The Farm Track - Stapleford

We often take the familiar things for granted. I have to admit the farm track at the end of my road fell firmly into this category. Over the years I've enjoyed the occasional evening or weekend walk and even ventured out to catch the odd sunrise.

Stapleford Sunrise

Ron's Bench

Double Trouble

However, since the start of Covid-19 lock-down it's kept me sane. Every day I went out for a walk and the view was slightly different. People running, cycling, walking, the changing light and weather, even the crops as they grew.

As soon as lock-down rules relaxed allowing multiple trips out per day I decided to start work on a timelapse. The aim was to capture the farm track and the people who used it from dawn to dusk. A few weeks later and over 3000 images shot I've finished.

Hopefully it will not stop here and I will continue to enjoy the farm track as it changes through the seasons.

Resources:

www.cambridgeimages.co.uk
The Farm Track Flickr Album

Three nights on Eigg

After 22 hours of travel I finally arrived at my base for the next three nights, an off-grid static caravan at the Bay of Laig on Eigg.

Eigg is a small Scottish Island with a population of 100 people lying just south of the Isle of Skye. It boasts some amazing volcanic geology and striking coastal views.

The epic journey had brought me from Cambridge over 600 miles away via train, bus, another train, ferry and the final 4 miles on foot. My intention was to take some landscape photos and to get away from it all for a few days. With no electricity, mobile phone signal or TV it sounded idyllic.

Laig Bay Caravan
3 landscape shots stitched
Canon 5dmk4, 24-70mm, 1/40s at f11, iso100, handheld

It was an amazing late September day, warm and sunny hardly a cloud in the sky and not a breath of wind. More importantly no midge! After unpacking my rucksack, I lit the gas stove, popped the kettle on and sat down to a well deserved cup of tea. I had uninterrupted views across the deserted Bay of Laig to the mountains of Rum. Not a single person as far as the eye could see.

Enough relaxing I was here for a reason. I grabbed my camera, filters & tripod and headed out across the beach and the rocky shoreline to the North. One part in planning this trip I had overlooked was the state of the tides. The realisation that high tide would coincide with every sunset during my stay was a little disappointing.

Scrambling over the foreshore on a rising tide I tried a few different compositions and various ND filter combinations, but the sun was still quite strong and the shadows a bit harsh. I was better off scouting out some suitable compositions with lead in lines and interest for a little later on. This was quite tricky on a fast rising tide with many of the interesting features disappearing underwater.

Lead in lines to Rum
Canon 5dmk4, 16-35mm, 1.6s at f11, iso100, Kase 0.9 ND grad filter

Fading light over Rum
Canon 5dmk4, 16-35mm, 2.5s at f13, iso100, Kase 0.9 ND grad filter

As the day drew to a close and the glow over Rum faded I headed back to the caravan for some food and drink.

Sunday morning (day 2) I was greeted by grey skies and set off to climb An Sgùrr, the biggest hill on Eigg. Not huge by any standards 393m, but quite a dominant peak on the skyline. The walk over to the Sgùrr from Laig Bay is about 4 miles, then there is the 4 mile climb followed by another 4 miles to get back. My rucksack was much lighter than the previous day, but nevertheless with extra clothes, waterproofs, camera tripod and water it soon adds up. I completed the first 4 miles quite quickly, but failed to pick up the path climbing the Sgùrr. The heather and shrubs were a nightmare to fight my way through on the steep slopes. I eventually managed to rejoin the right route which was made progress much easier. The Sgùrr is has a impressive eastern end, over 100m of sheer volcanic pitchstone at first sight it appears an impossible climb. However, to reach the top you skirt round the back up a gully before a relatively gentle walk to the summit.

