Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead Millennium Bridge and Baltic Gallery.

The last few weeks, I have found myself making the most of our outstanding north-east weather to continue work on my forthcoming 'Perfect Northumberland' and 'Spirit of Northumberland' books. However, last week I decided to take a break from the projects to revisit one of my favourite city locations to experiment with a couple of pieces of equipment to hopefully fuel the creative process of capturing a photograph.

The first has been used to capture black and white images of the outstanding Newcastle upon Tyne & Gateshead Quayside, not a particularly cutting edge technique except that I have been using a special filter to block all visible light and to allow only infrared (IR) light to reach the sensor. I have been using this filter on my trusty Canon Eos 5D which is not designed for infrared photography so it has a factory fitted filter to reduce the amount of IR light received by the sensor! However, over a 30 second exposure enough IR light is still registered by the sensor to deliver a RAW file which can be converted in Photoshop or Lightroom to produce a pseudo-infrared image such as the two shown here.


River Tyne, Millennium and Tyne Bridges and Sage building.

I have also been using this technique whilst experimenting with a Lensbaby Composer which I am currently testing for a forthcoming review for this website. The small filter size thread of the Lensbaby has meant that I have had to utilise a high-tech method to attach my 77mm size Kood filter to the lens. A huge thank you to the inventors of Blu-Tack once more!

To celebrate the launch of 'Portrait of Tyneside' last month, we have created a very special screensaver featuring 30 images from the book. The screensaver is totally free and features a number of locations from Newcastle upon Tyne, as well as North and South Tyneside.

So what are you waiting for PC users? Download it now by clicking on the button!

The last scheduled workshop dates for the year have just been finalised and are as follows:

Warkworth and the Northumberland Coast - 6th September 2009

Join photographer David Taylor on a one-day workshop on the Northumbrian coast in the villages of Warkworth and Amble.

Dunstanburgh Castle & Northumberland Coast - 20th September 2009

Join Jason Friend as he explores the spectacular Northumberland Heritage Coast between the small fishing Village of Craster and the picturesque Embleton Bay, including a visit to the grounds of Dunstanburgh Castle.

Allen Banks and Staward Gorge Estate - 17th October 2009

Join Jason Friend on an autumn workshop exploring the largest area of ancient woodland remaining in Northumberland.

Newcastle upon Tyne Quayside & Jesmond Dene - 18th October 2009

Join Jason Friend on a unique workshop exploring the natural delights of the Jesmond Dene in autumn and the impressive constructions of the Newcastle upon Tyne quayside.

Go exclusive - '1 on 1' Workshop bookings now available

We are also delighted to announce that it is now possible to book an exclusive place on one of our scheduled workshops (only available if the workshop has no prior bookings) for only £150, which is great value for guaranteed private tuition. Our popular and very flexible '1 on 1' workshops are also available throughout the year at a location of your choice. Click here for further information.

My latest book, Portrait of Tyneside, has now been released and can be ordered online from Amazon.

Tyneside is a region where the past, present and future combine to form an eclectic melting pot in the North East of England. Host to the City of Newcastle Upon Tyne and the spiritual home of ‘The Geordies’, the historic glories of its heavy industries mean that there is an undeniably strong industrial heritage to be found in the area.

Nevertheless, situated between the Northumberland and Durham Heritage Coasts, the coastline adjoining the North Sea and Tyneside is undoubtedly beautiful, and whilst there are some stretches of the coast that display the marvels of human endeavour to tame nature there are plenty of other stretches that embrace the power of the wild and maintain their natural appearance.

Unquestionably, the heart of Tyneside is the River Tyne, the main artery running from the coast dividing the regions of north and south Tyneside on a journey through Newcastle and beyond. Life on the Tyne has changed throughout the years. The Romans exploited the strategic values of the river by choosing to start the spectacular Hadrian’sWall alongside the Tyne, along with a number of forts that can still be found inTyneside.

Recently the face of theTyne has had a facelift in the form of an ongoing redevelopment plan that has seen a number of luxury apartments,modern architecture and world-class tourist attractions adorn the river. Inland Tyneside is host to a plethora of landscapes including picturesque villages, working agricultural land and sites of historical importance.

A visit toTyneside has something to offer everyone, whilst for the resident there is always plenty more to discover. Jason Friend captures all of this friendly variety in more than 140 full-colour images which encapsulate the history, heritage, character and scenery of the Geordie heartland.

To celebrate the launch of the book, I will be attending the Blackwells Bookshop, 141 Percy Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, for a book signing session on the 9th May between 11.30am - 1.30pm. If you would prefer a signed copy but are unable to attend the event, please contact me to order a copy directly.

Mist rising at dawn over the Caledonian Forest of the Rothiemurchus estate.

I have just returned from a rewarding trip to the Scottish Highlands, where I had the pleasure of photographing some of the most spectacular landscapes to be found in the UK, in some of the best weather conditions I have ever encountered within Scotland.

The shot above is just a taster of what I encountered, visit the latest images page to view many more!

Dramatic sky and Mount Oakleigh seen from New Pelion Hut on the Overland Track, Tasmania.

