Calmer Day....

After the crazy horses of yesterday a welcome change of pace. The sea has calmed down and we are able to get our breath a little. We normally come to Seahouses in the summer time when the wildlife is abundant and interested in rearing the next generation. Now they only have survival on their mind. The climate is very strange around here. You only have the travel a few miles in any direction and you are back into the remnants of a snow storm that hit the area on Friday. However at Seahouses there is no trace of the snow and the air is very dry - I am sure that the sea has a lot to do with this.

Today I spent some more time with the eiders. I would have loved to have spent longer but I kept sinking into the sand and ended up saturated - not a good idea in the cold. Still I manged to capture some lovely portraits of these endearing seaducks. However, tomorrow it is Holy Island and the westher is starting to look more menacing - lets see what tomorrow brings.

Powerful weather and Eiders...

Talk about windswept. Coming from the centre of England I am not use to the power and majesty of the North Sea. The wind blew and the sea marched across the bay like some stallion, its mane flowing out behind. The weather is clear and blue and we humans are wrapped up to keep out the cold yet as you watch the passing ferment you notice in amongst the wildest surf ducks bobbing in and out as if nothing was wrong.

Of course to the Eider there is nothing wrong - this is what they are breed for, they are truly a seaduck. They don't try and swim over the crashing waves but wait until they tower above them then dive through the crashing maelstrom to bob out the other side as if nothing had happened. Of course to the eider it was just another day but to us weak humans, who would not last 5 minutes in such cold seas it seems like an impossible act of endurance.

They are simply a wonderful bird. They also happen to be unimaginably cute and loveable and have centuries of experience of getting passing tourists to feed them. We oblige - however we capture their likeness in vain attempt to preserve the character of this bird. A forlorn hope.

Eider...

The common Eider is beyond doubt my favourite sea bird. Whilst the Puffin is probably more colourful the Eider is just lovable. I know this is not the sort of language to use about animals as it projects human values onto another creature but I don't care. It is no wonder that St Cuthbert protected these animals. In the summer the Northumbria sea is a lice with the quizzical of the - which can just be heard on the YouTube video below. So why mention then now? Well I hope to capture some interesting photographs of eider next week. I am going to Seahouses which is about as good as it gets when it comes to seeing Eider and so lets hope I am lucky.

Wading through the past....

Eider Duck - Seahouses

More catching up. The past few days I have been slowly working through last years vault of under developed photographs. Today I was working on Northumbria 2009. There were two reasons for this; the first is that I am going to spend in Northumbria in a week or so. The second is that it is always worth while going through your previous work with a benefit of hindsight. I am never disappointed on two fronts; firstly I have kept some really bad images in the vain hope that they may make decent photographs, the second is that joy of discovery of moment forgotten. Just what was I thinking?

Anyway, I'm hopefully off to Bath on Thursday for a bit a naval gazing - my print is on display in a real gallery this may never happen again. Lets just hope it doesn't snow too much.

Embleton Bay

Beadnell Bay

Woolsthorpe in Belvoir