Marie Louise Lake

Northern Ontario in the autumn and the leaves are changing colours rapidly. By now they're a riot of reds, yellow and gold, but on the day that we visited this spot on the lake the colours were not so vibrant although they were beginning to change. I thought that this image looks better in black and white because you can appreciate the contrast much better. I used a preset in Lightroom to add a little more warmth which the scene deserves and I think you will agree this is a lovely shot.

I chose to photograph this spot because a couple of years ago we camped here, about half way along this shore line and I had so much fun canoeing on the lake, getting up close with an otter family and watching a bald eagle fishing. It was really quiet here on this particular day because the season was coming to an end, but even during the summer it is a great place to get away from it all. There is no phone signal right here so you get a sense of being "off the grid" which is refreshing although I confess that there were times when I sneaked off to the other side of the park in order to call friends/family back home. 

The Joys Of Spring

Last weekend couldn't have been more different to the weekend before when I was in Paris and Versailles. Instead of a quaint apartment and cafe culture I spent much of last weekend under canvas in a field in the Yorkshire Dales eating a delicious burger and nursing a toothache following the extraction of a wisdom tooth.

Although there was less in the way of luxury and I certainly got less sleep I enjoyed every minute of my camping trip at one of my favourite camp sites. I didn't do as much photography as I had intended as I was feeling less than 100% so I spent a lot of time snuggled in the tent out of the very blustery wind.

The few pictures that I did capture were taken either as the light was going or after dark down at Bolton Abbey.

Today's selection is a cuteness overload with these lovely spring lambs. I caught these first two sitting tight together enjoying that last of the evening sunshine.

There were lots of lambs and many of them were running and skipping around, I tried to follow them with my long lens and catch the moment. In the failing light it wasn't easy but I managed to get a few just at the right moment. The second of today's pictures is just one of them. It's a fairly grainy image but it fills me with joy and brings back some happy memories of a weekend full of the joys of spring.

A Lovely Evening in Millom

Today I have spent the day in Snowdonia but the pictures I have chosen for my blog are from last weekends trip to Millom in Cumbria.  

We have some really fantastic countryside in the UK and I had one of the best nights ever last Friday camping at a new site on the North West coast between Millom and Haverigg. There were no other campers on the site so it was really perfect.  Over the next few days I will share some pictures from the trip, including my first attempt at shooting the night sky.

For today I have chosen some pictures of the sunset.  The first is looking across the fields to Millom with the Cumbrian Fells in the distance, you can see Scafell Pike and Coniston (if you know what you're looking for).

The second image I took along one of the lanes near to the campsite, I love the evening light as it breaks through the trees.  

The final picture was the view from my tent as the sun was setting, I don't think anyone can argue, that was a great view to end the day.  After that I got some fish n chips with a helping of battered haggis for my supper before settling down to watch the stars. Mmmmm what a brilliant night.

Coniston

Canon EOS6D EF 24-105mm f/4L @ 24mm f5 ISO 100 1/400s

Just one picture for today, this was taken one day in June 2013 and was one of the first pictures taken with my full frame DSLR.  I had gone up to the Lake District looking for a campsite and I had just checked out Coniston Hall Campsite which is right on the shore of the lake.  It was a bit too busy for me so I decided not to stay there but the views of Coniston Old Man were really good so I thought I would share one today, I like the wide open meadow with summer flowers in the foreground.

Why did I pick this picture for today?  Well at the weekend I ordered a favourite album on vinyl and it arrived today it is pressed on cream vinyl with aqua blue and bronze splatters, it looks amazing and as I listened to one of my favourite tracks I thought I would link it with my blog.  The song is called If I Sit Still, Maybe I'll Get Out Of Here.  I thought of where I would go and as I love the Lake District I thought this picture fit the bill.

Ullswater

Canon EOS 6D  Canon 24-105 mm F4/23  28mm @ F11 ISO 250 1/40s

Canon EOS 6D  Canon 24-105 mm F4/23  28mm @ F11  ISO 125 1/40s

Canon EOS 6D  Canon 24-105 mm F4/23 67mm @ F14  ISO 100 1s

Canon EOS 6D  Canon 24-105 mm F4/23 80mm @ F10  ISO 100 1s

In September last year I went camping overnight on a very basic campsite overlooking Ullswater in the English Lake District.  It was a great trip and although the ground was very uneven and my car got stuck I was glad I went.  I was also grateful to the leaders of a school trip who helped to push my car out of the mud.

I got up early on the Saturday morning and the photos below are two view of the fells on the opposite side of the lake, I like the way the early morning sun is lighting up the clouds and the way in the second picture the clouds hug the top of the fell.

The other pictures are of a small waterfall from slightly different viewpoints, I have experimented with different exposures/shutter speeds to create different effects with the flowing water.