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 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.

The Langdale Pikes

I spent an enjoyable day last week wandering around Langdale in the Lake District, with the aim of getting some pictures of the Langdale Pikes. Harrison Stickle has always been on my list of best mountains - I first climbed it at the tender age of 4 and have been up there many times since. Until now though I've never really had any photographs of the peak.

Given the recent weather I was a bit concerned about the conditions on the fells, so went armed with ice axe and crampons, although as I drove down the valley it was apparent that the snow wasn't actually that bad, so the winter kit stayed in the car. Photographing mountains in winter is always a balance between the amount of kit you take and the weight of your rucksack. I use a winter climbing rucksack with a sleeping bag comartment adapted for camera storage. This gives plenty enough room for my camera gear and walking gear, with room for storing tripod, crampons and ice axe if necessary.

As I started up towards Pike of Blisco I soon gained enough height to get a good view back across to Harrison Stickle and Pike of Stickle. The light wasn't great, but there were a few breaks in the cloud, and with a bit of patience (a useful trait for landscape photography!), I took the picture above.

Winter days are always short, and it didn't feel like long before the sun was starting to drop and so I made my way over to Blea Tarn for some more shots before the light disappeared. A frozen tarn was an added bonus and I was able to spend some time wandering around trying out different compositions. Extra warm clothing in the rucksack a necessity here, as body temperature is quickly lost when sat stationary by a tripod.

Graduated filters were the order of the day here, helping to prevent the highlights being blown, or the foreground being lost in the gloom. Some prefer to take two shots and merge in post-processing, but personally I prefer traditional filters for this type of shot.

With the best of the light now gone, it was time to make my way back to the car, headtorch on. The legs were tired, but it had been a great day.