west breakwater at the mouth of the River Esk, in Whitby, looking northwest along the coast toward Sandsend, and used high telephoto to frame the sea against the headland. The foreground and a little sky were cropped to focus attention on the thematic areas of the frame, and colour, sharpness and contrast were adjusted. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Caedmon's Cross

This beautiful Celtic cross with deeply-incised graphical detail on all faces of the shaft, stands in graveyard of St Mary's Church, on the East Cliff of Whitby, Yorkshire, UK. It commemorates Caedmon, the great bard of the Dark Ages, remembered for the beauty of the spoken word as an artform. A trail up the cliffs to the site of the old abbey on the east side of the River Esk is known as "Caedmon's Trod," a 'trod' being a local term for a path (e.g., the 'Sailor's Trod' ran across the moors between port towns on the coast). This simple portrait-format shot was taken in November, 2007, on a cold and breezy afternoon, looking north-west along the Yorkshire coast, and the view awakens thoughts of this place before modern development, when such stone carving was the epitome of its artform. Sharpened, colour-enhanced and contrast-adjusted. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Three-Master On Show

Only one original Georgian warship remains in the world, HMS Victory, safely drydocked at Portsmouth Naval Dockyard, but period vessels have been built for contemporary reasons. This is The Grand Turk, built for the 1990s TV series based on C. S. Forester's immortal Captain Hornblower novels, a fully-featured and entirely functional sailing vessel in the style of the Napoleonic period. The ship is kept in good condition and is a standing exhibit and tourist attraction moored at Whitby, Yorkshire, UK. Mock swordfights enhance the period flavour, and the vessel is open to the public all year round. I took this photograph in November 2007, one of a long series in many different lighting and weather conditions over two visits, but this is one of very few in which I was able to appreciably frame the whole ship. Like Victory, she is both large and in close proximity to buildings and other structures, so an unobscured vantage is difficult to find, except from the other side of the river. The framing was simple enough and the chip handled everything else, the challenge was composition. Sharpness and colour were enhanced for publication. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

The Captain Cook Memorial

As a citizen of Australia for many years it was something of a pilgrimage to visit the statue commemorating Captain James Cook, who charted the east coast of Australia in the 1770s in preparation for British settlement here. Though not born in Whitby, he spent his early years there and the shop where he worked still exists. I took this photograph in November 2006, a simple frame and shoot, though the alignment is deceptive: it stands close to the edge of the West Cliff and the ground slopes under the footing of the monument, so one's middle ear tries to follow the ground line which would skew the vertical. I managed to get it close enough that the eye is happy with the orientation. I could have corrected it with the custom rotation tool but I have noticed a subtle softening in some images that resharpening will not completely correct, so I avoid it if not absolutely necessary. Colour and sharpness were enhanced slightly. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

High and Dry for the Winter

Click image to view at 1000 pixels wide

These yachts have been taken out of the water to over-winter, among many others at the marina just inland of the Harbour office near the railway station in Whitby, UK. I took this shot as evening was gathering in late November, 2006, and the low sun striking under clouds made long shadows and warm colours. The composition was aesthetically pleasing, though boats are both elegantly streamlined and oddly-shaped to fit the frame. Does one concentrate on the hulls and ignore the masts, or fit the whole thing into the frame against some appropriate background? The sunlight on the buildings on the far side of the river made just such a background and the two yachts balanced each other in the frame. The usual round of minor enhancements were made for publication. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.