The last fews days have seen me exploring the area I call home, as I continue work on my next book project - Portrait of Tyneside.

I borrowed a Canon 15mm fisheye lens from local photographer (and friend) John Millard for the shot above featuring the iconic millennium bridge on the Gateshead / Newcastle Upon Tyne quayside. This was my first experience of using such a lens and whilst I do not feel that it would be suitable for many situations, I do think that it can provide an amazing new angle to your shots with the appropriate subject.

There are a few technical issues to consider before using the lens. First of all you can forget the use of a polarizing filter, or indeed any sort of filter that would normally attach to the front element. Secondly, it is incredibly easy to get the tripod (or even your own) feet within your composition. Thirdly, this lens will extremely distort the perspective of any verticals towards the edge of the frame which is often undesired - although in some situations it may just work!

We are delighted to announce the schedule for the forthcoming North East England based Photography Workshops, to be held during the first quarter of 2009.

New for 2009 is that all of the Photography Workshops are now entirely based in North East England, and all are led by award winning Newcastle Upon Tyne based photographer, Jason Friend.

The first five workshops for 2009 are held in the counties of Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. The workshop details are as follows:

South Tyneside Coast - 18th January 2009.

The South Tyneside Coast has to be considered as one of the most picturesque stretches of coastline to be found in the North East of England. Join Jason Friend for an early morning start to hopefully capture a sunrise image like the one above!

Plessey Woods, Northumberland - 30th January 2009.

A favourite location for photography during the winter months, join Jason in the Plessey Woods Country Park near Morpeth, Northumberland where we will hopefully get a chance to view the endangered Red Squirrel.

Ingram Valley, Northumberland - 8th February 2009.

Explore your photography and join Jason Friend on a day workshop in the Ingram Valley, part of the Northumberland National Park.

North Tyneside Coast - 20th February 2009.

Join Jason Friend in his home patch as he shares his intimate knowledge of the North Tyneside Coast - gained from numerous years photographing the highlights of this often overlooked region.

Hadrian's Wall, Northumberland - 15th March 2009.

Join Jason Friend along a spectacular stretch of Hadrian's Wall within the Northumberland National Park. As a regular visitor to the region, Jason will be sharing some of his favourite viewpoints of this famous world heritage site as well as his experience of how to make successful images from the location.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about the 2009 workshop schedule is the price tag! All workshops are planned around a 6 hour day and cost only £50 per person. Book your place soon as these photography workshop dates will probably fill up quickly!

I have just returned from nine days north of the border with my wife, Lynette, in bonnie Scotland. The plan was to capture some autumnal images whilst walking the West Highland Way - An official UK long distance walking track covering some 95 miles from Milngavie in Glasgow to Fort William in the Highlands. I had it all planned... early morning photography sessions photographing picturesque Scottish landscapes on crisp, sunny autumn days.

If only this had been the case!

Anybody living in the north-west of England or western Scotland will tell you that the weather last week was horrendous, in fact even dangerous. We were greeted at Milngavie by high winds which quickly became rain. After two days of this we had a brief interlude (just to lull me into a false sense of security) before the rain started again with even stronger, gale force winds. There was snow on the peaks surrounding us on the walk, incredibly picturesque - just a shame that the winds were strong enough to blow both Lynette and myself over! 95 miles carrying a camera and tripod for a handful of shots is incredibly frustrating.

I managed a few shots at Loch Lomond before the storms arrived and a couple more during the period of the calm before the next storm! The West Highland Way images can be viewed by clicking here.

There is an upside to everything though. At least the Midges were not causing us any problems!

Readers of popular UK magazine, Digital SLR Photography, may have noticed a familiar face in this months edition. OK, you guessed it, yours truly is in this months issue and boy do I have a story to share with you all!

It has been nearly a year since Lynette and myself returned from our twelve month around the world foray, visiting and capturing images in some amazing countries including Argentina, Borneo, China and New Zealand. Now I finally get to share some of my favourite images with you all and also some of the stories behind them.

