For my last post on Whitby I leave you with a random selection of images that didn’t really fit into any of the previous posts, but I feel are good enough for processing and sharing:
© Mark Simms Photography (2013)
I don’t think these need any further explanation, they are simply landscape shots of Whitby:
Really quite liking the Nik Software Collection…..:0)
© Mark Simms Photography (2013)
Although the imposing ruins of Whitby Abbey dominate the headland of the east cliff that overlooks the harbour, it’s actually the small parish church of St Mary’s (founded in 1110 AD) that first catches the eye when looking up from the town. The church sits in front of the Abbey and is incredibly close to the cliff edge – in fact a couple of landslides in the past twelve months have resulted in part of the graveyard collapsing onto the houses and street below, exposing their gruesome remains. The interior of the church which is mainly 18th & 19th Century, is laid out in a box pew arrangement with upper galleries on three sides.
I’m currently a couple of days in to a two-week free-trial of Nik’s Software Collection, so I’ve used a few of these shots to experiment with Silver Efex Pro 2 and Colour Efex Pro 4. I have to say I like what I see so far…..;0).
I reckon a couple of more posts on Whitby should see me done and then I’ll move on to something else. I’ve currently got about 200 shots waiting for post-processing and we are off to the Orkney Isles for a couple of weeks in about a months time….so I better get cracking.
© Mark Simms Photography (2013)
Before I was so rudely interrupted by the inclement weather, I was posting about our recent trip to Whitby. So to get my photoblog back on track, here is a telephoto shot of the lovely little lighthouse standing guard at the entrance to Whitby’s harbour:
More shots of Whitby to follow in the next few days…..
© Mark Simms Photography (2013)
Here are a few more shots from our recent trip to Whitby. These showcase the wonderful cobbled streets of the old town, including the famous 199 steps that climb up to St Martin’s Church and the ruined Benedictine Abbey atop the East Cliff.
As you can see the grey skies and rainy weather have resulted in a sombre, muted set of images. So rather than work against this in post processing, I decided to convert a number of shots to mono; add vignettes and a touch of grainy contrast to bring out the moody atmosphere even more.
© Mark Simms Photography (2013)
Continuing with posts from our recent trip to Whitby, here are a few low-light shots of the North Yorkshire town:
The first three of the these shots were all taken hand-held using my 50mm lens, which isn’t image stabilised (hence the reason why I was using wide open apertures and high ISO settings) so I’m quite pleased with the way they have turned-out. The final shot was taken with my 15-85 balanced on top of a conveniently situated litter-bin acting as a makeshift tripod. You’ll notice the lifeboat moored at its station is a little blurry – that’s the result of a 30 second exposure coupled with the gentle movement of the boat as it bobs up and down on the tidal waters in the harbour. Having said that there was a fairly stiff breeze blowing in off the North Sea, so it’s possible that the camera moved slightly, but the rest of the shot is fairly sharp and I was trying to act as a human wind-brake.
P.S. This is my 100th post. I started my blog approx 290 days ago, back at the beginning of June 2012, and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. The photography community on WordPress is full of lovely people – generous with both their time and comments. So I’d just like to say thanks for all the “likes” and to all those who follow my blog – the support really is much appreciated…..:0).
© Mark Simms Photography (2013)
As you’ll know from the previous post, we spent a couple of days in Whitby over the weekend.
The main tourist attraction in the town is the ruined Benedictine Abbey which dominates the east cliff overlooking the harbour. There has been a working abbey on this site for approximately 900 years from 657AD through to the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII in the sixteenth century. It is without question one of the most important Christian sites in the country.
You’ve probably gathered from the shots above, that weather conditions on the day weren’t exactly favourable. In fact that’s a bit of an understatement…..it was freezing!
A biting wind whipped-off the North Sea and drove squally rain showers across the exposed headland of Whitby’s east cliff. Liz and I spent most of our time trying desperately to keep the rain off the front of our lenses or huddled in a semi-sheltered spot amongst the abbey ruins.
As a result I think the photos have suffered somewhat…..but I did my best under some pretty trying conditions.
© Mark Simms Photography (2013)
It was Lizzy’s birthday at the weekend and we went away for a couple of nights to the lovely harbour town of Whitby in North Yorkshire.
To whet your appetite for the posts and images to come, below is a shot of the imposing and dramatic ruins of Whitby Abbey.
© Mark Simms Photography (2013)
This is my final post on our recent trip to York and is simply a random selection of images that I like and wanted to share, but that didn’t really fit in any of the other three posts on York:
The first three shots were all taken in “The Shambles” – the famous Medieval street that is one of those must do tourist attractions in York…..apparently…..;0)
My favourite image from above is the black and white shot of the cobbled street (entitled “Street Light” and just round the corner from The Shambles) that I took whilst waiting for the ghost walk to start. I like the light on this one and I think the conversion to mono has worked really well.
The multi-award winning “Ghost Hunt of York” (just one of a number that operate in the city) was excellent value…..not very scary, but entertaining and interesting. It was a very enjoyable way to pass an hour and half and if you get the chance I would definitely recommend it…..and no I’m not on commission.
Copyright: © The Photography of Mark Simms (2012). All rights reserved.
A few shots of York in Autumn:
I don’t really want to say much about these, other than to say I think they sum-up what I like about Autumn…..fabulous colours and, when the sun shines, warm light.
The first shot was taken with my 15-85mm and the other five with my new 70-200mm.
Copyright: © The Photography of Mark Simms (2012). All rights reserved.
Mark Simms Photography 