As Another Year Draws To A Close...

As another year draws to a close, it feels like December from one year to the next is getting closer and closer together, the older I get. It seems only a couple of months ago since I was standing on Chemical beach at Seaham for the first time, photographing the January sunrise. It was a place I promised myself I would return to but alas, I haven't been true to my word and still need to make the scramble over those big leg breaking rocks to get to it!

Maybe its the threat of a serious slip that has put me off the return visit, as in December last year, I took a nasty fall on slippery rocks at Bamburgh beach and used my kneecap as a landing pad on the edge of a pointy rock before falling back into a thankfully shallow rock pool. It took over 5 months before I could comfortably kneel on that knee again. Taking longer to heal is nother sign of getting older.

Still, it didnt stop me taking photos and here in this post, are the results month by month. I've sorted through all the photos I have taken this year and selected my favorites from each month. I hope one of two of them are yours too. Thanks to all of you for your suport over the year and hope I can retain it for the next and future years too. I hope you continue to enjoy David Fletcher Photography and if you use Facebook follow my page HERE.

JANUARY got off to a seemingly good start as I visited my first new location of 2016. Chemical beach at Seaham county Durham, is an almost alien looking landscape forged from the years of the heavy industry that has used the beach to dump its wast in the sea. Thankfully, the toxic spoils have now been cleaned away but many relics still remain on the waters edge. Large concrete blocks with rusting iron work litter the beach and at the right tide you can find the infamous seaham waggon wheels being battered by the surf. In this image however, I decided to use the huge pinnacle of jagged rock jutting out from the beach as a strong anchor on the right of the image as it surveyed the rising sun. A long exposure also helped to turn the retreating sea into a misty blur around the pitted rocks.

Staying with the theme of industrial dereliction, FEBRUARY took me on a trip to the second new location of 2016. This is the abandoned Steetley pier on the beach at Hartlepool. It was once part of a Magnesite processing plant that was positioned right on the beach front and the piers were used to transport the products to awaiting cargo ships until the plant was closed in 2005. The images I have taken here have done quite well in the photographic competitions.

MARCH seen one of the best displays of the Aurora Borealis this year. A day that is now well known as the Mothers day Aurora. I very nearly missed this display as I was umming and ahhing to whether or not to go out as even thought the Aurora apps on my phone were saying it might be visible, 9pm on a Sunday night with an early start for work the next day was pushing it a little for me. But I jumped up and out at the last minute and made my way to Lizard point near South Shields. WOW! what a display! I just wished I had been able to get a better foreground for the image. Within half an hour of getting there it subsided and I was on my way home with a big smile on my face, oh and a thumping migraine too!

APRIL saw me take in new location number 3. The abandoned Grove Rake mine in Weardale. For those that like exploring abandoned industrial locations this is fantastic. With easy access from the road it has become very popular with photographers and explorers alike. Unfortunately it may not be there very  much longer as its is a little dangerous in places but a group are trying to save it for prosperity. This is one of the old mine buildings on the site. The mine head is still there as are the entrance to the mines but for how long….

MAY, Red sail boat Alnmouth. Myself and the wife love Alnmouth particularly sitting by the slipway on a warm calm evening watching the boating fraternity go about their business. We have visited this location many times throughout 2016 and stayed in the village on two occasions. No doubt we will be there again in 2017.

JUNE Poppies have been very significant in 2016 as it was 100 years since the battle of the Somme in the first world war so I couldn't just walk on by a field of them could I. This field was near Walkworth in Northumberland.

JULY seen me revisit a photographic technique that I haven't practiced for a few years. I used to photograph a lot of motorbikes and their owners using off camera flash. Basically small flash units that are usually meant to go onto of the camera but I used them as small studio lights to give the subjects some dramatic lighting. This image is of my friend Mario and his lovely girl, oh and his wife too! I had not spoken to Mario for a good few years but when he bought a new bike he knew I was the one to photograph it for him as I had done for his older bike. It was good to dust off the cobwebs get to try this type of photography again.

AUGUST and a short trip down to the beach at Roker in Sunderland. It was really early and but well worth the lack of sleep. Roker is my failsafe place to go to for the sunrise as its only 15 minutes from my house. Every visit is different and on this occasion the light was lovely. At this time of year the sun rises very quickly and I had to keep moving just as fast along the beach until I had the glow of the sun in the right place. Lovely

SEPTEMBER and new location number 4, Amble. Well thats not strictly true as I had been to Amble a few times already but it was usually just to visit the Sunday market. On one such visit I decided to take a look at the pier and suddenly seen the photo possibilities. I cant think why I had not checked them out before but I made a point of returning early for the sunrise. Although I like this image with the water swirling around the old stone of the pier wall I feel I have to return soon and get something more dramatic. A good enough reason to go back, maybe before this year is out.

OCTOBER. I have passed this location a million times as it is only 5 minutes from my house and whilst I may have thought in my head that this might make a nice photo, it has taken until this year for me to pull off the main road and check it out. It works for me!  I'm even planning to make a little photo project out of it and photograph it in different seasons and currently waiting for a good dollop of fresh snow and a dramatic sky, stay tuned folks!

NOVEMBER Super moon. The moon was due to be at its closest to the Earth in 70 years and the moon rise was looking to be the perfect subject for any photographer. So we headed down to Roker with this shot in mind, as did quite a few more photographers and even a BBC news crew! Unfortunately there was quite a bit cloud around so I didn't get the perfect luna disk I was hoping for but the cloud actually makes this image.

Even though there are still a few more days left in DECEMBER before we close the year, this image of Marsden Beach is a firm favourite. The sunrise and surf was just right for what I wanted. Whilst I had been here before this was defiantly  the best photo I had achieved so very happy with it.  I may change this as my favourite for December though as I still have a few more mornings over the holiday to get out and take more images.


Well thats my favourite image round up for 2016. I hope you enjoyed looking at them and reading what I had to say about them. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take the time to comment in the box below as your feedback is what keeps me going all year and hopefully into 2017. 

​Have a great Christmas and a fantastic new year everyone!