Abstract view of Midtown Manhattan architecture

I have no idea what this structure is - we were walking across Midtown Manhattan towards Queensboro Bridge and stopped to apply suncream in its shade! There are benches beneath it and it is right in front of an office block. The tall thin tower that you can see in the circle is 432 Park Avenue (which you can pretty much see from anywhere in Manhattan!).

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/500s, 10mm, hand held.

Sunlight catching midtown Manhattan buildings.

I took this one looking straight down from the 'Top of the Rock'. It was early morning and very quiet up there, so I had plenty of opportunities to try out different views and angles. I really like how the sunlight is just catching sections of the buildings and roads on this one.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 1/320s, 55mm, hand held.

432 Park Avenue shrouded in cloud

I'm going to post a few photos from our holiday to New York last summer. This first one's in Midtown Manhattan. It had been raining hard for a while and when the rain stopped a few low clouds were left hanging around - this one was partly shrouding the residential tower of 432 Park Avenue.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/10, 1/250s, 35mm, hand held

Christmas lights reflected on car windscreens in Manchester.

Yesterday we visited the Christmas markets in Manchester. The lights on the House of Fraser store surpassed any of the others in the city centre, although you can't see the best of them in this picture. What caught my attention here was the way they reflected on the cars below.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/80s, 35mm, hand held.

Beneath an old building on stilts on Morecambe promenade.

I've searched the internet to try and find out what this building is but with no luck. I took the photo in September last year. The view in the distance is towards Cumbria, across the bay.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/18, 1/200s, 18mm, hand held.

Southwark Cathedral and the Shard - London.

Another view of the Shard today. This is a great (and, no doubt, much-photographed) juxtaposition of architectural styles from London's South Bank. I took the photo in March last year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/80s, 24mm, hand held.

Seagull on a Thames launch passing the Shard.

I was photographing the buildings beside the Thames as we passed them on this tour boat in June this year, when I noticed the seagull land just above us. I realised how close we were to the Shard, so waited for the right moment to take the photo, hoping it didn't fly off before we passed it.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f.7.1, 1/200s, 35mm, hand held.

Aerial photo of the Fleetwood to Blackpool coastline.

I took this one on my microlight flight in September this year. It's great to get such a different perspective on such a familiar place - Blackpool Tower looks tiny in the distance!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/5, 1/640s, 35mm, hand held (in one hand, without use of the viewfinder!)

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.

London skyline reflected in office windows.

I took this one on London's south bank in March 2015. The windows are part of the Financial Times offices next to Southwark Bridge. The golden hue of the reflected buildings on the opposite side of the river was created by the setting sun.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/40s, 42mm, hand held.

Section of arched ceiling at the Natural History Museum, London.

I took this on the way out of the main hall of the Natural History Museum in March last year. The whole of the main hall is spectacular and would be fantastic fun to photograph if it wasn't always packed full of people!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/8, 1/50s, 18mm, hand held.

Shadows and pedestrians crossing Southwark Bridge, London.

I'm always drawn to photograph this bridge when in London. In this image, from March last year, my main focus was the contrasting lines of the cranes, buildings and shadows, but I also really like the silhouetted pedestrians against the bridge wall.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/80s, 32mm, hand held.

Pillar-lined passage at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich (2)

This is the same passage as the one in the photo I posted on the 16th Nov last year (although looking down it from the opposite direction). We stayed in Greenwich again this year and I made a detour this particular evening, just as it was going dark, to see what the passage would be like with the lighting on. Glad I did, because it gives it a totally different effect.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/2.2, 1/25s, 35mm, hand held.

Sunlight and shadows on Canary Wharf office blocks.

Another picture of the dramatic buildings at Canary Wharf, London, from March last year. I'd love to photograph them on a long exposure with a tripod, to get the motion of the clouds above them, but I can't see me ever taking my tripod to London!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/100s, 18mm, hand held.

Panoramic view over Mytholmroyd, looking up Cragg Vale.

This one's from April last year, photographed on a late, sunny afternoon from Height Road.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 1/125s, 22mm, hand held.

Looking up at Lindisfarne Castle, Northumberland.

I took this in August 2013 whilst on holiday in Northumberland. I love the shapes in the castle wall (including the 'face' in the section on the left - see my post on 6th Nov 2015) and how well the textures and tones fit with the grey skies. It would be great to have chance to take this shot again on a stormy day with darker clouds.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/13, 1/50s, 32mm, hand held.

Snow on the moors around the ruins of Top Withens Farm (2).

Here's another view of Top Withens, the ruined building that supposedly inspired Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. I took the photo after walking over the moor from Widdop in January this year. I was lucky to have the moor to myself for most of the time I was there (perching on a rock on the hill overlooking the ruins to eat my sandwiches); another couple of people arrived just as I was leaving.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/100s, 40mm, hand held.

Crepuscular rays highlighting a copse of trees.

I took this one on a late afternoon in October last year, close to where I live. I saw the crepuscular rays start to form, grabbed my camera and drove to a place where I'd have a good view across the valley. The copse that's being highlighted by the sun is on Great Edge in Warley - you can also see the Vandals rugby clubhouse in the bottom left of the picture.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/8, 1/200s, 35mm, hand held.

Inside the ruins of Heptonstall's original 13th Century church.

I took this on my Hebden Bridge - Heptonstall - Mytholm walk 2 weeks ago. This was the first time I'd visited Heptonstall's churches and graveyard and I was really impressed with their age, architecture, atmosphere and history. The old church in the photo was damaged by a gale in 1847 and a new church was built next to it in the same graveyard. The American poet Sylvia Plath (once married to locally born poet Ted Hughes) is buried in the newer part of the graveyard.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2.2, 1/400s, 35mm, hand held.

Whitby viewed across the harbour from the East Pier.

Another photo from my weekend in Whitby in January this year. I was standing at the beginning of the East Pier when I took this one, looking back across the outer harbour towards the town. It was a mostly grey afternoon, but the water was still reflecting the glimpse of sunlight on the horizon.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/60s, 20mm, hand held.