Memories

 

I recently took my mum out for a day trip to the Lake District, we went to Keswick but on the way stopped off at one of my favourite sites; Castlerigg. I had thought mum had been before but it turns out she hadn't so t was really nice to take her round and shared some of my memories of visiting. Over the years I have been here for sunrises and sunsets, a lunar eclipse and a comet and I once met a lovely young couple who I photographed sat in the circle as the sun was coming up. Each time I have been I have met someone new and enjoyed chatting with them, which is unusual for me as I normally keep myself to myself. Perhaps there is something about this place that brings me out of myself.

Old Stones

So yesterday I shared a picture from inside the stone circle at Castlerigg looking out towards Helvellyn. It is such a mysterious and magical place.

Today I have chosen another shot from inside the circle, focusing on four of the stones but giving the image different treatments in post processing.

One of the great things about digital photography is the range of tools that are available that mean you can turn a photo from a simple record into a piece of art. I do always try to get the image a close to what I want in camera but then I will use Lightroom or photoshop to make some minor adjustments to get the scene as close to what I saw on the day. 

In the first image I have tried to stay faithful to the scene although I have adjusted the contrast slightly and emphasised the dramatic sky.

For the second image I have converted the original to black and white and used a pre-set in Lightroom to create a more punchy image.

For the final picture I have used masks in photoshop. Originally I used the mask to show the background in colour and leave the stones in black and white but while that was quite effective the stones just looked grey and that could have been taken for their natural colour so I chose to highlight the stones against a monochrome background for what I think is a really striking image.

Prehistoric!

 

Yesterday I was able to take an unexpected but very much needed day off work and I headed up to the lake district for a scenic drive and a few hours of photo therapy.

I stopped off at a few of my favourite spots and I managed to get some really good shots and I am pleased to share one today.

This is Castlerigg, a 4,500 year old stone circle high on the fells above Keswick in the shadow of Blencathra, Skiddaw and as can be seen in this image Helvellyn. The low cloud provides heaps of atmosphere and the sun breaking through lighting up the distant fells lifts what would have been a sombre scene.

I will post a different view from here tomorrow so look out for that...

Castlerigg Stone Circle

I have had a really busy week with work and so I haven't had time to review the results of my late night trip to Castlerigg from last Saturday.

I had gone up with the intention of photographing the comet but as you can see from the first image there was so much cloud cover I thought that perhaps it would be a wasted trip. However I will never waste an opportunity and I think the cloud lent itself to quite a spectacular sunset.

While there I met a few other like minded photographers and as the sun set we waited in hope that conditions would improve. Patience paid off too because the clouds passed and we were treated to a spectacularly clear sky with not only a great view of the comet but the milky way above us and Saturn and Jupiter behind us. I learned a lot that night and I am pleased with the results. 

Under The Stars

Canon EF 24 - 105 mm F/4 L IS USM

ISO 2000   24mm  F/4   30 sec

Canon EF 17 - 40 mm  F/4 L USM

ISO 800  17mm  F/4  25 sec

I had planned a night away camping last night but at the last minute I decided that I would drive up to stone circle at Castlerigg in Cumbria to take some shots of the night sky and really hoping to get a nice shot of the galactic core of the Milky Way.

Whenever I go camping I like to try a few long exposures while star gazing but in the past the conditions have never been right with the moon in the wrong phase and just to bright, or there has been too much light pollution. I guess that it one of the problems of living in the UK there are too few places where you can find a really dark night sky.

I have been inspired recently by photographers in Canada who have shared really beautiful images of the Milky Way shot across Lake Superior or other places where the night sky is naturally dark and so the stars stand out sharp and clear.  Last March I had camped near Keswick and I spoke with another photographer who had been up to Castlerigg to photograph the night sky and I figured that it would potentially be a very good spot.

The stone circle is a magical place, over 5000 years old and I have enjoyed visiting a few times over the past year and a half, no doubt I will be back again because I love the atmosphere and sense of history. Usually it is very busy with lots of other visitors so the idea of visiting at a time when most other people are home and in bed and the possibility of having the place to myself was something I relished.

We have enjoyed some fantastic weather recently with beautiful clear skies day and night and with the new moon on the 13th I figured the conditions would be perfect. Then on Thursday the weather changed and while temperatures stayed high it was cloudy and wet so I thought I would have to change my plans. The Met Office however predicted clear skies overnight at Castlerigg so I made up my mind to take a chance and although the timings were not quite right the clouds broke up around 2 am so I was able to get a few shots, two of which you can see above.

Although the sky seemed really dark I think I had missed the darkest period (due to cloud cover) and although it seemed totally dark with the long exposures necessary it became clear that there was a great deal more ambient light than I thought and as you can see there is an orange glow along the horizon from nearby town of Keswick.

Nevertheless I was pleased to capture such an array of stars.

In the first picture the bright spot in the centre is actually Mars. I had thought it was Saturn at first and was focusing on that area because that is where the core of the Milky Way would be brightest. In fact Saturn is the bright star on the far right of the image and you can  just about see the galactic core rising upwards from the bottom right corner.

The second image was shot using a wider angled lens and positioned low down facing what appears to be an entrance to the circle. Mars is visible again in the centre, in this shot Saturn is not visible as it is hidden by the right hand column but you can possible make out the core of stars rising above the column but this is much fainter in this image as it was a shorter exposure and the ambient light washing things out.