The Sgùrr
Canon 5dmk4, 24-70mm, 1/30s at f10, iso200, Kase 0.6 ND grad filter, handheld

The views from the top are far reaching across to the mainland, Muck, Rum and in the distance South Uist just over 40 miles away. Pausing for lunch and taking a 360 degree panorama I headed back down the Sgùrr to Galmisdale and a much needed snack from the general stores. Just the 4 miles back to the caravan. By mid afternoon I had made it back and the few breaks in the cloud combined with the low tide revealed the wide wet sands of Laig Bay. The light was a little bland, but good for some long exposure black and white shots and an opportunity to use my 10 stop ND filter.

Reflections in the sand
Canon 5dmk4, 16-35mm, 64s at f11, iso100, Kase 0.9 ND grad & Kase 3.0 ND filters

While the tide was still some way out I headed across the bay a short distance north where there are some striking sandstone concretions formed of calcite. Like giant marbles scattered on the rock ledges they have been eroded from the surrounding rocks over millennia. These form an amazing foreground offset by some dazzlingly bright green seaweed with Rum as the ever present backdrop.

Concretions Eigg
Canon 5dmk4, 16-35mm, 0.8s at f13, iso100, Kase 0.6 ND grad & Kase 1.8 ND filters

The helmet
Canon 5dmk4, 24-70mm, 0.6s at f13, iso100, Kase 0.9 ND grad & Kase 1.8 ND filters

I was eventually forced back by a rising tide and my evening meal and a well deserved bottle of beer. The beauty of staying right on the beach meant that I was able to dash out day or night and grab shots at a moments notice.

Sunset bag of Laig
Canon 5dmk4, 16-35mm, 8s at f11, iso100, Kase 0.9 ND grad filter

Milky way over Rum
Canon 5dmk4, 16-35mm, 30s at f6, iso6400

Monday morning (day 3) started to follow a similar pattern. Wake up, light boiler, shower, boil kettle, breakfast, wash up, brush teeth, switch boiler off, head out. The plan was to head North to the Singing Sands a mile or so up the coast. The Singing Sands are so called as when you walk on the sand it makes an intriguing sound as the grains of quartzite rub against each other.

There is an amazing little waterfall which has cut an almost canyon like slot into the rock exploiting the geology to dramatic effect. I tried as best I could to keep my feet dry, but even my gore-tex boots were starting to feel decidedly damp.

Eigg canyon
Canon 5dmk4, 16-35mm, 10s at f14, iso100, Kase polarizing filter

Moving on I scrambled northwards along the rocky coast. Pausing briefly to take a long exposure panoramic shot of Rum.

Rum panorama
3 landscape shots stitchedCanon 5dmk4, 24-70mm, 70s at f11, iso100, Kase 0.9 ND grad & Kase 3.0 ND filters

Soon it was time to head back for lunch.

By afternoon it had clouded over a bit so I decided to try and climb up the ridge at the back of Laig Bay to a rock pinnacle called God's finger. It really was a steep climb, but soon leveled out with spectacular views down to Cleadale, Laig Bay and across to Rum. I followed the path along the escarpment with distant views of Skye opening up on the horizon. I was briefly joined by two Golden Eagles circling overhead, an amazing spectacle. The sense of remoteness was inspiring, wild places do still exist you just need to search them out.

A few miles later and I was back at the caravan, another brief sit down and another brew. No time for relaxing though as the cloudy skies were starting to clear. I headed back down onto the beach to capture some patterns in the sand left by a small burn on it's last leg to the sea.

Patterns in the sand Bay of Laig
Canon 5dmk4, 16-35mm, 1.6s at f13, iso100, Kase 0.9 ND grad & Kase 1.8 ND filters

Another full day, capped off by a moody sunset.

Moody sunset from Eigg
Canon 5dmk4, 24-70mm, 10s at f11, iso100, Kase 0.9 ND grad filter

Tuesday (day 4) was my last day on Eigg. I packed up my rucksack and headed off first thing passing along Laig Bay, the bothy, Laig Farm and onto the Giants Footprint lochan. Climbing up through the bracken I paused to take one or two final snaps of the bay on my phone. Twenty minutes later after losing another path! I broke free from the undergrowth onto the road. I diverted briefly to Kildonan Bay, but unfortunately the sands were covered by the tide. Arriving back at Galmisdale and the ferry I had just enough time to enjoy some haggis for my lunch before catching the ferry and embarking on the 600 mile journey home.

