When I bought the lens that this image was made with (the Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 fish eye) I had intended to spend the whole winter using it for shots like this, but things didn’t exactly go according to plan. It got used a few times and, as correctly predicted by a number of people, it went back in the box (until being rediscovered for use on my infrared camera).
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Black Ashop Moor near Glossop. From a day out walking from Hayfield to Kinder with Dave Ascough.
The wreckage of Sabres XD707 and XD730 of 66 Squadron which crashed on the 22nd July 1954.
Despite the calm appearance the wind was entertaining as we attempted to cross the moor on frozen snow that gave way under our feet every few paces. Dave patiently had a spot of lunch whilst my hands froze, camera in hand, waiting for the sun to cross the snow.
This wreckage is relatively easy to find, although I’ll leave the explanations to those with a bit more experience: http://peakwreckhunters.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/kinder
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After a bit of a late night drinking red wine and cooking lager with Al Brydon, Sheffield’s most famous ex-hamster owner, I was a little too jaded to head into the hills – there was no way I was going to survive if I was any more than 30 minutes away from fatty food. So once Al had set off back to sunny Sheffield and the family and I had consumed some form of high calorie lunch we headed off to a blustery Seascale.
On a visit here years ago I must confess that I wrote this place off as the most depressing seaside town in England, but I think my views were somewhat clouded by having just bashed my car. Now I find myself feeling a massive amount of respect for people willing to make their lives in what isn’t the most forgiving of environments – even on this not spectacularly unpleasant October afternoon it was still reasonably hard to open the car door because of the wind.
Leaving her indoors to keep an eye on the kids on the playground I set off up the beach for a bracing half an hour before the rain started.
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I was lucky enough to get out for another walk guided by Dave Ascough again recently, along with Al Brydon who was working on a night photography project. The plan was to start mid-afternoon and to make our way up Doctor’s Gate, across to Higher Shelf Stones and the B29 Superfortress wreckage in time for nightfall.
It was a gloriously warm afternoon – almost t-shirt weather – but by the time this image was made, after a sandwich stop at Higher Shelf Stones, it was starting to get decidedly chilly. As the last of the daylight disappeared and the temperature continued to fall, Al got his shots and we headed back, taking the more direct Pennine Way route south towards Snake Pass.
The journey back was an experience, just using the ample moonlight to light our way (despite having torches) and watching banks of light mist move across the moor. It might have been nice to stop and grab a shot or two but by this time I think we were all happy just to head back, mission accomplished.
Dave offers walks specifically tailored for photographers (as well as Hills Skills courses and Guided Walks) – more information can be found here – Dave Ascough – Mountain Leading – Outdoor Photography
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I love it when it snows, not just because I’m a big kid who enjoys throwing snowballs at his kids, but also because it can totally transform a scene. Lighting is more even thanks to the brighter foreground, structures (both natural and man-made) become isolated and it’s possible to wring some nice pastel shades out of the camera with the correct exposure.
Normally when it know its going to snow I’ll set the alarm and get up and out early but that wasn’t possible on the day that these were taken – ‘er indoors already had plans to go out – so the plan was for me to spend the day entertaining the kids whilst she went walking in the Peak District. Fortunately for me the kids were also excited by the prospect of playing in the snow so they were up at dawn and I managed to steer them in the direction of the park, having seen it covered in snow the year before and thinking that it might be worth a few shots.
We were the first people to arrive so there was not the slightest footprint in the snow and fortunately for me the kids were so engrossed in throwing snowballs at each other that they forgot to a) thrown any at me and b) deliberately try to spoil my shots.
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One of the first images from my first digital camera – back in November 2008. I don’t take many pictures of flowers – I should probably try more often.
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Conventional wisdom might say we picked the wrong week to go on holiday – one and half days of sunshine out of seven – but fortunately dragging the kids up hills in all weathers has made them pretty hardy and they seem to appreciate any time whatsoever that we can get to the beach. For me, bad weather is more interesting than blue skies, just so long as it’s not too wet to get the camera out.
My eldest makes a rare appearance here – I’d spotted the flag and him walking along the beach so I wandered ahead and waited for him to walk by.
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A shot from the last significantly cold morning so far this year, in late January. It’s seemed so wet and mild for the past few weeks, which no doubt will please many people as it perhaps signals the approach of spring, but I like cold mornings with comparatively late sunrises.
I usually photograph these trees from the other side of the lake but I was looking for something different this morning – the light hitting the frost on the fence and the shadow covering the path caught my eye.
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