"A picture's worth a thousand words" Photography in Northumberland by Andy Craig

The Northumberland Coast has been home to me for over 10 years and I have wandered up and down the beaches and rocky shores many times walking the dog and looking for photographs.

 In 2008 I started gathering my photographs and my thoughts into a blog “The Photographic Diary of a Dog-Walker on The Northumberland Coast”.  

 This is an archive for me as much as it is for sharing to the world and I love to return to the archive to re-visit days I’ve forgotten and other days I’ll never forget.  It’s the memorable days that make it all worthwhile.  Days when the weather and atmosphere combine to beautiful effect and I find myself lingering (weather permitting) for much longer than I had intended.  These are the occasions when there are photographs all around me and it makes it nearly impossible to tear myself away and leave the scene unwitnessed by any other eye.  (So it is with nature; the glories unseen deny the conceit that a human witness is somehow required).

The Northumberland Coast has been home to me for over 10 years and I have wandered up and down the beaches and rocky shores many times walking the dog and looking for photographs.

Most days though, photography is more challenging and there is a process to go through of seeing a view, then observing closely, until I see a composition emerging that I want to make into a photograph.

Sometimes it takes a while to get into the mood of a place and time.  This is where mindfulness comes into photography for me.  It means a deliberate slowness that allows the atmosphere to permeate and to alert all the senses.  Photography is obviously a visual medium but it is informed by a conversation between all the senses as well as emotions and maybe even knowledge of the natural world.  Observation and awareness of the movement of clouds and the changes to the wind and simply how a day ‘feels’ can all feed into photography.

So it is that the cycles of years, seasons, tides, sunrises and moments go by.  Each day there is another unique combination of conditions that sets up a photograph somewhere if only it can be found among the clouds, the waves, the rocks and the sand.

So maybe you’ll see me (and Daisy) when you visit Northumberland and if you do then please say hello.  Or you can book a photography training session with me and I’ll try to inspire your photography as nature inspires mine.