An amazing trip, excellent weather, some great photos and an opportunity to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life.


Resources:

Eigg Flickr album
www.marona.co.uk/scotland

Halide app - Shot on an IPhone

I recently updated my ageing IPhone 5s for an IPhone SE. Most folk would dismiss that as an upgrade, but I like the small form factor and the upgrade only cost me £150.

One thing I was keen to try out was taking RAW photos on my phone. Would they be usable? Could there ever be a time when I could leave my heavy SLR at home and still get a half decent shot?

After a little bit of googling I discovered the Halide app "It gives you a tactile, intuitive, yet powerful way to take beautiful photos" Well for a penny shy of 6 quid I thought I would give it a go. First thing I did was switch on RAW capture and flick through the online quick guide. It's not rocket science, it's easy to use. 

I was not disappointed, slightly mush jpg's were much improved if you saved them as RAW files and took a few extra minutes to run them through Lightroom. You can see for yourself a comparison at 100% between a standard jpg & a RAW file. The only adjustments I made were to colour correct the RAW file to match the original jpg.

jpg file - note the slightly mushy look, telegraph lines are absent.

RAW file - slightly more noise, but more detail. Both Images taken at native ISO 25

When I was up in the Lakes recently I manged to take this shot up on Lingmoor Fell. I was really pleased with the IPhone output. I'm sure if I wanted to print a 15"x10" it would hold up well.

Lingmoor Fell. Shot on an IPhone.
Processed in Lightroom & Silver Efex Pro

I have to confess I was still carrying my SLR and took a few comparison shots. Maybe there will come a time when I just head out with my phone!

The only improvement, if the guys from Halide are listening is to have the option to change aspect ratios, I really like the square format.

Frosty morning Cambridge

I've not been out much recently so it was really good to get a text from a good friend Phil asking if I wanted to pop out into Cambridge early on Sunday morning. The weather forecast was for a heavy frost and clear skies. Sunrise was not likely to amount to much, but nice frosty conditions can be really photogenic.

I arrived in town at just after 7:15am, Phil about 2 minutes later. We parked up just the other side of the river (free until 9am) and headed over to Jesus Green and the fabulous avenue of London Plane trees.

Jesus Green avenue of trees

We only had a few minutes before the streetlamps switched off. There were a few hardy folk out and about. The following shot is 3 images combined. One at iso3200 to catch the man walking and then two iso100 shots blended into a hrd image.

Morning stroll

It was very cold (car had reported -6 on the way into town), but there was no ice on the Cam. I've only seen ice on the Cam twice in 10 yrs.

Spot the punt

The shot above was the fist I've taken with my new Kase filters. I used a 0.6 soft ND grad for this one to balance the sky. The Kase filters replaced some rather scratched Hitech resin ones which have lasted well, but seen better days.

Heading into town I was able to capture an obligatory bike shot.

Locked up

After wandering around town seeking inspiration we headed back towards the cars. The sun was starting to burn through a slight mist over Midsummer Common.

Midsummer joggers

It was fast approaching 9am and time to head home for a cup of tea and some breakfast. A lovely if slightly chilly morning to be out and about.

Resources:

cambridgeimages.co.uk

The Photographer's Guide to Cornwall

It was really nice to be contacted by Ellen Bowness asking if she could use one of my images in her latest guide book. The Photographer's Guide to Cornwall is her eighth guide book. Each one is well researched and an invaluable source for both location and planning info for photographers. The quality of the photos is excellent creating a real visual treat. Even if you know an area like the back of your hand it's really useful to have all that information collated in one easy to access source.

To date I've got copies of the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Peak District and Cornwall guides. I'm sure I will be adding more to my collection in due course.

