Bite-Size Blog Post #41 - Shaugh Prior - Dartmoor National Park
In my blog this week I tell you about a rare visit I made to the woodlands and river near Shaugh Prior on Dartmoor to capture this autumnal photograph.
The Autumnal Woods of South West Dartmoor
Living in Exeter I'm only a short drive away from large parts of Dartmoor National Park. However, there are some parts of Dartmoor that I haven't properly explored and photographed because they feel a bit too far to drive to. In reality, it's probably a physiological thing rather than a reality. Realistically I can get to most parts of Dartmoor in an hour, maybe 75 mins at most.
There is a wooded area near Shaugh Prior on the very south western edge of Dartmoor that I have rarely visited. It has always felt, well, too far away. In reality it's not. It takes about an hour to drive, and you can walk straight into the woods from the car park.
Late last autumn I finally decided to make some time and wander up the River Plym near Shaugh Prior. It wasn't the sole reason I drove to that corner of Dartmoor. I was meeting someone from the OWPG (Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild) for a chat and while I was in the area, and I had time, I would also head out with my camera.
The challenge was where to shoot. It would be the middle of the day and the weather was grey, flat and overcast. When I thought about it though, it was perfect conditions for woodland photography. As a bonus it was the autumn so the woodland colours would hopefully be beautiful.
I gave myself a couple of hours to explore the pathway along the River Plym. And while I did happily spend a couple of hours wandering up and down the river, it was the first place I stopped at that gave me the most pleasing photograph of the afternoon.
River Play, Dartmoor National Park, Devon - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 16mm, f/13, ¼ sec at ISO 500, Kase Filters CPL.
It's an area that needs further exploration by me and because in reality it's not that far from Exeter I'm sure to return there again soon.
Just Enjoying My Landscape Photography
Sometimes it's OK to just enjoy the experience of taking landscape photographs. Not every photo needs to win awards or have a deeper meaning. Photography can also be about having fun, admiring the view, or taking joy in the simple act of pressing the shutter button.
There Goes Autumn!
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with photographing anything seasonal. This could be the beautiful pink Thrift you find along the Cornish coast during spring, or the glorious colours of a woodland at autumn. I love photographing these unique times of year, but life has this nasty habit of getting in the way and I often end up missing the (photographic) peak of a season.
Autumn is a particularly tricky one. The days are short which make it difficult for me to get out, and when I eventually do find the time it’s normally after a storm and all the autumnal colour has blow off the trees!
Should I Risk It?
Every now and again, the stars align, and I’m presented with an opportunity to shoot some autumnal colour. However, the decision to photograph East Dartmoor Woods wasn’t that straightforward. The weather conditions over East Dartmoor Woods were forecast for clear skies at sunrise. It’s also a 5 km walk, in the dark, in a woodland, to get to the viewpoint that I wanted. While I had visited the viewpoint (in winter) I had never photographed it before.
It was a risky decision to go there, and it was a fair effort to get there. My head was telling me that I would be much better off going somewhere else where the conditions would be better, and I would be shooting something I’m familiar with (i.e. not woodlands!).
My heart on the other hand was telling me this was a fantastic opportunity to photograph this woodland while the autumn colours were still there. OK, the clear skies weren’t ideal, but the sun was rising in the right direction, and it should catch the tops of the trees. If I waited for another day, that other day might not come. The weather might turn, or I just might not find another opportunity to photograph it before the end of autumn.
It’s not often I ignore my head but this time I decided to follow my heart and take a risk! I did question this decision as I followed the path through the woodland with a head torch while trying not to think about the beasts of Dartmoor that lurk in the shadows!
But was all that effort and risk worth it? Well, you can find it out in the 5 Minute Photo Adventure video below!
What do you think? Was it worth the effort? Would you have made the 5km walk in the dark for that view or photographs? Let me know in the comments below.
East Dartmoor Woods - Landscape Photographs
Here are the landscape photographs you saw me capture in the video.
East Dartmoor Woods Autumn Sunrise #1, Dartmoor National Park, Devon - Nikon Z8, Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 S at 37mm, f/13, 0.4 sec at ISO64, Kase Filters CPL.
