As usual I would like to thank all of you who took time out to read my last post. It is very much appreciated.
I didn't look too promising on Saturday morning when I woke and took a look out of the window, plenty of high cloud and a slight breeze,but with high winds forecast for the following day and Storm Isha set to arrive late into Sunday evening It was probably going to be my only chance to get out with the camera over the weekend, so the decision was made to give it a go, not feeling very optimistic about what the morning would bring.
So with doubt still lingering in my mind I loaded my gear into the car and headed off towards the Peak District and Higger Tor . There had been a little snowfall around those parts during the middle of the week so I was hoping that there might be some still hanging around just to add a bit more interest.
While diving up Ringinglow road and passing Lady Canning's Plantation I could see that the tops of trees were moving around so I knew it was going to be blowing a bit up on the Tor but carried on, but with a bit less enthusiasm
I arrived at the layby and parked up, sitting in the car listening to the wind outside blowing whilst pouring myself a coffee. I was really in two minds whether to make the effort or not and just call it a day and return home. I really didn't fancy another morning getting battered by the wind .
After around ten minutes of sitting there and finishing my drink I could see a bit of colour starting to show on those high clouds in the distance, they made up my mind for me and I got out of the car, quickly put my boots on grabbed all my gear and made my way through the gate and up the path on to the top, there wasn't a great deal of snow left and what was there had been well trodden.
The walk up and along the top wasn't a pleasant one, the wind was blowing hard with the strong gusts taking my breath away, I was questioning my sanity, but looking at that sky over to the east and seeing that it was looking good seemed to make it more worthwhile and a touch more bearable.
When I reached the for side my first thought was to drop down below the edge to try and get away from the wind, I didn't want to photograph the Kit Kat Stones, I've done them on numerous occasions, there's a nice scene I had shot before but from higher up so I thought this would be a chance to get down lower and get a different shot to my last ones from there, plus hopefully It would give me a break from the wind, so I made my way down.
I found a nice little spot with a leading line and a touch of the white stuff at either side of it, plus a good view of the rock formation I wanted to photograph and after taking a look on my PhotoPills - App there would be a good chance of getting the sun in the right position at sunrise, plus there was a decent sized boulder to the side of where I would be standing which would act as a great windbreak so that was a bonus.
Looking at the sky my hopes were building, I had that feeling that this morning was going to be a good one.
I attached my camera with the wide angle lens to my tripod which I had positioned low to the ground just to try and combat any camera shake from the wind, though my windbreak was doing an excellent job.
Finally after a few minutes of trying to get the composition I was after and a little fine tuning I was ready for what the morning would give me.
I poured myself a coffee and stood, waiting for what shortly would become the best morning light show that I've so far witnessed this year.
Ten minutes into having my drink, what I had hoped that would happen was starting to materialise, gradually the sky was turning colour, those wonderful pink hues were coming to their peak, I quickly downed my drink and got on my knees, looked through the viewfinder to check everything was ok and started taking my shots, checking the playback every now and then. I was well pleased with the results I was getting.
Fujifilm Xh2 10-24mm Kase Filters 0.9 Reverse Grad.
The colour was now coming to its end and I was getting ready to catch the sunrise when I saw the first people of that morning, two runners were making their way down over the boulders to the left of me and were going to pass right in front of where was hoping to get a shot, they needed to be quick and luckily for me they were, we said good morning as they passed and they were on there way.
The sun was hopefully going to rise directly just to the side of that big slab of rock that was the main subject of my compositions this morning. It was looking like it would do, there was a small break in the cloud over on the horizon so there was a slight chance it would happen. So still with the tripod set low to the ground I turned the camera over to portrait orientation and zoomed in slightly to bring those rocks a bit tighter into the frame.
Just a few minutes later the sun made its appearance and came up where I was hoping it would, giving me that window of opportunity to get the shot.
The sunrise didn't last long it was over within a couple of minutes soon disappearing but it had given me just enough time to get a few shots, giving me a little bit of foreground light and I was happy with what I had got, and more than happy with the mornings outing so I packed up my gear and made my way back up the edge.
Fujifilm Xh2 10-24mm Kase Filters 0.9 Reverse Grad.
After climbing back over the boulders and reaching the top it was evident that my decision to stay down below was a good choice, the wind up there was still blowing a Hooley so I didn't hang around and headed down towards the car,I was certainly looking forward to getting back to some warmth.
With the heater on and another warm drink in my hand I sat for a few minutes happy with the morning's outcome. I could have easily turned back around when I first arrived and returned home, I think I made the right call..
Thanks for Reading.
Until next time.
Wayne...
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