My photo is on page 93, a view of Kynance Cove in the evening light. Kynance can get very busy in summer months so choose your time of day wisely.

Summer at Kynance Cove

Resources: 

Ellen Bowness - Long Valley Books
Cornwall Flickr Album
My Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Photos

Cambridge Open Studios 2018

11am - 6pm on 7th & 8th, 14th & 15th July

@ 23 Greenfield Close, Stapleford, CB22 5BT

COS flag

After many years deliberating I finally decided to sign up for Cambridge Open Studios (COS) back in December last year. COS is a group of over 500 artists living and working in the Cambridge area. The highlight of the year is open studios where over 350 of the artists open their studios & homes to display their work during the weekends of July.

I've opted to open up my home during the first 2 weekends in July (7-8th & 14-15th) from 11am to 6pm Saturday & Sunday.

For the last few months I've been thinking about which photos & products to display and sell. I've also spent some time procrastinating the logistics of transforming my kitchen / dinning room into a gallery space suitable for showcasing my work.

To date I've designed and printed some greetings cards and fitted an Artiteq hanging system along part of one wall. Now comes the difficult part of image selection, frames, sizes finishes etc.

Greetings cards

I will have a variety of work on display from classic Cambridge shots to a variety of UK landscapes from the Lake District, Norfolk & Suffolk, Cornwall & Scotland.

Please do pop in and say hello It would be lovely to welcome old friends and new.


Resources:

Cambridge Open Studios
Artiteq Hanging System

Another New Website - www.marona.co.uk

I first registered my domain name marona.co.uk back in 1999. Lots of people have quizzed me about the origins of the name, the simple answer is it's the name of my house. After searching through atlases (assuming it was a place name) I drew a blank. I then assumed the previous owners may have been called Mary & Ronald or a combination there of. Recently I came across a baby name website to discover the girls name marona (not in the top 1000 names) in Hebrew means "flock of sheep". So there is the answer.

Using Wayback Machine I was able to dig out one of my earliest designs from 1999.

1999 design

In 2003 I was featured in Amateur  Photographer magazine and was praised for my clean and simple design. Back then I offered 6 images for sale. The purchasing process required you to download an order form print it out and post it off with a cheque. How things have changed.

Amateur Photographer

By 2006 I had dropped my wife's art work, Cityscape & Cambridge images. Cambridge images had flourished and moved to it's own domain. I was now down to three categories, Landscape, Panoramic & Close-up. I also added in PayPal payments, the order form process clearly wasn't going to catch on.

2006 design

Over the next few years the bulk of my website hits and a few sales were for Close-up images. Although I enjoy taking macro shots I was far more focused on landscapes. Fast forward to 2010 and another design change embracing pull down menus and numerous galleries.

2010 design

Since 2010 not a huge amount changed other than adding new images and retiring a few older ones. The site remained non responsive and a bit of pain to use on phones since everything was so small. 

Almost a year ago I redesigned www.cambridgeimages.co.uk using a w3schools CSS template and it was finally time to start thinking about sorting out www.marona.co.uk

I decided to stick with w3schools, but have a slightly different feel from my Cambridge site. Using a menu which stays at the top of the page as you scroll enabled me to add more content to a single page. The portfolio pages are also dynamically sizing meaning tablet and phone use should be much easier and usable. I've stuck with PayPal ordering, it's trusted and reliable and effective to implement.

More fundamentally I've re-brand myself as "Landscape photography of the UK". No more cityscape, macro or foreign destinations. Hopefully this will work in my favor and give me a clearer focus when adding new work.

New design

I hope you enjoy my new site, I've already received some positive feedback with lots of suggestions so I don't think it will be standing still for any great length of time.

Resources:

Waybackmachine - internet archive

w3schools CSS templates

www.marona.co.uk

www.cambridgeimages.co.uk

Reverse image search and sausages

I've been selling photos on Alamy (digital stock photos) since 2001 everything from landscapes, cityscapes, travel and a few images from in and around the home.