East Dartmoor Woods Autumn Sunrise #2, Dartmoor National Park, Devon - Nikon Z8, Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 S at 82mm, f/13, 0.5 sec at ISO64, Kase Filters CPL.
Komorebi by Martin Rak and Published by Kozu Books - On My Bookshelf S05E06
Komorebi is a book that takes you on a journey into the world of trees, forests and woodland landscapes. But is Martin Rak's book of his favourite woodland images from the last 10 years a book for your bookshelf?
Sunlight Filtering Through the Trees
The team at Kozu Books have a great track record of publishing high quality photography books from a diverse range of photographers. I’ve reviewed some of these books in previous episodes of On My Bookshelf and you can watch those in this handy playlist.
Expanding on their lengthy list of titles, they now bring us Komorebi by Martin Rak. Martin is an award-winning photographer from the Czech Republic. The book features his favourite woodland photographs from the last ten years. The book title, Komorebi, is a Japanese word which roughly translates to “sunlight filtering through trees”. While this is a great summary of the photographs in this book, there is so much more to discover as I find out in the latest episode of On My Bookshelf.
You purchase a copy of Komorebi by Martin Rak directly from Kozu Books at - https://www.kozubooks.com/books-new/komorebi-by-martinrak
Bite-Size Blog Post #14 - Lost in the Woods
In this bite-size blog I head to a local forest to capture some woodland images.
Lost in More Ways Than One
I follow the work of a number of photographers who either specialise in or produce woodland photography. It’s a genre of photography that amazes me. I can appreciate the art form and the skill required to not only technically capture the image, but to also find the composition.
I know that mastering woodland photocomposition is a skill because I try it myself every now and again and fail miserably. The photographs that feature in this bit-size blog are example of how I struggle with the art of woodland photography.
Haldon Forest #1, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 24-200mm f/4-6.3 at 33mm, f/4.8, 1/400th sec at ISO 2500.
Until lockdown kicked in at the start of January, I had been visiting Haldon Forest to walk my dog, Monty. Through my exploration of this extensive woodland, I came across several views that I thought might make for a good photograph.
When I returned with the camera though I was presented with the harsh reality of how hard it is to turn a nice woodland view into a compelling photograph. If I consider this problem, it’s no different from turning up to a big wide-open vista on Dartmoor and not knowing how to create a photograph from it. It’s just that I have a little more skill and practice with capturing that type of photograph.
Haldon Forest #2, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 24-200mm f/4-6.3 at 170mm, f/6.3, 0.6 sec at ISO 64.
I’m not foolish enough to think that I can just swan up to a woodland and start capturing amazing images. Like any form or genre of photography, it requires an investment in time to become proficient and I certainly haven’t spent anywhere near enough time practicing my woodland photography.
Haldon Forest #3, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 24-200mm f/4-6.3 at 130mm, f/6.3, 1/5th sec at ISO 64.
While the “practice” images in this blog post will not win me any awards they do remind me of the fun I had capturing them. There are many things I love about photography but perhaps the most rewarding thing is just being outdoors and experiencing nature. I just hope I can get back to nature soon.
Discovering Beauty in a Winter Woodland
In the blog this week I head back to Holne Bridge to show you why I’m photographing one of my favourite autumn locations in the middle of winter.
Inspired by a Bit of Luck
I recently shared a blog post in which I talked about having a Plan A, B and C and how I ended up photographing one of my favourite autumn locations in winter. The photographs I captured surprised me and they made me realise that I was maybe missing a trick by ignoring Holne Bridge in the winter.
If I was missing a trick then I thought other photographers might be missing out on great photographs from their favourite seasonal locations by not shooting them off-season. As I already wanted to head back to Holne Bridge to capture some more winter landscape photographs I decided that I would create a video of my experience and share it with you in the hope that it will inspire you to do something similar.
Using a Circular Polariser
Over the last few weeks I’ve been chatting to a fellow photographer who is just starting out with his use of filters and I said one of the most important filters for most landscape photographers is the circular polariser. This statement was particularly true for me at Holne Bridge. In fact when it comes to photographing water the circular polariser is an essential bit of kit for me.
