Paul Appleby captures Northumberland’s beauty from the air
Bill Gibb chats to photographer Paul Appleby, who has sky-high ambition when it comes to capturing the beauty of Northumberland.
GROWING up in Northumberland, Paul Appleby has always been passionate about the county’s gorgeous countryside and wonderful beaches.
Now, photographer Paul is sharing that passion with stunning images that give an unrivalled panoramic perspective.
He combines his camera and drone-flying skills to take magnificent aerial shots that both show familiar landmarks in a new light and uncover lovely little hidden gems.
Such is his skill that he has won a legion of fans, many of whom relied on his work to see places they were forbidden to visit during the lockdowns.
What makes it even more remarkable is that he only picked up a camera after being denied his first love of painting because he is colour blind.
“I loved painting but I wasn’t very good at it and the real main reason was the issue with my vision,” Paul, who is fifty-five, says.
“It was spotted at primary school, where I’d paint trees with red leaves, a purple sky and a green sun and think it was the best thing ever.
“But I was totally chastised for it back then, and never encouraged to do it because of my colour blindness. That was in the early 1970s and they just didn’t know how to manage it like they do today.
“I still wanted to be creative, though, and when I discovered that cameras could do the heavy lifting and I could express my artistry through photography, I started to focus on that.”
Paul didn’t get his first film camera until he was in his early twenties and it was only when digital cameras became really popular that his interest really took off.
And he soon found he wasn’t short of subject matter.
“I live in Blyth, so I had spectacular scenery right on my doorstep,” Paul says.
“But I just had a pushbike and wasn’t that fit back then, so I’d only travel five or six miles to take landscape shots. I loved doing it, but photography has always really been just a hobby for me.”
Paul has fitted it in with working for a major medical company, spending his days training surgeons how to use devices to carry out keyhole surgery.
But picking up a camera provided him with release from the stresses of work, as well as a creative outlet.
As interest in the photos, which he shared on social media, grew, he explored more and more of Northumberland to find new places.
“It’s one of the few places in the UK that hasn’t been totally taken over by tourism,” he says. “There is
still an unspoiled beauty to much of it.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the history and how it changed hands over the centuries, especially with the Vikings.
“The Appleby name, I’ve found, can be traced back to those times.
“So I’ve tried to incorporate historical elements into my photographs and people who see the images come back and tell me even more.”
But what really took interest in Paul’s work literally to fresh heights was when he started taking aerial photographs using drones.
With the undulating landscape of Northumberland, he decided the only way to get some of the shots he really wanted was, as he puts it, to give his camera wings.
“I always have my drone with me when I go out now but safety is obviously paramount,” Paul explains.
“So, the majority of the time, I fly around the coast as you’ll be over the sea or an empty beach, and I also try to go early.
“The drones are full of safety features and you can legally go up about one hundred and twenty metres. Quite often the best shots will maybe only be fifty feet straight up and you have a live view on the display of what the camera sees to pick your moment.
“Sometimes the wind can get up and you are conscious you have an expensive camera up there, so I am well insured!
“It has given me the opportunity to photograph places from a unique perspective. And even though I know the area so well, it’s often a real eye-opener for me.
“A few months ago I was taking a shot of Bamburgh
Castle looking north across the dunes and saw a good-sized lake I had never realised was there.”
As well as the camera and drone technology, Paul also spends hours in front of his computer logging the exact times and locations of the sun, moon and even stars to be in the best place for his shots.
The results are worth it, though, and he’s found an appreciative audience.
“On my Facebook page it was usually just a case of uploading some nice pictures and getting some positive comment. But over the past year and more it went absolutely crazy.
“One shot I put up of Bamburgh beach has had around five thousand likes.
“When people have been unable to get out, they’ve come across my photographs and the comments have changed.
“Lots of people are tagging friends, telling them that this is where they have to go or where to look for a cottage near to a certain beach.”
Having shown so many others the beauties on his doorstep, Paul is in no hurry to leave his own little paradise.
“Northumberland is in my blood and I don’t know if I could ever live more than a couple of miles away from the sea now,” Paul adds. “I still believe we have some of the best beaches in the world.” ■
To find out more, visit Paul’s website at www.paulappleby. co.uk or call 07528 522354.