If the idea of seeing my images is not enough to make you rush out and buy the magazine, you can be assured that the magazine has plenty of other great images and features to justify the cost!

May I take this opportunity to say 'welcome' to any readers of the magazine who have taken the time to visit my site - I hope you enjoyed my story and I would love to read your comments!

The workshop schedule for 2009 is due to be announced on the 1st November 2008, and I am pleased to announce that a number of changes have been made to the structure including a new, lower price!

The forthcoming 2009 workshops will be entirely based in the North East of England, a logical progression if you consider that the area is not only incredibly photogenic but also on my own doorstep - meaning that I will be in a position to show you some hidden gems of the North East.

The new structure of the workshops will mean that the days are slightly shorter than the previous dawn to dusk workshops - a frequent request from our participants last year. However, we will ensure that you will be on location for a chance to shoot images during the 'golden hour' either at sunrise or sunset - depending on the location.

The cost for the workshops has been slashed to only £50 per person - and you can save another 20% simply by signing up for the newsletter and being among the first to receive the details of the forthcoming 2009 photography workshop schedule.

Click here to subscribe to the photography workshop newsletter

Whilst you wait for the 2009 dates to be announced, may I remind you that places are still available for the Lancaster Fireworks Display photography workshop. Also, why don't you take a look at the images captured by our clients during 2008.

After the successful launch of Jason Friend Prints earlier this year, I am delighted to announce that a number of new images have been added to the collection and are now available as a range of prints & gifts, all of which can be ordered securely online at www.jasonfriendprints.com.

The landscape of Northern England provides the subjects for the new additions to the collection, which includes a selection of new images from Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, Yorkshire and Cumbria.

Why don't you take a look yourself? Click here to visit www.jasonfriendprints.com!

The much promised indian summer finally hit Tyneside last week, and I did my best to make sure that I made the most of it! With the text and processing completed for my next book, Spirit of Cumbria, I continued work on my second book to be released next year, Portrait of Tyneside, and made sure that the laptop was left well alone for a couple of days!

The Angel of the North is an iconic landmark that should be on the 'hit list' for any photographer visiting the region. The only trouble is that it receives 90,000 visitors a year so you may well have to wait for a 'people free' image. Never mind though, you can always indulge in an ice cream if you are having a hot flush in these northern climes!



The joys of working on a book based around the area where I live, are that the logistics of visiting locations is made far simpler - And I can even have a lie-in for early morning shots! Both of the above images were captured less than five miles from my home. The first of the images, Michaelmas Daisies at Rising Sun Country Park, would not have been possible without the use of my new 3 Stop hard Singh-Ray Galen Rowell Graduated Neutral Density Filter. I had to have the filter sent to my from the states but the quality of these filters is second to none - and yes, I have used Lee Filters!

The final shot was captured on Monday morning at King Edward's Bay along the Tyneside Coast in Tynemouth. Again the filter was invaluable to deal with the lighting conditions. It is true that I could have shot the image twice and merged them behind the screen. Or I could have even used the new graduated filter effect in Lightroom 2 to simulate the filter but there is just something more rewarding about completing the process in camera.

Now, when will it finally stop raining!

Calling all budding firework photographers! We have a number of places left for the forthcoming Lancaster City photography workshop on the 8th November 2008 with award winning photographer Jon Sparks.

The historic City of Lancaster has many magnificent buildings but what really makes it a delight for the photographer is fine setting, spread over two hills with the River Lune curving around them. Few places offer a better range of urban vistas in such a compact area. The grim battlements of Lancaster Castle, the beautiful Perpendicular stylings of the Priory Church and the sweep of the Georgian quayside are just some of the highlights.

