Whitby pier and waterfront on a dark winter tea time.

It was a dark January tea time last year when I took this photo. I balanced the camera on a bean bag on top of a waste bin to get the long exposure.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 30s, 55mm, bean bag & cable release.

After sunset on Whitby's west pier.

Another view of Whitby's very photogenic pier, photographed just after sunset in late January this year. The unusual angle is partly by choice and partly by necessity - I needed to get a long exposure due to the low light but only had a beanbag with me, rather than a tripod. I positioned it at the top of a few steps so that I could sit on a lower step to compose the picture, rather than having to lie flat on the boards!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 30s, 18mm, bean bag & remote release.

Seagull perched on the barrier on Blackpool seafront.

I took this one about an hour before sunset at the end of December last year, close to Blackpool's north pier. The whole seafront in Blackpool was redesigned a few years ago and the new barriers, lights and steps all have great curves that complement rather than clash with the sea and beach.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/80s, 55mm, hand held.

Blue doors on an old textile mill

This is Shaw Lodge Mill on Boys Lane, in the bottom of the valley in central Halifax. I took the photo in April last year. I really liked the lines of the metal fire escape and the way the blue doors stood out from the stonework. To enhance this feature, when processing the raw file in Lightroom, I desaturated everything except the doors.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/10, 1/100s, 24mm, hand held.

Reflected sunlight on a building wall and pavement

I took this on Southwark Bridge Road, London, in March this year. The low morning sunlight was hitting the buildings on the opposite side of the road and was being reflected from their windows onto these walls, with the railings making shadows across the pavement.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/200s, 20mm, hand held.

Night-time shot of the Thames path passing beneath Blackfriars rail bridge, London.

I took this one in London in March this year. I love the undersides of the Thames bridges, especially when they're lit up at night. This particular shot is one of my favourites because of the mixture of lines and curves from the 2 bridges (I think that's Waterloo Bridge in the background) and the wall and railings on the path.

I haven't done much night-time photography and have always had poor results whenever I've tried (usually with Auto settings on a compact camera). Some of my London attempts (such as this one) have come out ok, but they're extremely grainy as I had to use a really high ISO to pick up enough detail. I think the only thing I'm doing 'wrong' now is not using a tripod (conscious decision not to be carrying one round London!), but if anyone has any other tips for me I'd be grateful.

Update! - Thanks to my friend Leanne for tipping me off about the Noise Reduction section in Lightroom - I now have a much less grainy version (the one at the bottom - not sure you can actually tell the difference on here, though!).

Camera/lens settings: ISO 1600, f/4.5, 1/60s, 20mm, hand held.