Ironically one of my best selling shots is "8 Sausages in a frying pan". It has sold a total of 13 times since 2006 ranging in price from $0.83 to $156. (Alamy pricing is very confusing). So it got me thinking where has this image been used and by whom? When you sell an image on Alamy it sometimes gives you a bit of a hint; magazine, newspaper, website, presentation... you get the gist, but it's never very specific.

A few years ago I was reading the Telegraph only to spot a photo of Wastwater, that looked very familiar and sure enough it was one of mine. There was a small credit, but all it read was "Alamy" a bit disappointing and the stark reality was I only got paid £5 for the privilege.

So how else can you track down where your images are used? Back to the image of the sausages, I found a really useful website https://tineye.com/ a reverse image search engine. You upload a photo or URL to a photo and it the searches through an alleged 26.2 billion images in 3.5 seconds! My humble sausage photo was picked up 30 times across the web.

Here are a few of the more interesting locations my image has featured:

• Dailymail  - "Hull-based sausage makers Cranswick gobble up poultry producer Crown Chicken in sizzling £40million deal"
• Newslocker - "MRSA superbug found in supermarket sausages and mince"
• Telegraph - "Moving guide: 10 things to know before relocating to Qatar"
• Telegraph - "Ditch sausages for a longer life, say Harvard scientists"
• Cracked.com - "Sausages are older then the Bible"

But the prize has to go to a Caribbean Villa in Trinidad and Tobago that features my sausage shot as part of their breakfast menu offering.

Give TinEye a go yourself and you may be surprised at where you photos crop up.


Resources:

TinEye reverse image search
My stock photos on Alamy

Cambridge TV

Back in June I was contacted by Cambridge TV who were producing a series of short programs called Behind the Brush. These looked at the work of artists in and around Cambridge. The photography based program was questioning the aesthetic and commercial value of photography in the world of art and how is social media affecting this industry?

I'm not big on social media, I don't do Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, the only place I regularly post photos to is Flickr. Doing social media well, takes time and I would rather spend that time out taking photos!

The filming took place on a stinking hot Saturday afternoon in Cambridge. I was met by Rick and Oscar on the Backs for the first part of the interview we then moved onto Garret Hostel Bridge, finishing off down near the Mill Pond opposite the Anchor Pub. All in all a fun afternoon and my first ever TV appearance.

Isles of Scilly Landscape Photography

Sunset from St Mary's across to Samson

I'm fortunate to have just spent a week on the Isles of Scilly with extended family. The Scillies is an archipelago of islands located 28 miles South West off the tip of Cornwall. Five of the islands are inhabited with countless smaller ones dotted amongst the azure sea. St Mary's the largest was my base for the week, staying in the main port of Hugh Town.

Getting to the Isles of Scilly involves either a 2 hours 45 mins ferry crossing from Penzance or a flight from the mainland in small 9 or 16 seater planes. Flights from Lands End take about 15 minutes or an hour from Exeter. This time round we flew from Exeter, an excellent service both ways despite an aborted take off halfway down the runway on our return due to a seagull encounter.

Being based on St Mary's means you can easily explore all the other islands. A flotilla of small boats make the short trips back and forth to the various "off islands" during the course of the day.

Boat times Isles of Scilly

St Martins

As the week progressed I was able to visit Tresco, Bryher, St Martins & St Agnes. The remainder of my time was spent exploring St Mary's either on foot or catching the community bus. The bus had been upgraded since my last visit, the old rope to close the door had been replaced by a door that now closes automatically. Fares are somewhat arbitrary and calculated on the fly depending on how many stops you want to take, but it's not an exact science. Steve the bus driver has a dislike of small change, you have been warned.

Pot and boat Bryher

The weather on the whole was very good, one wet day in a week is good going. Weather on the Scillies changes quite rapidly which is generally a good thing when it comes to photography.

