A Lone Tree

 Here are two, what I think are nice, atmospheric shots of the limestone pavement above Malham Cove.

The lines in the rock lead the eye towards the lone tree on the edge of the cliff in the second image but shot from a slightly different angle the diverging lines frame the tree against the sky.

Fans of the Harry Potter films may recognise this location as this was one of the locations used in the Deathly Hallows where Harry and Hermione pitch their tent... 

This is stunning landscape and well worth a visit, the views are spectacular and the atmosphere is magical.

Gloop!

So much good weather lately and so many missed opportunities to get out with my camera I haven't felt too motivated to post anything for a few days. 

I thought today however that having finished work I would get creative and mess about with a few more of my water droplet images. I hope you like the results. 

When a drop of water falls and hits the surface it happens so quickly and there is so much that the eye cannot see in that moment. I love the way that freezing the moment and making a few adjustments with highlights and shadows you can capture the texture of the water and in the second shot I love the bubbles or individual droplets that are forming within the spout extending from the top of the main element almost like extruding glass.

This could be a movie set...

This is the Chateau de Pierrefonds. I visited here for the first time way back in 19## when I was just 9 years old  on a visit with my penfriends' family. I was amazed with the magnificent building with its fairytale turrets and towers, cobbled courtyard and the wonderful staircase guarded by the statue of a knight on horseback.

It had such an impact on me as a child that when I took my own family on holiday top France I was keen to show them this magical place. 

I visited again just recently, stopping off for a brief visit to break the journey from Versailles to Calais on my way home. It gripped me just as much this time round as it did the first. I had to wait ages to get these last two shots without anyone in the shot, at one point there was a woman stood in the middle looking back at me, aware that I was waiting to take a picture and she just wouldn't move. In the end I started snapping away with her in the shot, she quickly moved...

I said it is a magical place and I said in the title to this post that this could be a movie set and in fact it was used as a set for the TV show Merlin. The producers of that show clearly were drawn to the spell of the chateau. I will share some more images in due course but for today, enjoy!

Forest Fairies

I spotted this beautiful dragonfly during a walk in the New Forest earlier this summer. It was stretched out in the sun on the heath, no doubt taking a break from its hunting. 

It was a really lovely day and it was good watching the wildlife. It was also good to stop and take a rest just like this little chap.

So why have I called today's post Forest Fairies? Well it's obvious isn't it, there are some people who think these are fairies and who am I to disagree? 

A Labyrinth

In the grounds of Belsay Hall and Castle in Northumberland there is a strange labyrinth of pathways through rocky gorges. It is an unusual and slightly magical place and although the paths in most places are wide and well trodden it is easy to feel lost and alone, even on a day when there are lots of visitors.

I spent a really nice afternoon here with my mum a couple of years ago and looking back at these pictures I am reminded of that day. 

Magical, Mythical, Medieval

Here we are back in Lud's Church and I really hope you enjoy these shots s much as I do. Of course for me the pictures also have some associated memories which add something on a personal note. For example the first picture shows a money tree at the entrance to one section of the cleft. My daughter and I hammered a couple of pennies into the dead wood and as we did so I recalled another time when I had done the same thing on another woodland walk. It may just be me but I think the end of the trunk looks like a head facing downwards with the chin on the ground, what do you think?

You can see from these pictures how narrow the passageway was in places, he fourth and fifth pictures show a really narrow gap and it was only just possible to pass through this part although this wasn't the only way through.  I did take some pictures of my daughter squeezing through but they won't find their way onto my blog...

Fratercula arctica

I have rather a lot of photos of the Atlantic Puffins on Skomer, well with so many to see it would have been rude not to take them, and it is tempting now to post them all over the next week. 

However I don't want to overload you so after today I will change things and for a day or two I will post a few different subjects.  You can be sure however that because I am so pleased to have such wonderful images of these wonderful birds I will definitely be choosing some more puffin pictures for you.

As I said yesterday this trip was the fulfillment of a long held ambition and getting up close to some of these birds (less than a metre away in some cases) was actually quite an emotional experience for me. Call me soft if you like but I know I was not the only one affected in this way. While taking this group of pictures I was talking to a Polish photographer who also quite clearly couldn't believe that he was there, and he was almost rooted to the spot. There is really something magical about the Puffin.

A Touch of Frost

Today is a bit of a milestone for me as this is my 500th blog post. I am so pleased that I have been able to keep this going for such a long time and I have been able to get out so often to collect new images to share. Hopefully along the way I have developed some skills and techniques.  I have become more confident shooting in manual mode, choosing the settings for the image I want to capture and hopefully taking more of the pictures you like to see.

As well as having the right equipment it is important to have a good eye and I find that wherever I go now I am looking at things with a view to how they would look through the camera lens. I am seeing things that in the past I would just walk past and barely notice. For example the discarded fence post in today's selection.

I had spent a night camping in freezing temperatures and in the morning I wrapped up warm and walked up to Park Nab a rocky outcrop just off the Cleveland Way. It offered fantastic views into Kildale and across to the North York Moors which were glowing in the early morning sun. My feet hurt with the cold and as I headed back down to the campsite in order to pack up my gear I had pretty much decided that I had finished taking pictures for the time being, I really just needed to get warm. But then I spotted this rough old fence post lying in the frosty grass and I was struck by the patterns created by the frost and how delicate and how transient they are as the rising sun slowly touched the surface of the wood the frost was disappearing before my eyes.

In previous posts I have shown that I like frost, it makes mundane things appear quite magical. Here this piece of boring wood has been transformed and the frost has given it depth and character.  I think the second image resembles a strand of hair as viewed under a microscope and with some careful cropping perhaps I could have passed it off as such.

Anyway I have rambled on quite enough for today and if you have made it this far thank you for sticking with me. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and look at my pictures and hopefully you will keep coming back for more.

Here's to the next 500 posts.

Cold and Frosty Too!

So if you liked yesterday's pictures, and I know that a lot of people did, I am sure that you will like the three pictures I have posted today.

These were taken on the same day as yesterdays pictures in Delamere Forest.  The frost created a magical atmosphere, coating every tree and blade of grass. The frozen pond in the third picture  looked firm enough to walk on but it would have been a shame to disturb such a beautiful scene.

I like the frozen spider's web.  Webs often make interesting pictures especially when covered with morning dew and this frozen one is no exception.  It is a shame that it was incomplete but i guess the freezing had made it more fragile.

Let me know which is your favourite and why...