I really really love this picture. I had pulled into a little car park alongside Derwent Water to eat my lunch and looking back I saw this magnificent view. I took a number of shots from slightly different vantage points and I watched this cloud slowly moving towards me across the lake.
I love the colours in the sky and in the reflections, I love the pristine snow on the slopes of Skiddaw and I love the way the cloud appears to hang so low in the sky giving a great sense of perspective to the overall image.
I am especially pleased to have captured this image because as I clicked the shutter first time nothing happened, my memory card was full and unusually for me I didn't have a spare with me. I almost decided that my day's photography was at an end but determined to capture what is one of the best shots of the day I scrolled through my card and deleted a number of images I had taken earlier in the day. I think you will agree that was a good decision. I think you can also see why, like so many other people I am so drawn to the Lake District and why I always have my camera with me.
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.
I was up fairly early after a cold night under the stars and got down to the shores of Derwent Water before the crowds arrived and before the sun got too high in the sky. I think it was well worth it too because the view was stunning and I was able to get some nice undisturbed shots ( I wasn't so lucky later in the day at Castlerigg but that's another story).
When I arrived here there was another photographer setting up his gear. He really was committed to his art as he had his tripod set up in the water and he was dressed in waders so he could get the perfect angle for the shot. With the blues sky, thesnowy capped peaks of Skidaw reflected in the cold lake and the highly varnished lake cruiser being prepared for its days work I think there was a perfect combination for a stunning image.
I wasn't as well prepared (at least not to get wet) as my fellow photographer but I was equally as committed. To get this shot I needed to go out onto a jetty into the lake. It was closed off and there were signs warning against using the jetty as it was under repair. I wasn't going to let that stop me though and decided that it was worth the risk if I could get a great shot.
In my opinion the risk paid off, what do you think?
Camping at Lanefoot Farm in Thornthwaite was quite an experience and the views of the night sky were quite spectacular.
These two shots were taken from the lane in front of the farm. The first shows the snow covered peak of Skiddaw ( Englands 6th highest mountain at 3,054ft). The alien glow to the left of the image is most likely from traffic on the A66.
The second shot is looking towards Helvellyn (Slightly higher at 3,087ft). The orange glow is from the town of Keswick.
Both images were shot using my Canon 17 - 40mm wide angle zoom using a 30 second exposure. This has allowed just enough of the landscape to be visible and to bring out the stars. The long exposure also gives the clouds a soft, fuzzy almost ghostly appearance.
This was quite early in the evening, later on the galactic centre of the Milky Way would have been visible, although from this spot the light pollution would have spoilt the view. I met a guy the next morning who had been up at Castlerigg Stone Circle at 3am getting some stunning images so that maybe a trip I will plan in the future.
The forecast tells me that there will be snow across high ground in the UK this weekend but its an absolute certainty it wont be anything like this. These pictures were taken in March in Austria en route from Salzburg to Venice
From the Mediterranean to Le Verdon, a reservoir in the Alpes-Maritime.
In an afternoon's drive along the D4085 or Route Napoleon in Provence we left the coast at Juan les Pins behind and headed into the mountainous region of Alpes-Maritime and Var to the Gorge du Verdon. It was a spectacular drive with monumental views which you can see from today's selection of pictures.