The one drawback with the island day trips is that you only get to visit the other islands during the middle of the day. Missing out on early morning or late evening light can be a little frustrating meaning you need to make the most of daytime photographic opportunities. For sunrises and sunsets I was confined to walking distance from Hugh Town on St Mary's.

Hugh Town harbour sunset

Sunrises were a little disappointing and I only managed to catch the tail end of  one in a far from ideal location. However, I did mange to enjoy two sunsets. One looking across the harbour (at high tide) which was OK, but didn't amount to much and a second spectacular one from Rat Island (just the other side of Hugh Town harbour wall). The sun just sank down below some thick clouds with no colour at all. Then after 20 minutes the light started turning straw yellow followed by spectacular colours in the clouds a full 30 minutes after sun had slipped below the horizon. It doesn't happen very often, but I can remember a similar sunset on the Lizard in Cornwall. A mediocre sunset followed by amazing colours 30 minutes later. It's often worth waiting around you just never know.

Rat Island sunset

The pace of life on Scilly is very relaxed and despite visiting in the middle of the summer holidays there were still many beaches just a short walk away which were virtually deserted.

Great Bay St Martins

There are many talented artists and some lovely galleries displaying their work dotted around the islands. I was struck that there seems to be a distinct lack of photographic art work on sale, perhaps there is a niche in the market!


Resources:

Isles of Scilly Flickr album - including location info of all shots

www.marona.co.uk/cornwall-scillies/

New website - www.cambridgeimages.co.uk

My original website was launched back in October 2006 and remained largely unchanged through to 2011. It then had a bit of a face lift, but the underlying code was very similar. Plain old html, basic CSS and some Server Side Includes to glue it all together.

My original Website

Over the last few years I've come to accept that a responsive site would be a big step forward. My old design did work on a phone, but everything was tiny and when I tried to scale if for mobiles it didn't look pretty on the desktop.

For the last 18 months or so I've been going round in circles. I tried WordPress, Drupal and various others content management systems (the names of which now escape me), I looked at SquareSpace and one or two other hosted managed solutions. I also downloaded various CSS templates.

I  found myself creating a few pages which didn't really work very well then I would give up and try something new. I kept coming back to Wordpress, but I just couldn't figure out how to create the gallery pages and payment integration. Fast forward 12 months and I came across w3schools.com at first I started working through some of their tutorials. I then stumbled on their templates. Some templates were great other not so great, but there were elements of a number which were really appealing. I downloaded their main style sheet and started to unpick it. It then became apparent all of their templates used the same CSS sheet, so I could pick and choose the bits which I wanted.

After building up a front page and thinking carefully about the structure I set about working on populating the back-end. The most efficient way would have been a database, but I had already decided this was not the route for me. I eventually settled on making the best use of Server Side Includes and creating a set of simple pages which could be easily duplicated and edited in notepad++.

Fresh new look

All in all I'm a bit of a luddite when it comes to new technology, but hopefully my fresh new design will stand the test of time and be usable on mobile phones at long last!


Resources:

www.cambridgeimages.co.uk
www.w3schools.com

Three men go to the Peak District

Mam Tor sunrise

A few emails pinged back and forth back in January and three of the CamPhotoWalk group decided we would go to the Peak District in February. Phil, Jeremy and I - the same bunch who made it up to Arran back in 2014. Phil suggested that we stayed over three nights travelling up on the Friday and back down on the Monday, taking a day off work. It seemed a sensible idea since you really can't plan ahead for the weather. Jeremy's plan was to head off on the Sunday, only two nights away.

Phil booked us in at Castleton YHA which was a great base for getting out and about. Sunrise was at around 7:30am which meant getting up at a relatively civilised hour. Phil and I arrived at the YHA first, just after 8pm on the Friday evening with Jeremy 20 minutes later. After unpacking and a bit of last minute fine tuned planning alarms were set for 6:20am. Morning came and with hot flasks in hand we set off for Winnats Pass.  Parking at the side of the road and pulling on some extra layers (there was a biting wind) we headed off through a gate and then a few fields to the head of Winnats. We had hoped there might be a bit of mist in the valley, but no such luck. There was a dusting of snow on the ground and a little bit of cloud in the sky to offer a potential sunrise so not all was lost.