This image is just one of a sequence that I captured whilst hiking The Overland Track in Tasmania, Australia, in the spring of 2007. I am ashamed to admit that this image has remained as an unprocessed RAW file for nearly two years! Having a backlog of images to process is not an ideal situation although it does often mean that I am busy working on personal and commercial projects - which really can't be a bad thing.

I really thought that I had to show this image to the world.. finally! There is also an Overland Track Gallery over at www.jasonfriendimages.co.uk, should you like to see some more!

I am delighted to announce a selection of new locations for the forthcoming summer photography workshops.

The summer season kicks off with a photography workshop in Newcastle upon Tyne and continues with a selection of dates throughout the county of Northumberland.

Fellow professional photographer David Taylor will be leading the majority of the summer workshops, whilst I prepare for fatherhood at the start of July! The only workshop that I will be leading during the summer is based at one of our most popular locations, Hadrian's Wall.

In addition to the scheduled dates, our popular '1 on 1' private tuition photography workshops are still available.

The prestigious Port of Tyne Reflect Awards is here again giving all photographers this year the opportunity to exhibit their work in the renowned BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, and I am honoured to be involved in the competition as a member of the judging panel.

Tapping into the creative pulse of the region, the Port of Tyne launched Reflect in 2007. The awards have now become a fixture in the region’s cultural calendar.

Now in its third year, Reflect is bigger and better than ever with an impressive judging panel, a cash prize, and broadened horizons with which to capture on camera the splendour of the north east region and its people.

Andrew Moffat, the Port of Tyne’s CEO said: “We’ve been delighted at the overall response to Reflect. It shows how important cultural life is to the people of the North East and it’s fantastic for the Port to engage with the community in this way.

“This year we have widened the choice of subject categories to give a broader regional perspective and the winners will be exhibited in one of the biggest temporary art spaces in Europe. What is also exciting is that we’ve introduced Reflectyouth especially for the Under 16’s in response to the many requests from young people wanting to take part last year and felt this is a great addition to Reflect.”

Reflectyouth is the only section that allows mobile uploads. Entrants to Reflectyouth can choose any of the subject categories and submit up to a maximum of ten images to their category. The winner will receive £250 plus a workshop with a professional photographer.

Some of the region’s leading figures in the world of art, culture and business make up the judging panel. These are: Margaret Fay OBE Chair of One North East, Stella Hall, Creative Director of Culture 10, award winning freelance photographer and writer Jason Friend, Liz King, Managing Director of Visible Media UK Ltd and Godfrey Worsdale, Director of BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.

The Places, The People, The Rivers and The Environment make up the four subject categories of Reflect 09 and entrants can submit up to ten images across any of the categories.

To enter, first read the rules then upload your images via the website at www.reflect-tyne.com. The awards close at midnight Tuesday 1st September 2009.

Steve Middleton, last year’s winner of the Reflect 2008 Maritime Tyne category with his photograph entitled Rough Seas, said: “The Tyne is something everyone in the region is aware of and this competition has allowed so many aspects of the river to be explored. It is a fantastic opportunity whether you are hoping to further a budding photography career or even if you just want to see your hobby advance.”

The last few months have seen me photographing the cities of Newcastle upon Tyne and Edinburgh and whilst this may have given me something of a creative rush of blood to the head, I must admit to being somewhat pleased about the subject for my next two books to be released by Halsgrove in 2010.

It probably seems an obvious choice for someone based in Newcastle to be commissioned for a book (or two) on Northumberland but I seem to have only managed to work on books based on areas surrounding the county, so I am delighted to announce that the Spirit of Northumberland and Perfect Northumberland are the titles of my latest projects!

Work is well and truly underway with 'Spirit of Northumberland' and I am hoping to have it finished by the summer of this year - There is one advantage to having a large stock photography collection of the region! 'Perfect Northumberland' is slightly different as it is going to be very much based around the seasons and as such it will take me a year to capture the images. It really is a hard life!

I photographed this little fellow (or lass) today whilst visiting the National Trust owned Wallington. There were a few of these little red devils playing in the warmth of the spring sun (I suspect they may have had more than playing in mind... use your imagination) but this one squirrel continued to return to a small patch of land immediately in front of the wildlife hide. It took a couple of hours to capture this shot and whilst I doubt Andy Rouse will be quaking in his boots, I must admit that I like it!

As you may have seen in a previous news entry, the weather for the North Tyneside Photography Workshop was less than ideal. However, I think that workshop participant Ritchie Coatsworth has produced some stunning images from the day including this image of Tynemouth Pier. But what did Ritchie have to say about the day?

"I had a great day and picked up some valuable advice and tips. I am really pleased with the images I ended up with even though the weather wasn't at it's best. It was good to be around others that enjoy trying to take a good photo, I'll certainly be doing some more workshops."

You can view some more of the images from the workshop by taking a look at the Flickr group or in particular Ritchies photostream.

We still have a few places remaining for the forthcoming Hadrian's Wall Photography Workshop on the 15th March. Click here if you fancy the opportunity to capture some great images like Ritchie!