The Blog is Moving....

After much consideration I've now decided to move this blog across to WordPress and integrate it more closely into my main website. The new blog can be found at www.astannard.com/blog, and it does of course mean that this blog will no longer get updated.

There's a few reasons behind this....

1. A blog more closely coupled with my site means it will be easier to consolidate a few different pages on my site. Rather than having a separate News, Articles and Blog page these are now all one.
2. All the blog posts now reside on my own domain, which makes backing up easier and should hopefully help with SEO, after all they do say content is king!
3. The WordPress blog is easier for me to update remotely, which will mean more posts.
4. I quite liked the challenge of integrating WordPress into my existing site, and it gave me the chance to learn something new!

All the blog posts from this site have been transferred across as well, so the content is still there, although I have obviously lost all your kind comments (feel free to comment on the new blog!).

I'll leave you with this image from the Forest of Bowland. It's rapidly becoming a favourite area of mind, and it's becoming something of a project to build up a collection of images from up on these lonely but beautiful moors. Could even become the source of my first book one day, but we'll see....

Thanks,
Andrew.

Sourmilk Gill and High Raise

Last week I managed to escape to the Lake District for an enjoyable walk up Sourmilk Gill from Grasmere. The weather forecast wasn't great and we knew that we'd be in cloud once we were up on the ridges, but our route meant that we'd go past plenty of waterfalls that ought to give us some photographic potential despite the weather.

When I'm off walking in the Lakes I'm often in a bit of a quandary as to what kit to take - do I travel light and have the ability to cover the ground quickly, or do I pack in the tripod, lenses, filters etc at the risk of being somewhat slower across the fells.

With the somewhat dubious forecast I decided to opt for the latter approach. If we were likely to be taking shots of waterfalls, rather than wide-angle scenics from high up on the mountains, then the tripod would be a necessity and the filters would probably come in handy to hold back a overcast but bright sky.

Leaving Grasmere by Easdale Road, and then picking up the path that tracks up to Easdale Tarn, it is only a couple of miles before you reach Sourmilk Gill and the main section of waterfalls. I don't think I've been up this route since I was about 10 years old and it's certainly the first time I've been since taking photography more seriously. To be honest we could easily have spent the whole day exploring just this small section of the walk, but we had a route we wanted to get around and we knew the winter day would be short.

This image was taken of the main section of the falls, which is easily accessible from the adjacent footpath. For a first proper visit to this location I'm pretty pleased, but it's definitely somewhere to come back to. My tripod was balanced precariously amongst some boulders and a 2-stop graduated filter was used over the top portion of the image to hold back the sky, eventually giving a 1/2 sec exposure at ISO50. This image is actually cropped a little from the original RAW, which has more of the sky - but there was little interest in it, so I've excluded as much I felt I could without cramping the falls themselves.

This is a zoomed composition of the same areas of the falls. I think it's too abstract to work as an image on its own, but makes a nice pairing with the first shot.

Moving onwards up the gill the river then became a series of short falls, but still with plenty of interest. A gnarled tree stood out alongside the gill and looked like a great subject for photographs. Again it would be good to return on another day and explore this tree further, but I still like the image below. My tripod was this time slowly sinking amongst the moss and waterlogged ground, but it was just about stable enough to still record a sharp image.

Leaving the gill behind we then made our way up to Easdale Tarn, past a large group of Scouts, and then round on a short detour to Codale Tarn. This small tarn again offers great photographic potential, although the light by this time was incredibly flat, and the fells above the tarn were quickly lost in the low cloud. I experimented for while with different shutter speeds across the tarn, obtaining mixed results in the occasional buffeting winds. Perhaps one thing I've learnt from the trip is that I need to be prepared to carry a somewhat heavier tripod for longer exposures in poor weather! The image below was a 15sec exposure and is acceptably sharp at 100% viewing even if it doesn't quite do justice to the sensor on the 5D MkII. This image really needs some more interesting light but I think it's always good to take photos even if the conditions aren't perfect.