Cold Start Winnats Pass

Once the sun was up Winnats was bathed in some lovely morning light. There were quite a few other photographers out and about. One guy didn't move from a spot on the edge for over 45 minutes. I'm always keen to wander a bit looking for different shots and compositions as the light changes. By 9am breakfast was calling and we headed back to the car for the short drive to Mam Tor.

It's a brisk 10 minute walk up to the top of Mam Tor one reason why it's often so busy. We passed walkers, fellow photographers and two guys carrying their bikes. Great views down the Hope Valley and across into Edale. Phil & Jeremy took a few panos from the top while I concentrated on the windy road down to Edale timing my shots to avoid any cars.

The winding road to Edale

When we had finished off at Mam Tor we headed down the windy road and parked up at Barber Booth in the Edale Valley. The plan was to walk up onto the flanks of Kinder Scout which also had a dusting of snow still evident on the tops.

A quick packed lunch thrown together from supplies we set off up Cowden Brook. 15 minutes later I stopped for a shot of one of the little waterfalls while Phil & Jeremy carried on. "Catch us up when you are done" about 20 minutes later and nothing to show for my efforts I caught Phil up, but no sign of Jeremy. "You must have passed him further on down?" "Nope". Anyway Phil and I carried on up following the brook. Every so often we would stop and look back for Jeremy, but no there was no sign at all. By lunchtime Phil and I had reached Crowden Tower and with a mobile signal returning Phil fired off a quick text to Jeremy. In a flash Jeremy responded with the coordinates of his location. Sure enough after checking the map we could see a tiny speck in the distance. Not in the valley as expected, but halfway up another hillside!

After a leisurely lunch Jeremy eventually caught us up. We then all wandered along the ridge taking lots of shots of the grit-stone rock formations. The light was a little stark in the middle of the day, but there were some nice clouds breaking up the sky. By 2.30pm it struck me that unless we really got a shift on then we wouldn't be over at Stanage for our planned sunset location. It was clear we wouldn't make it as we headed along the path towards the Penine Way then back down Jacobs Ladder. By the time we got back to the car it was gone 4. In an attempt to salvage any sunset opportunities we returned to Winnats from where we had started the day. Compositionally it was a disaster which was a bit of a relief since the sun didn't play game. There is nothing worse than a great sunset when you are in the wrong location with nothing to work with.

Back to the youth hostel and a bit of time to relax before heading out into Castleton for some hearty food and a photo review. Lots of shots taken a few keepers. It was also a good opportunity for me to spot a huge black dust spot on my sensor which I was quick to remedy with my cleaning kit.

6am start on Sunday with the plan to try for a sunrise at Higger Tor, just above Hathersage. After parking the cars and walking for five minutes I discovered my map reading skills needed a little adjustment. Another 1/4 mile up the hill and we were back on course. The weather forecast had predicted mist, but it seemed to be much further East over towards Chesterfield. We all managed to get some photos although the pickings were a little scarce. There was some nice light over Hope way ironically lighting up the Cement factory, but it was a little cloudy on Higger.

Breakfast back at the cars. A very short hop and we caught a few shots at the mill stones just beneath Stanage Edge. This was the intended sunset location from the night before. By mid morning the sun showed it's self, but the light was quite harsh. The green grass looked unnatural on camera (hence my b&w conversion).

Stanage Edge mill stones

Next location was Ladybower, we had planned shots of the Ashopton Bridge and the overflows at the dam end. It seemed every man and his dog were out and there wasn't anywhere to park one car let alone two. We ended up in a truckers cafe stop about 1km from the bridge. A bit of a trudge back along the busy road we made it to the western bank. Ladybower was like a mirror and the bridge looked great with good cloud detail and reflections in the water. After a few shots we headed over to the far side with similar results.