In the photographs below you’ll find an example of the same scene, one photograph was taken with the polariser on, and the other with no polariser. I think it clearly shows how much of a difference this filter can make. I’ve included a little demo of the effects of a circular polariser in the video as well. (If you are interested I use the Kase Filters K9 circular polariser).
I really hope you enjoyed this video and that it’s maybe inspired you to visit one of your favourite locations off-season. If it has or you already do something like this then please let me know in the comments below.
The Photographs
As always, here are the photographs that I captured in the video. Just click on them to see them in a larger format.
Holne Bridge at Winter, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 23mm, f/13, 1/4 sec at ISO 200, Kase Filters K9 holder and CPL.
The same image as above but without the polariser.
Winter River at Holne Bridge, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 18mm, f/13, 1/4 sec at ISO 400, Kase Filters K9 holder and CPL.
Holne Bridge - A 5 Minute Photo Adventure
In the blog this week I head to Holne Bridge with Panasonic Lumix S1R to capture the last of the autumnal colours on Dartmoor.
More Time with the S1R
If you a regular reader of my blog you'll know that I've had the Panasonic Lumix S1R on loan for the last few weeks. I've been putting it to good use and I've shot the autumnal colours at Fingle Bridge and produced a video called In The Footsteps of Colin Prior. With those bits of content produced I was ready to (sadly) send the camera back to Panasonic. However, the very kind folks at Panasonic Pro Services said I could keep it for a little longer.
Autumn at Holne Bridge
With the extra loan time I wanted to put the S1R to good use and make another video. As much as I'd loved to have produced another video on the scale of In The Footsteps of Colin Prior I'd have to produce something a little more close to home and within tighter time constraints. As I hadn't made one of my 5 Minute Photo Adventure videos for a while I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to do so. Though the best of the autumn colours were coming to an end I thought I might still be able to capture something interesting at Holne Bridge on Dartmoor.
Holne Bridge is one of my favourite locations to shoot autumnal colours and it was looking great when I visited there a few weeks before this trip (you can see the photos from that blog post here). I was a little unsure how the recent bad weather had impacted the leaves on the trees but fortunately for me local (and very talented) photographer Neil Porter drives through the area on a regular basis. He was kind enough to give me an update and as it was looking positive we both decided to meet up for spot of landscape photography.
A 5 Minute Photo Adventure
It was a great morning of photography and it was great to be joined by Neil. He knows a lot of good spots along the river there and he introduced me to a couple of new ones which I was very grateful for. Anyway, I don't want to spoil the video too much so here it is:
I hope you enjoyed the video and all the content I've made with the Panasonic Lumix S1R. I've really enjoyed using the camera and hope to use one again in the future. I also have to say that the folks at Panasonic Pro Services (who organised the loan) have been fantastic. Really friendly and easy to work with. Should I ever decide to purchase any of the S1 cameras it's good to know that Panasonic have the support services network in place.
I've got some exciting content coming up over the next few weeks including the return of On My Bookshelf, and some special new year videos, so stay tuned!
The Photographs
As always, here are the photographs from the video plus a couple of others that I captured after filming.
Holne Bridge at Autumn, Dartmoor, Devon - Panasonic Lumix S1R, Lumix S 24-105mm f/4 at 28mm, f/11, 1 second at ISO 200, Kase Filters CPL.
An Autumnal River Dart at Holne Bridge, Dartmoor, Devon - Panasonic Lumix S1R, Lumix S 24-105mm f/4 at 53mm, f/13, 1 second at ISO 200, Kase Filters CPL.
Downstream from Holne Bridge, Dartmoor, Devon - Panasonic Lumix S1R, Lumix S 24-105mm f/4 at 29mm, f/13, 0.8 seconds at ISO 200, Kase Filters CPL.
Upstream to Holne Bridge, Dartmoor, Devon - Panasonic Lumix S1R, Lumix S 24-105mm f/4 at 24mm, f/13, 1.3 seconds at ISO 200, Kase Filters CPL.
The Worst Time to Try Woodland Photography
In the blog this week I head out to try my hand at woodland photography but I wasn't exactly prepared for success.
