Plawsworth, County Durham

I decided to try something different this morning and took a trip down to Plawsworth in County Durham for some inland shots. I spied this weird tree with a ladder in it, and jumped the barbed-wire fence to get a better shot – such are the hazards of shooting with a 50mm prime!

The ladder was swinging slightly in the breeze, making a creaking sound that was pretty creepy in the dead silence of day break with only the rumble of a passing train for company.

I’d been shooting wide landscapes on the roadside for about 20 minutes when I noticed this little fella about 3 inches from my lens!

I see this landscape every time I travel down to London on the east coast mainline, and at dawn it’s almost always shrouded in mist and looks amazing. I didn’t know the area too well, so I just traced the railway line down from Newcastle to Durham, and took a wild guess at where the best shot might be, based on Google maps’ satellite view. I didn’t go far wrong, but it was difficult to find a good vantage point.

No sign of the little bugger that built this, but he’s not finished. Like most in the building trade, he’s probably got his feet up somewhere with a cup of tea and a newspaper.

All in all, a pretty good trip and something of a departure for me, being primarily a coastal photographer. I’ll be heading down that way again soon to explore some of the back roads and trespass on some private land. Practice makes perfect.

Click on any of the photos to see them full-size against black, and please do leave a comment below if you like the photos.