Not long after leaving the tarn we soon entered cloud, and made our way up towards High Raise. After wandering around in the mist for a while (i.e. temporarily getting lost!) we eventually got to the trig point on High Raise and then set off northwards to pick up the path leading backdown towards Grasmere via Moor Moss and Far Easdale Gill.

The camera stayed in the pack for most of the way down, and although I took some further shots of some small waterfalls they weren't that successful and will remain hidden away on my hard-drive! Back down in Grasmere we treated ourselves to the obligatory cup of tea and cake, in the excellent Baldry's Tea Room, before purchasing some famous Grasmere Gingerbread and making our way back to the car.

Overall it was a good days walk, totalling around 10 miles and 3000ft of ascent. From a photographic perspective it's an area I really want to go back to, with time to explore and look for some new compositions. It was also a good reminder to shoot images that match the conditions, rather than going for a walk with a pre-conceived idea of your ideal shots. There are always subjects to be found and the landscape will always be there to return to another day. My friend Mike was shooting on 35mm film for the day, and it was interesting to compare his results with my own. I'm sure he won't mind me saving that the 5D MkII wins on the detail count, but looking at his results there's still a pleasing tonality to film that is hard to match in digital.

I hope you've enjoyed this post, the images within aren't on my website yet and I'm yet to decide if they will be or not, but if you're interested in seeing some more of my work then follow the link: Andrew Stannard Photography

Andrew.

A Trip to Tatton Park

Having a young child in the family means that we're always on the look out for new places to visit - especially those that are family and push-chair friendly - and around this time last year we made the trip to Tatton Park, just off junction 19 of the M6.

For those that have never been it's a massive park, with an old Tudor Hall, a neo-classical mansion, 50 acres of landscaped gardens and about 100-acres of parkland. Plenty of photographic opportunity whatever your taste.

Top on my list when we visited was the opportunity to take some shots of the deer. The park has herds of both Fallow Deer and Red Deer and offers a great chance to get close to these spectacular animals.

With the parkland being so vast it can still take while to track down the herds, but once you find them then there really is no trouble with getting in close. A serious word of caution though - if you do visit please do give the animals some respect and maintain some sensible separation. Whilst we were there there were some idiots who saw fit wander directly through the herd with a loose dog. Mindless at its best to say the least.

Our first encounter was of a few scattered animals rather than the main herd and we were able to maintain a reasonable distance whilst still getting close enough for some decent shots. I'll freely admit to being no expert wildlife photographer and regularly suffer from lens envy in situation such as these, but I was still able to get some pleasing shots as the animals grazed in the slightly misty conditions.

After stopping a short while for a picnic in the grass the main Red Deer herd made an appearance - running in from stage right through some scattered trees. Luck was on our side and the herd paused directly between us and the main hall, allowing me to get the shot below. Some extra focal length would have been nice, but I was still pleased to get a shot of the stag with the hall in the background. Exposure was also tricky here - I wanted  enough depth of field to provide some focus to both the hall and the stag, but still needed to maintain enough shutter speed to shoot hand-held at 300mm. I ended up settling on ISO400, f/7.1, 1/400s which provided a nice overall compromise.

With our young daughter now more interested in getting to the play area it was time to wander back through the park, pausing occasionally to watch the deer and also to spot the fungi growing alongside the path.

A successful day out and highly recommended if you've never been - especially at this time of year. I'm sure we'll be back again in the not too distant future.

The Fairfield Horseshoe in Winter

Much as I love walking the Lake District in summer, there is something I find alluring about walking in winter conditions. I think part of this comes from the challenge, and part of it comes from the change in the scenery and the dramatic light that it can bring.

On this day we'd decided to walk the Fairfield Horseshoe from Ambleside. This is a great route for those looking to make their first foray into winter walking, although it's still important to make sure that you have the appropriate kit. From valley-level the tops may not look too bad, but once you get higher up appearances can soon change. What looks like a thin covering of snow can soon reveal itself to be an plateau of sheet ice, and without crampons and ice-axe it can be a dangerous place.

