Adrian Backshall

A stormy Birling Gap

2012-01-28T17:25:00.001Z

Very moody, just missed the sun.

Plumpton Station at night

2012-01-28T17:15:00.002Z

Took these on the way home from the Half Moon pub...

Coast Guard Cottages

2012-01-21T17:25:00.001Z

It wasn`t the best sunrise but was quite pleasant...

The new flash-butt welding plant

2012-01-06T19:47:00.001Z

These photos show us trying-out a new piece of plant to weld-up conductor rail.

These were taken at Pevensey & Westham.

2011-12-22T10:20:00.002Z

<p><a href="http://500px.com/Momodem">Momodem</a> on <a href="http://500px.com">500px</a></p>

Network Rail helicopter

2011-12-13T20:15:00.007Z

Redhill to Brighton and Lewes.

Not what you want to see before you go up on a windy day!

Looking down Gatwicks runway.

Clayton tunnel air shaft

Eastbourne Pier and Holywell in December 2011

2011-12-10T18:38:00.001Z

Photographed the pier under a high full moon and the next day went to Holywell to walk the dog and the light was superb.

Some photographs from Newhaven Harbour...

2011-11-17T17:33:00.001Z

I was lucky enough to be near Mark Beech Tunnel today and knew I could safely walk into it

2011-11-02T21:12:00.001Z

Some long exposure HDR photos...

Birling Gap with Andy

2011-10-23T19:44:00.002+01:00

Myself and a friend were messing about with cameras, it wasn`t a very exciting sky but with some filters, a few shots came out ok. The ones in the wood are from earlier in the day at Folkington.

Sunrise from Kingston - 15 Oct` 2011

2011-10-15T13:00:00.004+01:00

I`m glad I got up and took Mabel for a walk here, nice mist and soft light. Shame I lost Mabels lead.

Night shots near Jevington

2011-10-12T19:07:00.001+01:00

I thought I`d try to get some light trails in a wooded part of the jevington road, not quite as good as I hoped.

A quick visit to Birling Gap.

2011-10-11T22:04:00.000+01:00

As soon as I got there I realised that a great lump of cloud would quickly creep across the sun. It was also ridiculously windy so I only shot three photos, this was the best one...

Near Kingston, Lewes, for a sunrise that never happened..

2011-10-08T12:22:00.002+01:00

Me and a colleague have had our eye on this area as we see it from the train as we travel to work. I really needed the sun to come out and throw shadows across the soft fields but it still looks nice...

Back to Crane Down

2011-10-01T12:40:00.002+01:00

It was so good last time, with the mist and the suns rays, I thought I`d try again...

Sunrise - 28th Sept` 2011

2011-09-28T20:10:00.002+01:00

Lovely morning up near Folkington...

Sunrise at Tide Mills

2011-09-24T09:21:00.005+01:00

There was too much cloud but I did suss-out some good positions for another time.

Another lovely evening at Birling Gap...

2011-09-19T18:04:00.000+01:00

Belle Tout

Right on the edge

See the girl on her hands and knees at the edge!

Walking Mabel around the Tide Mills

2011-09-18T16:05:00.002+01:00

The early sun was casting a nice light and the clouds over the sea were impressive. Stopped on the way home as the clouds had grown even more impressive...

The Eastern side of the old Tide Mill.

Seaford Bay.

Looking towards Berwick.

Amazing skies on Bank Holiday Monday

2011-08-30T17:39:00.000+01:00

Ouse Valley - bloody geese!

2011-08-30T17:38:00.000+01:00

I was in the perfect position, this meant just one thing, the geese didn`t show!!!

Ouse Valley Viaduct, again!

2011-08-26T18:32:00.000+01:00

I wanted a brooding sky and this time I got it. I was too far away from the geese this time but I now have the location sorted!

Sunflowers at Crane Down, August 2011

2011-08-10T17:50:00.000+01:00

Our neighbour tipped me off about these...

A lovely morning around Alciston and Folkington.

2011-07-31T12:53:00.000+01:00

Looking towards Firle

The pottery near Alciston

Folkington

High tide at Birling Gap...