Too Tired
I've always considered myself to be a bit of a morning person. I enjoy getting up early, before it's dark, and heading out for a spot of landscape photography. I like the excitement of arriving at a location and not knowing exactly what is going to happen. There is always that sense of anticipation as you wait for your viewpoint to be filled with the light of a new day.
As I looked at the weather forecast I already knew that great morning light was out of the question so I decided that it was time to try something a bit different. For a long while now I've been wanting to try my hand at woodland photography. I've been very much inspired by the work of photographers such as Simon Baxter. Given the weather forecast, I thought this would be a good time to try my hand at some woodland photography and scope out a new location.
For reasons I can't remember I really didn't sleep well that night. I never sleep perfectly if I have to get up early, but this sleep was particularly unsettled. Normally I don't exactly wake up with a skip in my step but waking up that morning I knew I was tired. Really tired. Any sensible person would have gone back to bed but I was determined not to waste this opportunity so I jumped in the car and headed up to Dartmoor.
Too Dark
For a dawn shoot, I like to arrive around an hour before sunrise so I can get myself set up, pick out some compositions and get some of the pre-sunrise light that is often more attractive than sunrise itself. Arriving at my location thought I realised that it was too dark to go exploring and looking for compositions in a field of outdoor photography I had no real experience of. I decided that I'd wait for it to get a little lighter before heading out. I still felt incredibly tired and I ended up having a few power naps in the car.
As it got lighter I headed out to do a little exploring but I knew deep down I was still feeling tired and not very creative. However, I was here and I was going to give it a try. Try I did, but it was hard. Even if I wasn't feeling tired, trying woodland photography was going to be hard. Even with the light I did have, I was clearly here too early, especially as it was very overcast.
I wondered about looking for compositions but just got increasingly frustrated. I tried to visual some of the woodland photographs I had seen and the emotions they had invoked, but I just couldn't get myself started. I would have an idea, shoot it and then when I looked on the back of the screen I felt disappointed.
Dartmoor Woodland #1, Devon - Panasonic Lumix S1R, Lumix S 24-105/F4 at 47 mm, f/8, 0.5 seconds at ISO 100.
Too Short of Time
The other problem I had was time. I had to be home by a specific time so I was also rushing my photography. I wasn't taking the time to really have a proper look around the location and pick out compositions. This really wasn't working for me. The new location, new type of photography, flat light, being tired, and lacking creativity don't add up to a good photographic experience. It really was the worst time to try woodland photography.
Dartmoor Woodland #2, Devon - Panasonic Lumix S1R, Lumix S 24-105/F4 at 105 mm, f/8, 0.5 seconds at ISO 100.
As I headed back up the hill towards the car I looked back on the area I had been exploring. While I had been looking for simple compositions of individual tress and I hadn't paid much attention to wider woodland that stretched out in front of me. In an effort to salvage something of the morning I got my camera out and took a photograph of something that was a little more familiar to me.
Dartmoor Woodland #3, Devon - Panasonic Lumix S1R, Lumix S 24-105/F4 at 105 mm, f/8, 1/6th second at ISO 100.
It wasn’t my greatest morning of photography that was for sure. Has this put me of woodland photography? Of course not. Maybe next time I'll wait for better light and get a good nights sleep.
Holne Bridge
Inspired by the autumnal colours I had seen at Fingle Bridge the previous week, this week I head to Holne Bridge on Dartmoor to see how the autumn colours are along the River Dart.
Embracing Autumn on Dartmoor
I don't know if it's my imagination but the autumn colours in Devon, especially Dartmoor seem to be much more vibrant this year. The yellows, oranges, and browns are really standing out on the trees. Woodlands are looking particularly spectacular.
After seeing the wonderful colours down at Fingle Bridge the other week, I was determined to get out again and make the most of this special time of year. But where to go? Easy. My custom Google Map to the rescue again! Holne Bridge on the River Dart was another location that had been on my map for a while, and this seemed to be the perfect time to go.