We'd gone up a few hundred metres from the valley floor before we encountered much snow, and this was the view to the summit and our route ahead.

The snow underfoot was still soft at this point, but it was clear that it wouldn't be too long before we had to get the crampons out. This soon proved to be the case, and with crampons donned we continued our ascent. Looking across to the other side of the horseshoe we could just make out fellow walkers making their way steadily along the ridge.

In winter the summit area of Fairfield often turns into an ice-sheet, as the wind whips across the exposed plateau. Care really must be taken here, as it is a convex slope and it would be all too easy to slip and end up sliding dangerously out of control.

As we reached the summit itself we were enveloped in cloud, so it was quick lunch stop before beginning our descent. The normal route is to descend via the opposite side of the horseshoe, but our later than planned start and the short winter day meant that we decided to descend the same way we had come up.

From a photographic point of view luck was on our side, and previously continuous cloud cover finally began to break up. Spectacular beams of light lit the landscape around us, and it was tempting to stop and take a photo every ten yards.

As the breaks in the cloud moved quickly across the sky the Coniston range in the distance was suddenly illuminated. Opting for a panoramic shot I took 3 frames that were later stitched together in Photoshop. Extreme dynamic range posed its problems here, and even with a graduated filter I had to be careful not to lose all detail in the dark foreground.

The final shot shown here is looking back down towards Ambleside and Windermere beyond. Again the dynamic range made exposure tricky and in these conditions shooting in Raw can provide real benefit, as can bracketing shots to give yourself a range of options to work with. 

Satisfied with my images from the day we slowly but surely made our way down through the snow line and back to civilisation. A warm mug of tea providing the perfect tonic for cold hands and weary legs.

A Visit to Martin Mere WWT

We spent today at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Centre at Martin Mere near Southport in Lancashire - a centre that combines waterfowl gardens with plenty of habitat and hides to keep serious birders happy.

Ideal for families as well, with push-chair friendly paths and plenty of activities through-out the year. We've been members since last spring, and are likely to re-join next year. 

It's a great place to visit if you're into photography, even if wildlife photography isn't your main interest. The waterfowl gardens let you get up nice and close to species that you'd otherwise struggle to see, whilst the hides offer fantastic views out over the marshes, meres and reedbeds.

The snow from the last few weeks began a major thaw today, but much of the water was still frozen, this Wood Duck finding something interesting at the edge of the ice.

The waterfowl gardens contain a large array of species, split into various continents, and range from Flamingos to less well known species such as the Cape Barren Goose below. For some reason this particular bird always seems to charge me when we visit, and is rather aggressively territorial. Still a good chance to test the auto focus and your panning skills.

The winter weather provided plenty of other opportunities as well, these frozen footprints being one example.

In winter the reserve itself becomes home for vast numbers of migrating Pink-footed Geese and Whooper Swans. Today there were reportedly around 1900 Whooper Swan, although this pales into insignificance with the 36,000 Pink Footed Geese that were using the reserve back in Autumn. The views out of the hides with this number of birds is fantastic, and provides a visual feast - for both seasoned birders and those new to the whole experience.

There's something quite majestic about watching the swans fly over. Once airborne they seem to move with such ease and grace, and sometimes it's nicer to simply watch than follow with the camera.

Overall a fantastic day, and a place I wholeheartedly recommend a visit to if you're in the area - although it eventually became too much our young daughter.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all,

Andrew.

Helvellyn In Winter

The Lake District will always have a place in my heart, and is an area of the UK that I am drawn to time and time again. Why? Difficult to say - there's the rugged fells, the peaceful lakes, the dramatic weather, and many other alluring sides to its character. In combination they produce an area that is unlike any other, an area full of photographic opportunity.

Of course the factors listed above don't guarantee successful photography, you still need put in some leg work - quite literally if you want some sunset photos in winter from England's third highest peak...

The photos you see in this post weren't ones that had specifically been in my mind before we set out on this walk, but the general ideas were there and, more importantly, we had planned the timing and the day of our walk to at least give us a chance.

