Dan
@theassentofdan.bsky.social
Happy soloist, wanderer, photographer, writer, illustrator, and graphic designer - doing more of what I love and less of what I'm told. All images my © unless reposted or credited.
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PrintsByToornDesigns
Hire me at: toorndesigns.uk
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PrintsByToornDesigns
Hire me at: toorndesigns.uk
Inspired by Ken Taylor, here's a Happy Halloween Noctule bat for you all. Nature doesn't make monsters - people do!
October 22, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Inspired by Ken Taylor, here's a Happy Halloween Noctule bat for you all. Nature doesn't make monsters - people do!
There's not much in this image to tell you it was taken this year.
September 22, 2025 at 7:21 AM
There's not much in this image to tell you it was taken this year.
Remembering warmer times.
September 22, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Remembering warmer times.
New product in my Etsy shop: printsbytoorndesigns.etsy.com/uk/listing/4...
September 8, 2025 at 9:14 AM
New product in my Etsy shop: printsbytoorndesigns.etsy.com/uk/listing/4...
Taken on a recent trip to Whitby. Rain threatened out at sea, but we managed to avoid it. How did fish and chips get to be £17 (said everyone over 40!).
September 8, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Taken on a recent trip to Whitby. Rain threatened out at sea, but we managed to avoid it. How did fish and chips get to be £17 (said everyone over 40!).
Finished working on the newest issue of Wild Tees, the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust's membership magazine. 3 issues per year, with 24 pages of information about wildlife, habitat, and community involvement throughout the Tees Valley. Check them out at: www.teeswildlife.org and lend your support.
August 30, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Finished working on the newest issue of Wild Tees, the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust's membership magazine. 3 issues per year, with 24 pages of information about wildlife, habitat, and community involvement throughout the Tees Valley. Check them out at: www.teeswildlife.org and lend your support.
Moving sunset. WHat more can I say - just mucking about!
August 2, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Moving sunset. WHat more can I say - just mucking about!
A road to nowhere. I just really love the idea of not knowing where a road leads - and following it into the sunset? Aside from needing a soft bed, three hot meals a day, a hot bath, and all the trappings of a comfortable life - I'd could probably be happy as a homeless wanderer!
August 2, 2025 at 2:26 PM
A road to nowhere. I just really love the idea of not knowing where a road leads - and following it into the sunset? Aside from needing a soft bed, three hot meals a day, a hot bath, and all the trappings of a comfortable life - I'd could probably be happy as a homeless wanderer!
Got drawn in by these tiered stone walls bordering small horse paddocks, all leading up to the stone barn and a moody sky. Taken somewhere out near Cold Kirkby, I think?!
August 2, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Got drawn in by these tiered stone walls bordering small horse paddocks, all leading up to the stone barn and a moody sky. Taken somewhere out near Cold Kirkby, I think?!
A poppy from a few weeks back. Didn't quite get the stamens sharp, but I'm trying not to feel like sharpness is the be-all-and-end-all. What do you all think?
July 15, 2025 at 4:07 PM
A poppy from a few weeks back. Didn't quite get the stamens sharp, but I'm trying not to feel like sharpness is the be-all-and-end-all. What do you all think?
A throwback to a few winters ago - just so I can day-dream about cooler weather. The ever-artful plastic chair in an icy pond. A Teesside treat for all.
July 15, 2025 at 4:06 PM
A throwback to a few winters ago - just so I can day-dream about cooler weather. The ever-artful plastic chair in an icy pond. A Teesside treat for all.
Comon lizard anyone? This litle wingless dragon was sunning themselves on a fencepost when I happened by. The heath and moorland around Scaling Dam is great for adders and lizard.
July 15, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Comon lizard anyone? This litle wingless dragon was sunning themselves on a fencepost when I happened by. The heath and moorland around Scaling Dam is great for adders and lizard.
I often shake my fist at pigeons when they have ruined a great shot by flapping loudly and urgently through trees, just as I'm about to press the shutter on some much rarer creature, that then disappears forever. But, I also like the idea that we are a nation represented by our animals.
