Today the weather has been a real mixture of cold and wet with heavy rain hail and sleet at times followed by clear blue skies and now it is a clear and starry night with the promise of a hard frost in the morning. It would have been nice to get pout with my camera this afternoon but work appointments got in the way so here is another shot from my recent trip to the Lake District with a view of Derwent Water and Causey Pike in the background.
I love the shine off the surface of the lake and the contrast between the layers of light throughout the image.
Here is another shot that I have tried a little extra work on in Lightroom.
As with yesterday's image the original file was a bit dull and flat although the overall composition as you can see is very nice with the jetties reflected in the still water and the snowy hills in the background.
I was keen to see if I could make something of the image and I think I have done a decent job. There is now a nice warm tone to the overall image and with a little adjustment to the clarity there is more detail particularly in the centre of the shot where you can see the boathouse on Derwent Isle.
I have seen lots of pictures taken from this spot before but had never realised where it was but now I know I will probably be back to take more pictures in future.
The thing with landscape shots is that no matter how many times a particular scene is snapped every picture will be different, whether it is because of the angle or the perspective chosen, the detail in the sky, whether there is snow or no snow, the position of the sun and so on.
I saw a picture posted by someone on instagram just the other day and it was very similar to the second of my shots today (although these were taken a few weeks ago) and the photographer had commented on the tripod marks in the ground indicating that this was a well photographed location and in particular this view. But there is nothing wrong with that, often landscape images can look like holiday snaps as a friend of mine will often tell me, but retaking a good scene to get a perfect image can be a worthwhile challenge.
I love this scene and I think it would look good with a clear blue sky or with fluffy white clouds reflected in the lake which is probably how it looked later in the day, but here with an overcast sky and the sun fighting to break through the muted colours make for a really atmospheric image.
I took this shot because I wanted to use the posts supporting the jetty to lead the eye towards the snowy fells (Causey Pike) in the distance and I think that works quite well.
I also liked the fact that the gulls were sitting on top of the posts giving life to the image but what I hadn't fully appreciated until I got the pictures home was that the gulls were sitting on alternate posts all the way along and in fact there had been another gull on the post immediately to my left out of shot but it flew off just as I arrived.
It was a cold morning and walking along the jetty was quite a risky business because it was incredibly slippery. I think it was worth it though.
I have chosen just one picture for today, this superb view across Derwent Water to the snowy peak of Causey Pike. I would have preferred less movement in the water so there was a sharper reflection but in spite of that there is a lot to like in this picture. I really like the colour of the sky with the promise of more snow, I like the wispy cloud blowing across the top of the fell and I like the layers of light and dark throughout the image.
It is almost a year since I was last in the lake district so I was happy to be there after such a long break and I was glad that the conditions gradually improved as the day wore on. I am constantly thankful to live in such a beautiful country with so many wonderful sights within easy reach and as much as I enjoy my job I am always looking forward to my next opportunity to get out into the countryside.
Here are a couple of atmospheric morning views of the fells around Derwent Water taken from the jetties at Keswick.
The first shot was taken in black and white partly because there was very little colour in the shot anyway but also because I really like the effect particularly as it emphasises the smoky quality of the wispy clouds. I have added a slight coloured hue to the finished image just for a bit of warmth. The snowy peak in the background is Skiddaw which is 931 metres high.
Skiddaw is an unusual name and I was chatting to someone the other day and together we wondered who names the fells and mountains and what the names might mean. I have done a little bit of research and courtesy of wikipedia it seems the name Skiddaw is derived from Old Norse skyti or skut + haugr which means "archers hill" or "jutting crag hill", an alternative version offers the word skitr meaning "dung, filth or shit", which would give the full meaning "shit hill" which doesn't really seem fair given that it is a stunning feature of the landscape. I do have some colour shots to share at some point because the sun did eventually come out and then you will see just how stunning it is.
The second image is taken looking towards Cat Bells which is partially obscured by the trees. I love the stillness of the water and the reflections of the wooden jetties and the trees surrounding the boathouse on the island. Cat Bells is about half the height of Skiddaw (around 431 metres) and it gets its name from the term "Cat Bields" meaning shelter of the wild cat, not that there will be any wild cats there now.
The snowy peak in the background to the right of this image is Causey Pike which at 637 metres is quite a modest peak. I don't know how it got its name so I cannot help there.