The hours just before and after sunset are often spectacular and this day was no exception. We reached the top of Helvellyn about 30 minutes before sunset, having spent a fantastic day high on the hills. The gentle curve leading to the summit was ideal for an photo, and Blencathra in the background was glowing in the evening sun. Click!

From a gear point of view we had been unsure of the fell top conditions, so my rucksack this day included crampons and ice axe and I had chosen to go light on my camera kit. I had decided to forgo a tripod, leave the filter kit at home and bring just two lenses. Perhaps with hindsight I would have put up with the extra weight, but as it was I ended up hand-holding and relying upon lens stabilisation to help balance shutter speed with aperture and subsequent depth of field.

 

Shooting in RAW without the benefit of a graduated filter meant that the aim of the game for the day was to expose as far to the right of the histogram as possible, being careful not to clip the highlights. The foregrounds were typically still left looking a little dark so post-processing included giving these a little lift. Some selective dodging and burning was then performed, adding further life to the images.

 

We certainly weren't the only ones out on the fells this day, and others were also clearly enjoying the views. In the distance a man stood alone on a summit, admiring the scene and the beauty of the sunset.

As we began to descend, still above the snowline, the setting sun cast it's slanting rays through the gathering mist in the valleys below. The scenery came alive and crouched down on one knee, camera held steady, it was time for another shot. If you want to try and work out the peaks in the background then feel free - a starting point is Great Gable on the left and Grisedale Pike on the right.

By definition sunset photography requires you to be in location as the sun is setting, and with a location high on the fells we were always going to end up walking downhill in the dark - forward preparation was as much about ensuring we had the equipment to return home safely as it was about the photography. Prior knowledge of the route was great help here, removing any element of doubt as our descent was completed via the dim glow of our head torches.

We weren't the last to leave the tops though, and even as we descended into the darkness, the outline of others could still be made out high up on the ridges - walking steadily along under the weight of their packs.

I haven often heard people comment that you need to be lucky to take good photos. In part this is true - you do often need a small element of luck. However there are so many steps you can take to weight the odds in your favour - look at the weather, pre-visualise your shots, make sure you're in the best location at the best time of the day. Take these steps and you increase your chances tenfold. You may return home tired, but you'll remember the day for a long time to come.

A Winter Wonderland in Lytham

One thing you don't normally associate with the Fylde coast is snow. If we do get any it's normally not much more than a light dusting, but over the last week we've had around 6 inches - a rare occurance, so definitely time to get the camera out!

I've been wanting to add some pictures of Lytham to my portfolio for quite a white, so this was the perfect opportunity. Arriving at Lytham front it was obvious I was going to be in for a treat - snow lay on the ground, fog was clearing across the green, the sun was setting and a full moon was rising. What more could you want - as a landscape photographer if these sort of conditions don't lift the spirit then nothing will.

In rapidly changing conditions such as these, I often prefer not to use a tripod. This way I can move around an area more easily and make the best of the light as it evolves. Modern cameras offer several features to help, so why not make use of them - stabilised lenses allow you to handhold at slower shutter speeds, and you can safely push the ISO up without seriously compromising image quality. I could still use my trusty Lee graduated filters to balance the exposure of the sky, and the instant preview on the lcd was useful for checking highlights and sharpness.

The conditions really were beautiful, and I certainly wasn't the only photographer making the most of them. Everyone had a smile on their face, despite the sub-zero temperatures. The view above would normally show the estuary and the sea beyond, but the fog, snow and sun combined to create a magical atmosphere.

The full moon was added bonus, and really helped make this scene - although I had to be careful with exposure not to lose all of its detail. Lytham windmill itself recently had its sails damaged in the storm - apparently they will be replaced in the new year, so the image above will probably be a one off. Hands numb, I eventually put the camera away - aware that I'll probably never see conditions quite like this again.

I'm sure some of these images will be available on my main website soon (www.astannard.com), so please check there or get in touch if you're interested.