July 2, 2025 at 7:36 AM
I often shake my fist at pigeons when they have ruined a great shot by flapping loudly and urgently through trees, just as I'm about to press the shutter on some much rarer creature, that then disappears forever. But, I also like the idea that we are a nation represented by our animals.
As an introvert, I've always found street photography unsettling at the best of times. At what point does an image become voyeurism or intrusion? I'm not sure, but images of people are the always emotive, being loaded with stories and subtext. There, but for the grace of..[insert power-animal here].
July 2, 2025 at 7:25 AM
As an introvert, I've always found street photography unsettling at the best of times. At what point does an image become voyeurism or intrusion? I'm not sure, but images of people are the always emotive, being loaded with stories and subtext. There, but for the grace of..[insert power-animal here].
Industrial works visible across the inlet to the Tees from South gare near Redcar. Wonderful light that day. It could almost be Istanbul seen across the Bospherous (? 😂).
July 2, 2025 at 7:17 AM
Industrial works visible across the inlet to the Tees from South gare near Redcar. Wonderful light that day. It could almost be Istanbul seen across the Bospherous (? 😂).
If anyone knows what this trifolium is, let me know. Love the light catching the feathered edges of the leaves.
July 1, 2025 at 6:35 AM
If anyone knows what this trifolium is, let me know. Love the light catching the feathered edges of the leaves.
This must have been a lovely spot to live once-upon-a-time. It lies in an isolated little valley, the rough track leading to it is all overgrown. I think I was a hermit in a former life, because this still really appeals to me!
July 1, 2025 at 6:33 AM
This must have been a lovely spot to live once-upon-a-time. It lies in an isolated little valley, the rough track leading to it is all overgrown. I think I was a hermit in a former life, because this still really appeals to me!
Went a bit Rothko with this abstracted sunset over valley mist on the North York Moors. I like the soft graduated tones of colour accentuated with a bit of lateral movement.
July 1, 2025 at 6:27 AM
Went a bit Rothko with this abstracted sunset over valley mist on the North York Moors. I like the soft graduated tones of colour accentuated with a bit of lateral movement.
I'm going to try and take a lesson from the Wren - even if you're not big or brightly coloured, you can still speak up and make yourself heard!
June 29, 2025 at 3:43 PM
I'm going to try and take a lesson from the Wren - even if you're not big or brightly coloured, you can still speak up and make yourself heard!
Found this fiberglass fella while out exploring. He was at the top of a flight of steep steel steps at a local quarry - so you can imagine how quickly and completely I crapped my pants when I looked up and saw him looming over me! God only knows why and how he got there.
June 29, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Found this fiberglass fella while out exploring. He was at the top of a flight of steep steel steps at a local quarry - so you can imagine how quickly and completely I crapped my pants when I looked up and saw him looming over me! God only knows why and how he got there.
Pale and interesting - or just a bit pasty-looking? I liked how the retreatment on this image of a dead ash tree made the branches look like dry bones.
June 29, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Pale and interesting - or just a bit pasty-looking? I liked how the retreatment on this image of a dead ash tree made the branches look like dry bones.
Anybody seen the film 'Black Sheep'? I think this sign I saw on the moors is trying to tell us something.
June 25, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Anybody seen the film 'Black Sheep'? I think this sign I saw on the moors is trying to tell us something.
This is a snap I took of Comfry. I love the deeply textured leaves. While Comfry is a wildflower in the UK, I saw this one on an allotment - probably because it can be used to make a natural fertiliser.
June 25, 2025 at 1:55 PM
This is a snap I took of Comfry. I love the deeply textured leaves. While Comfry is a wildflower in the UK, I saw this one on an allotment - probably because it can be used to make a natural fertiliser.
Detail from an old barn. I love the old skin and veins on this ageing facade.
June 25, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Detail from an old barn. I love the old skin and veins on this ageing facade.
A Turnstone on a pitted concrete slipway in Redcar. A very handsom bird, even with muted plumage (a conservative dresser up top, with jazzy socks below - I can dig that).
June 24, 2025 at 7:27 AM
A Turnstone on a pitted concrete slipway in Redcar. A very handsom bird, even with muted plumage (a conservative dresser up top, with jazzy socks below - I can dig that).