Holne Bridge
Though the weather forecast for that day was for rain showers, there was going to be a break for a few hours in the morning so off I headed to Dartmoor. I parked up just on the other side of Holne Bridge and started walking along the banks of the Dart. As expected the colours were brilliant, but it also appeared that the strong wind from the previous days had removed a lot of leaves from their branches.
Not to be discouraged by this I got the camera set up and took this image of the river Dart from the east side of the bridge.
Autumn on the River Dart, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70 mm f/2.8 VR at 25 mm, f/13, 10 seconds at ISO 64, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and ND Grad.
Just as I started getting into my photography it started raining. At first, I thought it was just a light shower, but the rain started to come down heavily. I soon regretted not taking my waterproof jacket! Never mind, I packed the camera away and decided that this would be a good time to do some exploring. My weather app told me the rain was due to stop in 20 mins so I wouldn't have long to wait.
While I was exploring the river bank looking for compositions, I spotted some woodland on the opposite side that I thought might suit an ICM shot. I had started experimenting with ICM when I was in Harris and Lewis and was interested enough with the results to try it again.
Holne ICM, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70 mm f/2.8 VR at 34 mm, f/8, 1.3 seconds at ISO 64, Lee Filters Circular Polariser.
As you can see I need to work on my ICM technique and compositions a bit more. However, it did at least pass the time until the rain shower had passed.
Once the rain had passed it was back to the job of capturing of autumnal images of the river Dart. There was still a fair amount of water flowing down the river making capturing engaging images a little more tricky. Too little water and the river looks dirty and bare, too much water and you just end up with a white blur.
To make sure the river represented an important element in the composition I headed upstream from the bridge until I got a place where the water was cascading around and over some large boulders.
Unfortunately, this was one of the very last images I had time to take that morning and I was soon heading home. Happy with the shots I had captured that morning the only problem I had was whether I should return again, go back to Fingle Bridge or try and find another autumnal location for my next trip out with the camera.
What types of shot do you like to take during autumn? Have you tried ICM? What is your favourite season to photograph? Let me know in the comments.
Fingle Bridge
In the blog this week I head to Fingle Bridge on Dartmoor to shoot some autumnal woodlands but some unexpected weather causes a change of plan.
Discovering Fingle Bridge on Dartmoor
I first learnt about the woodlands around Fingle Bridge on Dartmoor in Outdoor Photography magazine in their Locations Guide section (one of my favourite features in the magazine). I can't remember which issue it was in, but I do remember seeing the photograph and then putting the location straight onto my custom Google map.
This was a couple of years ago and since then I've only been back a couple of times, and generally without much success. I filmed one of my earliest YouTube videos there, so if you want to see how much I've improved my videos you can check that video out here.
Remembering Fingle Bridge
My original plan for the morning was to head up to the open moorland of Dartmoor and perhaps shoot Great Mis Tor or Great Staple Tor. The problem with that plan was the weather forecast. The morning sky was going to be largely clear with no cloud. Without some interest in the sky, I wasn't sure it would be worth photographing those Dartmoor locations.
I wasn't however, going to pass up the opportunity to get out with the camera just because of a clear blue sky. A quick scan of my custom Google map and I remembered all about Fingle Bridge. Perfect I thought! I could shoot the woodlands from the top of the valley for sunrise and then head down into the woodland as it gets lighter.
Misty Dartmoor
Arriving at Fingle Bridge it was still dark with only a hint of light from the sun. With sunrise still at least an hour away, I put on my head torch and started the walk up the Hunters Path. It was an interesting walk through the dark woodlands. When I pointed my head torch into the woodland I could several pairs of eyes staring back at me. I assumed they were deer and not some sort of wild beast or cat that prowls Dartmoor!
As I approached the top of the valley and got above the tree line I could see the valley and woodland stretch out before me. In the distance towards Hunters Tor I thought I could make out some low lying mist. We all know how attracted to mist landscape photographers, and I'm no different, so I decided to go an investigate.
Hunter's Tor is at the other end of the valley from Fingle Bridge so it was further than I had planned on walking. I'd given myself plenty of time that morning though so was able to extend my walk without missing sunrise.