I have more shots from the night and from the sunrise too but I will come back to those at a future date (tomorrow I will return to some of my roadtrip photos). I will also be looking for other opportunities to shoot the night sky and hopefully I can find a place that is truly dark so I can get even better images of the stars.

Part Of The Circle

As well as shooting pictures of the whole stone circle at Castlerigg I selected this stone for special treatment. I loved the colour and shape of the stone and from this perspective I think it makes a great image.

The stones at Castlerigg have been standing for around 5000 years and when they were erected they must have served a purpose, perhaps for a ritual with some spiritual meaning. Now they are cold, abandoned and mysterious. But a closer look at the stones show them to be host to colonies of moss and lichens which give them rich tapestry of layers of colour and texture.

In The Fading Evening Light

Here is another view of the Castlerigg stone circle looking across to the snow covered slopes of Helvellyn.

I am drawn back to the images from my recent day in the lake district and especially to this wonderful ancient site. 

You can see how this was getting towards the end of the day as the sun was low in the sky (off to the right) and the shadows were forming on the snowy fells.  The fading light really adds to the atmosphere of this place and I wonder what might have happened here thousands of years ago when it was first constructed.

Stone Circle

Last week I posted some black and white images of the stone circle at Castlerigg. They were taken in the morning, before the sun had broken through the clouds and they are dramatic and powerful images of a truly amazing place.

After I left I went down to Keswick and then drove in a loop taking in the Honister and Whinlatter Passes stopping to get some great landscape shots before heading back to Castlerigg where I was blessed with another chance to photograph this magical and inspiring spot before heading home. 

The light in the early afternoon was perfect and the snow covered fells look superb, the sunlight on the stones gives them a warm, almost golden glow in stark contrast to the cold grey of the morning.

When I was a child growing up in the south of England I had seen pictures of the lake district but it seemed so far away and it always seemed unlikely that I would ever get the chance to visit. Now I live just a couple of hours away and so I can visit pretty much whenever I want. Even though it is no longer "out of reach" it still remains a place of wonder and I have lots of great memories from days out walking in the forests and fells or camping trips, memories that I will treasure. 

For Ben and Cat

So yesterday's post was a bit on the serious side and I promised that today I would share something a little more upbeat. When I said that I had no idea what I would choose but as things turned out the perfect opportunity came up right at the start of my photo shoot today.

With the promise of clear skies and knowing that there would be plenty of snow on the lakeland fells I decided to head up to Castlerigg in the hope of capturing a beautiful sunrise. I nearly abandoned this plan on the journey up due to really hard driving rain but I was so keen to get some good pictures I carried on.

I arrived at Castlerigg shortly after sunrise but as you can see from these pictures it was grey and overcast with no sign of the sun so I chose to shoot in Black and White as it better captures the mood of this wonderful site.

When I arrived I was greeted by a young couple Ben and Cat who had travelled up from London to see some snow and they had gone to Castlerigg just as I had to experience the sunrise. They were clearly taken by the magical atmosphere of this 5,000 year old stone circle standing in the shadow of the majestic fells and in spite of the damp and cold, and  the lack of sun they were happy to sit within the stones and absorb the essence and the history that can be felt here especially when you have the place to yourself.

Ben and Cat were so open and friendly and chatting with them was the perfect start to my day. I promised them that I would dedicate my blog post to them and that is what I have done. Thank you both for such a friendly greeting.

I took a number of shots of the stones from different angles and I have picked two for today. With Ben and Cat in the circle I picked angles that would have them out of the frame but as I was finishing up I noticed that from a certain angle this lovely couple appeared to have become part of the circle and if you look at the second image closely you will see that one of the stones is not a stone but is in fact Ben and Cat.

Later in the day the sun did come out and after spending time elsewhere I returned to Castlerigg for a few more shots which I will share another day.

Prehistory

I was going to call today's post "An exercise in patience". I have often said that one of the qualities any photographer needs to develop in patience and when you are trying to photograph sites like this, the neolithic stone circle at Castlerigg which attract a lot of visitors it is really hard to get the perfect uninterrupted shot.

When I arrived there was one other photographer there with his camera set up on a tripod and as I was setting up he commented that we could be there a while. Of course there will be lots of people enjoying the site and that is fine but with a bit of patience and careful timing it should be possible to get a decent shot as people walk behind the stones.  However on this particular day there was one  group of people who stood on the far side of the circle talking. They kept looking over at us as we patiently waited to take the shot and it really felt like they were deliberately testing us. They did eventually move off out of shot but only after the couple on the right of this image sat down on one of the stones and unpacked their picnic lunch. Now I thought that was inappropriate just because it didn't seem right in such an ancient site but it was also incredibly annoying as it spoils the shot to some degree.

I know that you will probably be thinking well that's just hard luck and that yes I need to be more patient and that is fine. You may even think that if I want the perfect photo without people getting in the way I should get there early. As it happens that is what I plan to do next time however I also met another photographer that day who had been up at the stone circle at 3.00 am to capture shots of the Milky Way and even then he says there were several people about and so even an early start won't guarantee my patience won't be tested. 

Anyway I am sorry, I have moaned for long enough and if you have stuck it this far thank you for your patience. Perhaps you should also take up photography I think you have something of what it takes...

As I said this is a shot of the Neolithic Stone Circle at Castlerigg near Keswick. The snow covered fells in the background are from left to right Clough head, The Dodds, High Rigg, Great How and Helvellyn. Even with the other visitors I really like this shot and I will definitely be going back in the hope of some even better shots.