2011-07-24T21:48:00.003+01:00

Ouse Valley Infrared

2011-07-17T10:59:00.003+01:00

Hollyhocks at Berwick

2011-07-17T10:49:00.000+01:00

Ouse Valley viaduct - July 2011

2011-07-10T21:32:00.000+01:00

Open day at the Coast Guard cottages

2011-06-19T21:09:00.003+01:00

During the Napoleonic wars, a garrison of soldiers was stationed here.

Lovely cottage garden.

This is the old Cable House. A telegraph cable was laid from here to the D Day Landing HQ.

A piece of the old cable.

Inside the Cable House. Built in 1911 and lined with timber planks.

Highland cattle near Storrington

2011-06-01T17:51:00.000+01:00

More ash remnants in the sky...

2011-05-26T20:07:00.003+01:00

Polegate Windmill

Spring in the woods at Folkington

2011-05-03T21:01:00.003+01:00

Wild garlic and the old gate.

Lots of wild garlic.

Bluebells at Arlington

2011-04-23T22:52:00.000+01:00

Birling Gap in the evening, April 2011...

2011-04-12T21:40:00.003+01:00

Elmer Sands

2011-03-12T22:04:00.000Z

Myself, Ruth and Mabel spent a few hours here while Billy was at doggy re-hab!

Iron Gates Lock

2011-03-10T14:00:00.012Z

This wonderful old structure was completed about 1793, enabling barges to travel up the River Ouse as far as Sheffield Park Bridge. It wasn`t until 1816 that the river was made navigable as far up as Ryelands wharf near the Ouse Valley Viaduct.

The first I knew about this lock was seeing it marked on an old ordnance survey map in the porch of Fletching church in the 1970`s. I managed to walk to it about 35 years ago and remember it being in quite good condition. The walls were complete but there was no sign of the iron gates. Now, 35 years later and it`s almost vanished from sight. Strong winds have brought trees down which have ripped the brickwork apart. The western end is in good condition and you can clearly see the sill in place and the recesses where the gates sat.

These locks were 52ft long and 13ft wide, made of brick with sandstone blocks along the edges. The barges were horse drawn and tolls were payable depending how far up the river you went.

Western end

Eastern end

New arrival

2011-01-23T18:36:00.000Z

I thought I`d better put some photos of Billy on here, our new dog. He is a Patterdale cross who was in a rescue home for 4 months before we saw him on the internet, drove to Stevenage to see him and brought him back as he and Mabel got on well.

And here`s some nice photographs of Barnaby in the low afternoon sun...

Our garden after the heavy snow...

2010-12-04T12:57:00.000Z

Snow on the Railway...

2010-12-03T21:43:00.000Z

Open House weekend

2010-11-28T13:40:00.000Z

Unfortunately the snow seems to have put people off coming. This was our back garden on Saturday...

And this was Seaford head on Sunday, there`s snow in those clouds!

Camber Sands

2010-11-10T22:31:00.000Z

Ruth booked us into a beach house for two nights - awesome place...

Old Railway artefact

2010-11-02T21:57:00.000Z

I found this in an old hut near Folkington...

Autumn colours at West Dean

2010-10-30T21:43:00.000+01:00

Another wonderful moonlit night at Birling Gap

2010-10-23T17:06:00.000+01:00

I went down there at 21:30hrs and didn`t get home until 23:30hrs. The sea was very rough and noisy and almost up to the bottom of the steps. The cliffs obviously reflect the moonlight but I also like the way the sodium lamps of Seaford and Newhaven give the sky its red tinge.

The difference HDR makes

2010-10-17T18:41:00.000+01:00

This was how the camera saw it.

This is the same photo but with 9 different

exposures merged together.

Amazing sunset at Birling Gap!

2010-10-06T20:17:00.006+01:00

A large ship with huge columns appeared!

I thought it was about time I took some HDR`s of Mabel

2010-09-25T13:43:00.000+01:00

I was kindly given this by Andy, I don`t know the variety - over to you Andy...

2010-09-25T08:46:00.000+01:00

Ouse Valley Viaduct & Birling Gap

2010-09-24T19:24:00.000+01:00

I was about half an hour too late for the viaduct, the sun is dropping very quickly now but it was good to get the sun shining from behind the viaduct.

Later that evening I drove to Birling Gap as it was a full moon. It was very atmospheric down there but also very windy.

Glynde Place

2010-09-21T19:42:00.000+01:00

I wanted mist and a rising sun. All I got was the mist.

Birling Gap last night...