Being Indecisive
Arriving at Hunter's Tor I could see a beautiful blanket of mist to the west. There were two small problems though. Firstly, it wasn't covering the woodland, and secondly, it was very thick and you couldn't actually see much of the land below.
It was at this point I got a little indecisive. I thought I could hang about Hunter's Tor and wait for it clear a little, or I could head back along the valley and shoot the mist from further away, or revert back to my original plan. I decided to head back along the valley.
By the time I got halfway back along the valley path the mist had started to clear, so I decided to head back to Hunter's Tor! Even though the sun hadn't risen, the mist was clearing fast so I had to run! Back at Hunter's Tor, I decided to make the most of the frosty conditions and mist, and captured these images:
Hunter's Tor on a Frosty Morning, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 16 mm, f/13, 15 seconds at ISO 64, Lee Filters ND Grad.
Frosty Fingle, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 22 mm, f/8, 0.8 seconds at ISO 64, Lee Filters ND Grad, focus stacked image.
Autumnal Colours along the River Teign
After capturing those images I decided that I would head back down to Fingle Bridge and maybe capture some shots of the River Teign. As I packed up and started the walk back I bumped into local photographer Neil Porter. I hadn't met Neil before but I was aware of his excellent work and we soon got chatting.
Neil offered me a lift back to Fingle Bridge which I gratefully accepted. The heated seats in his car were very welcome after standing on that frosty tor for an hour!
Arriving at Fingle Bridge we headed along the river and into the woodland to find the autumnal colours looking glorious. Neil has a lot of experience in shooting this area and he informed me that the colours would get even better over the next week or so. I made a mental note that I would need to come back to Fingle Bridge again very soon.
Autumn at the River Teign, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70 mm f/2.8 VR at 42 mm, f/11, 3 seconds at ISO 64, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and ND Grad.
Soon after capturing that image we started to see a few more photographers arrive. Happy with what I got, and with the need to get home, I left Neil and the other photographers to carry on shooting this beautiful autumnal location.
New Dartmoor Video
I hope you enjoyed the photographs from this location. If you did you might be pleased to know that I also did some filming while I was taking those images. The video from Fingle Bridge will feature in a Dartmoor video that I'm currently producing. I'm not sure when it will be out, but stay tuned to the blog, and be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Have you photographed Fingle Bridge before? What is your favourite autumnal location? Let me know in the comments below.
Landscape Photography in the Lake District
In this blog post I write about my 2 day photographic adventure in the Lake District. Read about how despite the challenging weather I still came away with some great images and a sense of satisfaction.
Escape to the Lakes
When a photographer friend of mine invited me to spend a couple of days shooting the Lake District in the height of autumn I literally jumped at the chance. Over the last decade or so I had visited the Lake District a number of times with my family and enjoyed it immensely. After all if you like the outdoors there really isn't much not to like about the Lake District. This was going to be a different type of visit though. This visit was going to be all about photography and I couldn't wait!
The plan was to spend two full days shooting various locations around the Keswick area taking in tarns, lakes, hills and of course the odd jetty. Our only restriction was dates. Free time for photography has to fit in around family and work time, so when we picked our dates we were committed, no matter the weather.
November seemed to take an age to come round but when it did my levels of excitement had almost become palpable. I had packed my stuff two days prior to departure and when I did hit the road the 300+ mile journey flew by. I couldn't wait to get shooting but as I would soon find out, the Lake District weather was going to be typically British.
High Brandelhow Landing
It was a 5:30 am alarm call on the first day and despite the lack coffee I was in high spirits and ready to get shooting. Our first stop was High Brandlehow Landing, a pier on Derwentwater. It's a classic Lake District composition with a pier but it was an ideal location to get the photography brain into gear.
My first instinct was to shoot the pier vertically but I actually ended up preferring the horizontal version. Using the Little Stopper at ISO 100, f/11 gave a 2 minute exposure but I was loosing the detail in the sky. Setting the camera to ISO 200 gave me a one minute exposure maintaining some texture in the sky.
Stock Ghyll
Despite the sky being almost completely overcast it had been a reasonably successful start to the day. After breakfast though the weather turned rainy so we decided to head into the woodland at Ambleside and walk along Stock Ghyll.
