On the riverbank
This property is a really unique place on the banks of the River Coquet at Guyzance Mill in Northumberland. Dye House is a former tin and iron mill as referenced in this historical post, and is now a residential conversion - home to several houses with plenty of character and challenging lighting conditions to take into consideration.
Luckily, I had some lovely early summer sunshine to assist me, and so I shot the south facing rear exterior first of all. Getting stunning exterior photos is half the battle with prestige properties. The garden was obviously a full-time job which seemed to have grown beyond the capacity of the current owner to handle. It was getting out of hand, and with some elbow grease and imagination, will be a lovely place to relax for any new owner. I just managed to capture the last vestiges of the flowering spring bulbs in the foreground before heading inside for the interior shots.
The house was at the westerly end of the building, laid out over three floors, with the kitchen/diner on the ground floor, lounge and guest bedroom on the first floor, and main bedrooms at the top. There was a specially installed small lift linking the ground to first floor.
Kitchen first. It was partially subterranean, and so I didn’t have a lot of natural light to work with. There was enough to get a decent ambient frame, and I shot 3 flash frames - bouncing light from behind the camera, and at the far end of the room to the left and right separately. The colours were earthy and contemporary, with nice retro-style furnishings throughout. It photographed really nicely.
The ground floor cloakroom was a toughie as it had lots of junk piled around the entrance, and was brightly coloured. I had to shoot from outside, showing the main features, using a flash positioned out of sight of the camera.
The lounge and study were situated just off the first floor landing, through a set of framed glass doors. It was easy to shoot, and when facing the doors I employed my usual technique of firing a flash into the room from outside to emphasize the feature. I did the same thing in the opposite direction when shooting the landing.
The top floor had a master bedroom suite which featured a small, but very tall bedroom, a dressing room, and separate bathroom. I switched to my ultra-wide Laowa 12mm to do the bedroom section, as it was able to capture the height and width of the space. I had to angle the camera slightly upwards, and corrected the vertical lines in post-production. To highlight the height, I also shot a purposely-angled frame at the skylight with a bit of visual drama.
The front of the building is north facing, and surrounded by a wooded area, so I couldn’t get anything spectacular. Having never faced the sun, it was muddy, covered in green moss, and not very attractive to look at. A definite “nosebag” shot if there ever was one.
I split the aerial work into two to catch the surrounding landscape during morning and afternoon, and sent the drone up to capture the lovely vista of the river, and the fields around the Coquet valley. I used to live just up the road in a separate part of the hamlet of Guyzance, and it’s definitely a beautiful part of the county - if not a bit devoid of anything remotely exciting. This house is now up for sale, and will make someone a lovely family home.
