Pemberley

So the eagle eyed among you will understand why I have called this post Pemberley, it is actually Lyme Park in Disley, near Manchester and it was used as the setting for Pemberley the fictional home of the Darcy family in the 1995 BBC Television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. It is very possible that you won't have seen it but in my home it is very possibly the most watched TV show and this setting is where one of the most famous scenes of the entire series...

I hadn't really wanted to go out today and took some persuading but as it was the weather was perfect and i was able to get some great shots that made the trip worth the effort.

I took several shots of the colours of autumn which you can look forward to over the next few days before I get to some views of the magnificent house.

There was a fair breeze today so the surface of the reflecting pond was broken up by lots of ripples and I was worried that I wouldn't get the shots I wanted so I turned to one of the most useful gadgets in my camera bag, my K+F Concept variable ND filter. Using the filter I was able to use a long exposure and a very small aperture, this meant I could freeze the motion in the water and keep everything in focus to bring out all the detail and get a nice reflection.

From a low vantage point and with the gorgeous afternoon sun behind me I think this creates a striking image.

Pen Yr Ole Wen

ISO 160  24mm  F/16  1/25 sec

ISO 100  32mm  F/22  2.5 sec (Cokin P153 filter)

ISO 100  24mm  F/22  1/20 sec

So here are three views of Pen Yr Ole Wen shot from two different vantage points using my Canon 24 - 105mm F/4 L IS(USM) lens. The first two were from a little lower down the track and the mountain is reflected in the stream just below a small waterfall.

You can see from the first shot that there was a lot of movement in the water given the waterfall so in the second image I used a ND4 filter and a long exposure to smooth out the surface of the water, the reflection is still not too sharp and maybe a longer exposure or stronger filter would have achieved a better result. I'm not sure but to be honest I am pleased with both of these images.

While I was setting up in this spot I was watching a Dipper flying up and down this short stretch of river and I was debating whether to swap out my lens in order to try and capture a few shots. They are a bird which fascinate me and it is one of my goals to photograph one, so maybe this will be the focus of a shoot in the near future.

The third shot is from the shore of Llyn Idwal and sheltered by the mountains on either side the surface of the lake was pretty calm and so there is a sharper reflection.

All in all it was definitely worth getting up early and braving the icy conditions.