Reflections Ladybower Reservoir

Back to the cars we decided we would drive up to Fairholmes for lunch and then and try our luck with reflections at Derwent Reservoir and the dam. Lunch was great surrounded by loads of ducks, but after wandering aimlessly for over an hour trying to find compositions of the dam we gave up. The hope now was there would be somewhere to park down at the dam end of Ladybower so we could have a crack at the overflows.

Squeezing into to two parking spaces just down from the dam was a stroke of luck. Gone were the reflections of earlier and there was now a distinct ripple on Ladybower. What was called for was my 10 stop filter and some long exposure shots. Capturing the water towers and then the far overflow made up for the lack of focus earlier at Fairholmes. Phil and Jeremy couldn't get all of the overflow in as they couldn't go wide enough it only just fitted in for me at 16mm. I think Phil did a bit of a pan, but I've still to see that shot.

The Plug Hole Ladybower

At this point late in the afternoon Jeremy decided to call it a day and head home to Cambridge. Phil and I headed on to Bamford Edge for a possible sunset. I have to say it was a little uninspiring the light was flat and the prospect of a decent sunset quite remote. We passed another photographer who packed up and was heading home wishing us all the best. We started walking back towards the car thinking we were done. In a split moment the clouds parted and the heather was bathed in a beautiful golden light. Phil and I both rushed to set up quickly and grab some shots. I really hate it when I'm forced to rush, where is my composition? what should I do? Is there enough time for filters? Running around trying to find a shot is not great when you are clearly up against it.

Bamford Edge striking light

After a quick burst of light there was a little lull followed by a nice sunset. I struggled with further compositions so didn't get much else to show for my efforts.

Back to the YHA for a third night and another meal out in Castleton. Again the weather forecast for morning was mist, but we were doubtful. Alarm set for 6:20am with a plan that we would give Winnats or Mam Tor another shot. I had wanted to try for a sunrise at Chrome Hill, but this would have required an even earlier start so we decided to stay local.

Emerging out of the youth hostel at first light it was thick fog. Fantastic, this was the sort of opportunity we had been waiting for. Driving up Winnats, should we stop or carry on up to Mam Tor? We made the right decision, parking the car at Mam Tor it was evident Winnats was still shrouded in fog, but we were sitting above it. It's mornings like these that I dream about, but which never happen. Amazing conditions and even though it was a Monday morning 10 or so other photographers had already set up on the top for sunrise.

When you are greeted with phenomenal conditions such as these I sometimes find myself getting "writers block" Where do I start? What do I capture? Although the overall scene was amazing, how do you try to distil that down into a single shot? Is it possible? 3 or 4 compositions later I wasn't sure what to do next other than to repeat again as the mist changed shape spilling over the landscape.

Mam Tor path

Mist from Mam Tor

20 minutes later Phil and I re-grouped and walked down the path into the mist hoping it might clear revealing more of the landscape. Quite the opposite even with a good breeze blowing it got thicker. Back at the top just about everything was obscured. All bar one photographer who we had chatted to had gone. Breakfast was very much in our sights again so we headed back to the car. The plan was to start heading South hoping that there was some fog at Chrome Hill. Driving through Buxton there was still lots of fog and the air temperature dipped at one point to -2. Stopping briefly for some roadside shots near Chelmorton we arrived at Earl Sterndale for Chrome Hill. Despite conditions looking bleak we still made the trek up the path overlooking what would have been Parkhouse Hill if you could have seen it! I hunkered down pulling on all my layers in the blind hope it would clear. It didn't so in the end we gave up.

We headed off out of the fog towards the Roaches. After a quick stop at Ramshaw rocks we continued on to the infamous old barn. With the barn done from various angles and a bitterly cold wind blowing we decided it was time to head for home. Pointing the car in the right direction we were off.

Great company, great weather and some great photos made for an enjoyable trip all round. Where next? We will have to see.


Resources:

www.marona.co.uk
Peak District Flickr album