2010-08-29T08:49:00.009+01:00

Sunrise at Glynde.

2010-08-28T14:18:00.007+01:00

Up at 05:00, sunrise at 06:00 and then a couple of hours of nice light.

Ouse Valley and some old wagons.

2010-08-22T20:00:00.003+01:00

Sunset behind Berwick Church

2010-08-13T21:38:00.003+01:00

Infrared photos at Folkington

2010-08-08T20:09:00.009+01:00

Trees show up well in infrared but the sun has to have warmed them up first. I popped over to Folkington after a sunny day.

Late evening sun behind berwick Church

2010-07-14T21:25:00.003+01:00

Nice vistas...

1957 Ultra FM radio

2010-07-08T19:08:00.003+01:00

And here is the little beauty, the six valves are at the back.

Mentioned in despatches!

2010-07-08T18:16:00.002+01:00

On the Radio 4 blog for "PM", I got a mention...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/pm/2010/07/

Shed`s looking good

2010-07-04T14:42:00.003+01:00

Eastbourne grid

2010-07-03T21:23:00.004+01:00

This is a photo of an oil-filled transformer at the national grid site in Philips Avenue. I love the colours and the detail on the oil tank.

Full moon in June

2010-07-03T21:19:00.003+01:00

Went back to the Coastguards cottages at about 22:30 and was there until 01:00hrs. Very bright and the lowest it gets in the year but it still didn`t light-up the cliffs as I hoped.

Front veg` garden

2010-07-03T19:25:00.008+01:00

This shows how our front garden has come on...

Now it looks like this...

Early morning near Alciston.

2010-05-17T22:44:00.004+01:00

Nice HDR photos

2010-05-02T10:20:00.005+01:00

If you want to see more like this then pop along to HERE

HDR photos at Holywell at 06:00hrs

2010-04-18T17:13:00.004+01:00

All of these are made from five different exposures...

Anyone getting fed-up with this HDR stuff yet?

2010-04-11T17:38:00.004+01:00

An overcast sky at Cooden at 05:30hrs and still they look good!

Old lime kiln near Westmeston

2010-04-09T18:46:00.003+01:00

I`d read about this old structure and had struggled to locate it but thanks to Google Streetview I found it...

More HDR photos

2010-04-09T16:38:00.005+01:00

Brighton Station

Cooksbridge platform in black & white

Cooksbridge platform

Plumpton level crossing

Ouse Valley Viaduct in HDR

2010-04-07T17:46:00.010+01:00

Took these today on a wet, cold and grey day, and still they look quite impressive.

More HDR photos

2010-04-03T13:23:00.013+01:00

Took these at Folkington, I`ve learnt that the clouds need to be slow moving!

Playing with HDR

2010-04-02T20:16:00.007+01:00

I`ve just started making HDR images, High Dynamic Range, by using software to merge three or five images taken at different exposure settings.

These are the original shots

This is Berwick Church

2010-02-27T17:39:00.007Z

For some time now, I`ve been thinking I could get a good view of said viaduct if the moon was to the side. Well it was on Friday night but it was too high really. I like the result though. On the way home I called into Hamsey Church to get that by moonlight too.

Ferret at Folkington

2010-02-20T16:16:00.003Z

Saw this chap last weekend but didn`t have a camera. Went back a week later and there he was again...

Birling Gap, 09-02-2010

2010-02-09T21:26:00.003Z

We rushed down to Birling Gap as the sky was a lovely red as the sun went down. Just our luck, as we got there the red faded and it was quite ordinary. It was a chance to catch the water moving over the chalk pavement.

Cuckmere Haven by moonlight

2010-01-30T18:20:00.013Z

The moon was too high in the sky to light the cliffs properly but it was a lovely sight. These were taken between 22:00 and 23:30 in January.

Conductor rail works at gatwick

2010-01-29T18:44:00.005Z

These photos show our night team cutting and welding the live rail.

Snow in the first week 0f 2010

2010-01-10T17:30:00.007Z

Nice and thick!

Our road

Berwick station

Our back garden

Two car DMU near Berwick

Our back garden

Cuckmere Haven - 27/12/2009

2009-12-27T12:58:00.004Z

Thought I`d give the sunrise a go over near Seaford, it was ok but would have been better with some sun. Of course, as I drove home it broke through the clouds!

