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I live in a beautiful place - Durham City, the resting place of Saint Cuthbert.  Historic streets; the peace and serenity of the riverbanks; the noise and vibrancy of student bars.  All here because over a thousand years ago, someone thought it would be a good idea to build a church up on that hill.  This course has prompted me to look more closely at my city and to think about why I love it so much.  It's given me a better understanding of how my camera works and the knowledge and skills to try to capture the city's beauty, and to go some way towards trying to explain why I think Durham’s such a special place.

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1/400 sec, f/4, ISO 640, 60mm (120mm equiv.), The Old Corn Mill, Durham riverbanks

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A different view of the Old Corn Mill and the Cathedral.  Used a longer focal length to achieve compression between the mill and the Cathedral up on the hill over on the other side of the river.  Used a wide aperture to try to capture the detail of the curve in the bowed roof, compared with the rigid straight lines of the Cathedral.  Also tried to use the contrast in colours and light between the dark roofing slates in the foreground and the lighter sandstone in the distance.

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1/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO 400, 28mm (56mm equiv.), Prebends Bridge, Durham

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Asked a bunch of students on their way to a college ball whether I could take their picture as they walked across the bridge.  Crouched down to alter the point of view for the composition. Used a fast shutter speed to 'freeze' the subjects and capture their expressions.

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1.3 sec, f/22, ISO 100, 12mm (24mm equiv.), Old Fulling Mill Weir, Durham Riverbanks

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Used slow shutter speed to blur the water over the weir and a small aperture to give a wide depth of field, picking up all the detail into the distance.

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1/125sec, f/6.3, ISO 400, 54mm (108mm equiv.), St John's College, South Bailey, Durham

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A tight crop on the college name and coat of arms above the entrance to St John's College. Had to adjust the shadows a bit to bring out the architectural detail.

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Used a longer focal length to try to achieve compression, bringing the Cathedral closer to the cobbled street in the foreground.  Reduced the exposure of the sky in Lightroom to pull out the definition of the clouds.  The black downpipes are on thirds, as is the red door which balances the group of people.

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1/60sec, f/10, ISO 400, 24mm (58mm equiv.), corner of Owengate and Saddler Street, Durham.

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Someone waiting to be met on the corner of Owengate. Composition is based on the contrast in colour between the pink and blue doors, complemented by the woman’s denim jacket.  There is also a touch of pink in her dress and mobile phone.

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20 sec, f/11, ISO 400, 28mm (56mm equiv.), The Old Corn Mill, Durham riverbanks

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Revisiting a shot that I've taken before, the bowed roof of the Old Corn Mill in silhouette against the Cathedral, this time illuminated for the The Queen's Platinum Jubilee.  I couldn't see the blue part of the Cathedral from where I was, but the sky was blue, which I tweaked in Lightroom.

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Used the reflective surface of sunglasses on a stand to 'look' back up Silver Street. Shoppers, the shops and St Nic's Church in the distance are visible.

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Looking down from Elvet Bridge onto one of the city's bars.  The structure of the gazebo frames the students sitting at the tables and also gives some symmetry to the composition.

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1/50 sec, f/9, ISO 800, 17mm (34mm equiv.), Durham riverbanks

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Image edited in Lightroom to adjust the exposure to show more detail in the foliage.  Changed the aspect ratio to 16x9 to emphasise the height of the Cathedral above the river.  Used a mask to lighten the riverbank where a person was sitting,  which reinforces the sense of scale in the composition.