But there’s more to this very special workshop than Lancaster’s architectural heritage. Each year Castle Hill is the site of a stunning fireworks display. Your tutor Jon Sparks has photographed this and many other fireworks displays and knows the secrets of capturing them to best effect. Having lived in Lancaster for most of his life and photographed it exhaustively, he also knows all the best angles and will pick the ideal vantage point for the fireworks to take best advantage of weather and visibility on the night.

The build-up to the fireworks display features a number of supporting events with colourful characters in historic costume likely to figure prominently. All being well we’ll also have the chance to photograph the interior of at least one of Lancaster’s finest buildings.

This really is a very special opportunity; early booking is strongly advised. Although this is a one-day workshop Jon will also be happy to advise on other great locations nearby so those staying overnight can take full advantage of Lancaster’s location close to the scenic delights of the Bowland Fells, Lune Valley and Morecambe Bay.

To find out more and reserve your place online, please click here.

I was lucky enough to spend the last month of 2006 exploring the wild landscapes of the deep south of the Patagonian region - The legendary wilderness straddling the southern tips of Chile and Argentina.

These ramblings have resulted in me writing sections of text for a couple of books released worldwide by New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd. The latest of these being 'Walking the World's Natural Wonders' which is now available to order through amazon.co.uk and other bookshops - online and on the high street.

The synopsis of the book is as follows:-

Aimed at the burgeoning adventure travel market, this book focuses on hikes, treks and walks that explore some of the earth's most spectacular wild places, and particularly natural wonders such as volcanoes, glaciers, unique rock formations, rivers and great lakes. This book is not aimed at expedition-type trekkers. Although some of the places are remote, all have basic visitor infrastructure, with option for a variety of walking trips. Destinations are drawn from all over the world including North America and Asia, with a significant proportion of European destinations.

I supplied the images and the text for the 'Torres Del Paine National Park' chapter, which was somewhat an honour as the fellow contributors included Tony Toole, Cameron Burns, Ronald Turnbull, Kev Reynolds, Gillian Price, John Bannon, Roly Smith and Roger Bray - with Jon Sparks supplying all other text and images as well as overseeing the complete project.

The other book featuring my work, and in this case only my words, was released earlier this year. New Holland approached me last year to write the introductory essay for the English translated version of 'Patagonia: Nature's Last Frontier' by Argentine photographer 'Marcos Zimmermann'. I have included a taster of the essay below:

Every single step forward felt like a huge achievement. Gale force winds were being channeled through the sheer valleys walls of the Fitzroy range, and with every particularly large gust we were being blown three steps back from our destination, a small ridge of the summit of the glacier moraine. Our quest to view the azure colored glacial lake was going to be somewhat of a struggle. However this was to be expected in Patagonia, a place where nothing is easy. A land where struggle is an essential part of everyday life.

If you would like to read some more, you will have to buy the book!

Since my last post, I have had the pleasure of exploring what I consider to be finest landscape to be found in England, The Lake District, in search of new images that have that elusive photographic element - Spirit.

In my honest opinion, capturing the essence of a location (a.k.a Spirit) which I visit is the most important aspect that I try to convey in my images. For example, a clear, summers day spent photographing landscapes in the UK will often produce pleasing results. But this does not mean that the true character of the landscape is revealed. My favourite working conditions are during unstable weather fronts as I find that it helps me to (sometimes) capture images with the required spirit.

Take this image captured last weekend from Hardknott Castle Roman Fort looking towards the highest mountain in the region - Scafell Pike. As any visitor to the Lake District will tell you, it more often rains than shines in the Lakes meaning that a Lakeland shot in the heat of the afternoon sun will rarely convey any mood or suggest any essence. However, if you are mad enough to stand near the edge of a crag whilst a near gale force wind nearly knocks you and your tripod over, then maybe you may just capture some of that spirit.

This was the last trip for my forthcoming book 'Spirit of Cumbria' and I must admit that I have been very pleased with how the book has been taking shape. I will now spend the next few weeks processing the RAW files and scanning some of my old panoramic images before the completed project is passed to the safe hands of my publisher.

I can't wait to show you all the results!