Weakened embankment near Three Bridges

2009-11-25T18:13:00.003Z

The Up Slow line has been closed until this dip is fixed.

Autumn at Folkington - Nov` 2009

2009-11-12T19:29:00.003Z

The low light at sunrise was nice, Mabel was funny, digging-up the farmers field!

Sunrise over Glynde - 10/11/2009

2009-11-10T17:12:00.010Z

I nearly didn`t get to see this. I arrived at Glynde and knew where I wanted to be but because of the fog I couldn`t see where to walk! Eventually I had to climb over a big fence and climb up the Downs to get the right perspective.

Cooden Beach at sunrise - 17-10-2009

2009-10-18T19:42:00.004+01:00

The sky was a bit boring but I managed to get these three nice shots...

Cooden Beach by moonlight

2009-10-03T23:05:00.003+01:00

I`d been waiting for the full moon but today was very cloudy. Luckily the sky cleared a bit by 21:00 and so I took these long exposures of the groynes...

Glynde sunrise - 26/09/2009

2009-09-26T15:25:00.006+01:00

My dads funeral - 11/09/2009

2009-09-12T16:52:00.016+01:00

Grandad, mums dad

2009-09-04T19:56:00.005+01:00

Bert Manvell was a chauffeur for a rich family who lived in Heath Road. The car appears to have solid tyres and yet he drove them to Cornwall and back!!!

The other photos of him are up at Steeple Cottage near Beechurst. He and grandma brought up five children here with no hot running water, an outside toilet and very little light.

Streat in the evening and the moon on the way home

2009-09-04T17:17:00.004+01:00

I went up to see mum and see my mates in the Plough at Plumpton. I like the view from behind Streat Church and also on the way home, noticed the full moon and thought an old tree I know, wouls look good in the moonlight.

Rough sea at Seaford in August 2009

2009-08-30T10:58:00.005+01:00

I could not believe my luck, I had to drop Ruth at Seaford so she could help at work, leaving me to go to the beach on a very windy day to find it was high tide. The sea was incredibly powerful and I had to be careful to keep the lens pointing away from the wind so as to avoid spray messing it up. The serated breakwater looked like a computer memory chip with the water flowing over it...

My dad

2009-08-30T10:19:00.004+01:00

Sadly, he passed away on Saturday 29 August 2009. He had dementia and it reduced him to a shadow of what he was. His trade was as a carpenter and he was old school, very few power tools, mostly hand tools. I hope to keep some of them but I would struggle to do them justice!

Wood saw from the Great War

2009-08-24T19:32:00.004+01:00

This wonderful object was used in the First World War by the grandad of my managers wife and is perfectly usable even though its nearly 100 years old!

Eastbourne Airborne 2009

2009-08-15T21:00:00.005+01:00

All taken on the Saturday

Dad building his porch in the summer of 1986

2009-08-09T17:32:00.004+01:00

I`m glad I took these photos as it gradually took shape, and the last photo was taken recently.

Thistle head

2009-08-05T18:07:00.002+01:00

I wanted to use my macro converter...

Sunset from Alciston

2009-08-02T21:29:00.002+01:00

Three photos stitched together. Taken with my new 16 - 45 lens.

Our old house demolished by a bomb (1943)

2009-08-02T21:12:00.003+01:00

We`d seen a photocopy of this photo but not the original so thanks to Mumsie for finding it for us. It is taken from behind our old house, 3 Brightland Road, and shows it totally destroyed. It was sad to find that Henrietta Hellebon aged 46, was killed in the blast.

Old slides scanned - mostly 1980`s

2009-07-31T18:37:00.010+01:00

Waves off of Chesil Beach

2009-07-29T20:29:00.004+01:00

I`ve cropped these waves to show them off to their best. I love the aquamarine colours in them.

New Forest - July 2009

2009-07-29T19:56:00.004+01:00

We watched the deer at night through these windows.

This is an 1898 map showing the original cottage

Dads 80th birthday

2009-07-29T19:48:00.003+01:00

July 24th was dads 80th birthday and some of us went up to Beech Hurst nursing home to see him and toast his special day. We weren`t sure if he knew what was going on but he was quite good at times.

Terrier racing

2009-07-12T19:38:00.003+01:00

This was Mabels first terrier race at Michelham Priory. She is on the left.