As always I would like to say a big thank you to those of you who took time out to read my last post. It's very much appreciated..
I had been planning on getting out with the camera over the weekend. Sunday morning was looking promising, so on Saturday after a look on the weather Apps and seeing there was a chance of some decent conditions and a quick phone call and chat with my friend and fellow photographer Sam Salim, check out his work Sam Salim Photography - Facebook , It was decided that we would take a trip up onto Curbar Edge for sunrise. It would be nice to have a catch up, It had been a while since our last outing.
I pulled into the car park at Curbar Gap at around 6.45, there was only one vehicle there, Sam had already arrived and had been clearing up the beer bottles and litter that was left strewn all over the place from the previous evening, why someone would go to these beautiful places and then leave all their garbage on the floor when they've finished with it is totally beyond me, there are litter bins around so show some respect and use them.
Another photographer had decided to join us this morning, Dave Hudson a friend of Sam’s and someone I knew only through social media so it would be nice to finally get to meet him in person.
So while waiting for Dave to arrive we poured a drink, had a chat and watched a bit of colour gradually begin to show in the sky, we were both feeling optimistic about what the morning would bring.
Once Dave arrived we threw on our backpacks, picked up our tripods and set off onto the edge.
While walking along the path and through the gate we could see the ground in front of us glistening in the light from our head torches. It was a frosty morning and I was ready to get on the edge and take in the views.
After the short walk and reaching the first rocky outcrop overlooking the start of Baslow Edge I decided to carry on walking a bit further up and left the lads to search for their compositions.
Up along the edge I passed a couple of places I had photographed on previous visits so dismissed these and quickly moved on, despite this I do like to revisit the places I've shot in the past and I do just that regularly at different times of the year, eventually I came across something that caught my eye, a nice looking leading line with that winter heather I seem to be attracted to at the moment , It seems that I just can't get enough of this rustic look in my pictures .
After setting up my tripod and attaching the camera with my wide angle lens, I stood looking at the sky gradually changing colour while watching the Jackdaws frequently fly by silhouetted against the blue hour tones.
I stood and waited, being joined by a lonesome Robin who stood a few yards away on the frosted grass, probably hoping for a little treat that sadly I couldn't offer. I must remember to carry a little seed with me in future.
Looking through the camera viewfinder it was obvious I was going to have to make a decision , It was getting a bit busy with walkers now so I decided to avoid getting them in my frame by changing from landscape to portrait orientation and recomposing, hoping that eventually I could return to my original composition .
There was a little cloud on the horizon blocking the sun from giving me the light I was chasing, hopefully it would pass and my fingers were crossed.
Finally around 15 minutes after the scheduled sunrise the light came and gave me the opportunity I had been waiting for, illuminating the foreground and rocks in the mid ground. The sky wasn't the best with just the odd cloud, but what was there started to catch a bit of colour, I slipped the Kase Filters 0.9 Reverse Grad into my K9 Holder just to combat the highlights that were just starting to clip.
After taking a few shots the cloud started to move over and the light was gone, fortunately for me looking like it would return again in a few minutes and with it being a little less busy I had a chance to revert back to my original idea of trying to capture a Sunstar while the light was hitting the foreground.
Fujifilm Xh2 10-24mm Kase Filters 0.9 Reverse Grad.
So it was just a case of switching back to my original idea, with only one thing to change and that was from my 0.9 to the 1.2 reverse grad to stop the sun from blowing out those highlights and waiting for my chance. Luckily I didn't have to wait too long before the light made another appearance and gave me what I'd come for, my chance add arrived so I fired off a few shots and checked my playback on the back of the camera, it was looking ok I was happy with the results.
Fujifilm Xh2 101-24mm Kase Filters 1.2 Reverse Grad.
Looking back down towards where I’d left Sam and Dave earlier I could see that they had got there shots as well and were ready to pack away there gear so I shouted down to ask if they fancied a little wonder further up, so we went up to one of the millstone to try to get a shot are two. After getting there we took a few pictures but the light was getting a bit too harsh and I wasn’t happy with my results. Probably best shot at sunset or maybe in summertime when the sun is a lot lower in the sky at sunrise giving a more warmer glow.
We packed away our gear and took a steady walk back down to the busy car park passing the many walkers who were arriving for their Sunday outing. All in all we agreed that the morning had been an enjoyable one and we had managed to get a shot are two which we were pleased with.
Big thanks to Sam and Dave for making the morning an enjoyable one and here's to many more in the future.
Thanks for getting this far.
Until next time.
Wayne..
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Another good read Wayne, looks like you all had a good morning. Thanks for sharing your blog and excellent shots.
Thank you very much for commenting Jim. Gad you enjoyed reading the post. It was a enjoyable morning.