This morning, after an early meeting near Newcastle Station, I took a spontaneous walk with my camera—an unplanned bit of documentary location scouting that turned into something more reflective.

I headed down Forth Banks to the River Tyne. The light was overcast but soft, perfect for filming. With no deadline pressing, I followed the path west along the river, letting instinct guide me. Past the old railway arches and industrial brickwork, I found familiar corners and angles I hadn’t looked at properly in a while.

Eventually, I reached a quiet spot with a clear view across to Dunston Staithes. The tide was low and the wooden structure stood stark against the silvery water—weathered, skeletal, full of atmosphere. I set up a few slow shots—wide angles, some gentle pans. Nothing too structured, just capturing what felt right in the moment. It reminded me why documentary location scouting doesn’t always need to be a formal process. Sometimes the best footage comes from being in the right place without a plan, camera ready, and eyes open.

There’s a benefit to keeping location scouting flexible, especially for projects rooted in landscape and heritage. You get to notice things that don’t show up on Google Maps or location databases—the sound of a passing train, how the light breaks through scaffolding, the way a discarded cone shifts slightly in the wind. These are the details that make a place feel real on camera. And they’re exactly the kind of observations that emerge from taking walks like this one. For anyone filming river landscapes, these natural, ambient cues are often what make a scene come alive.

The footage might be used in the broader project I’m working on about the stretch between Dunston Staithes and the Redheugh Bridge. That film is slowly taking shape through many such unplanned outings—each one a form of documentary location scouting that’s as much about feeling out atmosphere as it is about recording places.

The process of filming river landscapes like this—where the flow of the water, the industrial remnants, and the changing light all play a role—relies on a certain level of quiet patience. It’s not just about coverage. It’s about tone.

Over the past year, I’ve started documenting these kinds of walks and river moments more intentionally on a separate Instagram account called @newcastle_gateshead_landscapes. It’s a space where I share short, ambient landscape videos—usually 20 to 30 seconds long—captured during my walks around Newcastle and Gateshead. I created the account partly to give myself a reason to slow down and notice what’s happening around me, and partly to carve out a space that’s focused purely on mood, atmosphere, and visual quiet.

There’s no commentary, no filters, no behind-the-scenes—just moving image fragments from familiar places that often go unnoticed. I shoot on whatever camera I’ve got with me—sometimes the Osmo Pocket 3, sometimes the iPhone 15 Pro—and I try not to overthink the shots. It’s a way of practising being present and letting the landscape speak for itself. For me, it’s a low-pressure creative habit, but it’s also become a kind of sketchbook for future films.

Some of the locations I’ve shared there have ended up in commissioned projects; others have simply stayed as standalone visual notes. If you’re interested in urban riverscapes, shifting light, or the quiet textures of the North East, feel free to follow the account. It’s where a lot of my documentary location scouting begins—and often where ideas for filming river landscapes are sparked.

For more day-to-day updates, behind-the-scenes posts, and ongoing projects, you can also follow my main Instagram account at @alanfentiman. That’s where I share what I’m currently working on—whether it’s filming, editing, or just observations from the road. It’s a good way to keep up with new commissions, upcoming releases, and the smaller moments that don’t always make it into my finished films.

If you’re interested in documentary films I’ve made about nature or the environment, you can explore those here: https://alanfentiman.co.uk/vimeo-videos/nature-films/.