Photographing Stock Ghyll was a real challenge as I spent most of the time clearing rain water from the camera. I found it difficult to concentrate on my composition. I later tried to shoot the waterfalls but couldn't really find a composition I liked.
Grasmere
After drying out over a pub lunch we took the short drive down to the southern end of the lake at Grasmere. Though it had stopped raining the weather remained resolutely overcast which was a shame as there was barely a breath of wind and the reflections were stunning.
Lovely reflections, just a shame about the light. This image is a 2:1 crop from the original frame.
Latrigg Fell
With a renewed sense of optimism on the morning of day 2 I headed down to the hotel lobby to meet my friend. Unfortunately he was taking shelter from the down pour of rain. Not to be put off we checked our respective weather forecast apps and agreed that an ascent of Latrigg Fell could be rewarded with some nice light come sunrise.
The weather at dawn was not great but we dug in and waited.
As time progressed some splashes of light started to appear on Cat Bells. This image is a 3:1 crop of a 9 vertical image panoramic stitch.
The dawn light struggled to get through the clouds but when it did it provided little moments of magic. This is 16:9 crop from the original frame.
Castlerigg Stone Circle
While ancient stone circles don't necessarily offer a lot of interest for me, the location of Castlerigg Stone Circle is still an interesting location to shoot. You don't necessarily need to include the stones in your compositions.
Bad weather can work in your favour as well. I just needed to wait for a break in the light which came and went in the space of seconds. You just have to stand there with the finger on the shutter....waiting....till you get that fleeting moment of light.
As I've written about before, its important to look around to see what else is happening. I was focused so much on getting the previous image that I almost missed this one.
Tarn Hows
After our trip to Castlerigg we headed up to Ashness Bridge. It was a short stop as no sooner had we got our cameras out it started to rain heavily. So as we approached the end of day 2 we decided that we might try and catch last light at Tarn Hows. The weather hadn't exactly been kind to us up to that point and unsurprisingly it didn't improve that much.
This scene just need a splash of light on the trees but it wasn't to be.
Cat Bells
I was due to make the long trip home the morning of the 3rd day, but I couldn't resist one more dawn shoot. My friend had hit the road at 4am to go home, so as I was on my own I decided I would make the 450m ascent of Cat Bells. Despite the the previous two days of poor weather, I remained optimistic as the weather forecast looked like it might produce some nice early morning light.
My vision for this image was to get some morning light break over the fell peaks (Robinson and Red Knot). I waited and waited but this was as good as it got.
As is often the case in the Lake District, the moments of good light are brief but wonderful. This image of Rigg Beck and Causey Pike is a 3:1 crop from a single frame.
I was on my way down from Cat Bells and looking forward to breakfast but sometimes you just have to stop and unpack all your gear again. The light on Lonscale Fell was too good to miss.
Fun but Challenging
There was no doubt that I was extremely excited about my trip to the Lake District. Having seen so many autumnal images of the area I was keen to produce my own spectacular images. However, as you can see from my images old mother nature had a different plan which mostly involved rain and overcast skies. Even when it was dry there was very little of that magical light that you want to really lift a scene. When it did rain I would just spend most of time trying to keep my gear and filters clear of water. This can be infuriating and doesn't leave much time for the creative side of photography.
So was the trip a failure? Of course not! Yes, it was challenging, difficult and sometimes frustrating but I was in the Lake District, in autumn, with my camera. Sure it would have been nice to have better weather but sometimes as a landscape photographer you have to work with what you get. As I write this blog and look back at the photographs there is a lot to be happy about. Those little breaks of light like I saw on Cat Bells, or the stormy sky over the trees at Castlerigg just goes to show that there is an image to capture in almost any weather condition.
For me landscape photography is also about the adventure, about being outdoors. This trip was an adventure and I managed to capture some dramatic images of the Lake District, so I'm calling my trip a success!
Do you have a bucket list of locations or areas you want to shoot? Have you turned up to a location and faced a few challenges? Is there any type of weather you wouldn't go out in? Let me know in the comments.
Remember to check out my Instagram and Flickr feeds so you can see even more of my images. See you next time!