Big thanks for all the feedback I received for my last Blog ,Millstones In The Snow. Peak District 08/02/2024, I seems that my brief description on my post processing workflow was of interest to some of you, so I'll take that as a positive, if you think of any more items that would be of any interest, please feel free to get in touch, either drop me a message through social media or leave a comment below.
Friday evening I was checking the weather and noticed that there was a good chance of mist around the Peak District so I didn't need much persuasion to set the alarm for an early morning rise and a trip out to capture some shots.
One of my go to places when these conditions are forecast is to visit Leash Fen, along with Ramsley Moor, these are great areas to visit when low lying mist is due to make an appearance at sunrise, you can park in one of the little laybys on Fox Lane are in the main Car Park at Shillito Woods, pictures can be taken from the roadside, or you can venture onto the Fen through a small gate at the side of the road, but be warned if you do want to take a walk on there, as the name applies its a fairly wet place, so good waterproof footwear is essential.
I arrived early, got my parking spot at the side of the road, I couldn't have asked for more.
There was colour in the sky, low lying mist drifting gently over areas of long grass, swirling around the numerous solitary birch trees, no wind, a perfect start to the day.
After pouring myself a coffee, I took a walk along the lane, picking out the trees in the distance I wanted to photograph, then returned to the car, put my boots on, picked up my gear, walked through the gate and approached the area that would be my starting point.
The snowfall that had fallen a few days earlier had thawed, but there was still the odd patch laying around, I was hoping to incorporate a little of this in my compositions this morning, so was searching around in the hope of finding some near the trees, but It wasn't that easy, it either didn't sit right in the frame, are was well hidden by the tall grasses.
Eventually I settled on a nice looking twin trunked birch, and after checking PhotoPills to see where the sun would rise I set up my tripod and camera, in the the hope of getting the tree backlit by the rising sun, fingers crossed, some of that nice soft diffused golden light was going to hit the grasses in front of me, (that was my plan). Now it was just a case of waiting, whilst listening to the birds nearby bursting into song. These are the mornings that make the early starts well worth the effort.
The clouds were starting to give some lovely colour just before sunrise. I put my camera in portrait orientation with this in mind, to capture as much of the sky as I could.
It wasn't too long before the colour was at its peak, the passing clouds started to take on a beautiful orange glow just before sunrise, with the low lying mist in the distance setting the scene perfectly.
The time had arrived to start taking some pictures. I took a few shots, Bracketing for the scene, one shot exposing for the sky and one for the foreground.
Camera: Fujifilm Xh2.
Lens: XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR.
Tripod: Benro Mach 3. Benro Geared Head.
ISO 125. 1/30 sec. F8. @29mm.
White Balance: Cloudy.
Bracketed.
Now the time had come to prepare myself for what my plan had been from the beginning, to get some sunrise pictures of the sun rising behind the tree, the last ten minutes had been a bonus, so I flipped my camera back and recomposed, I place the tree just to the right hand side of the frame, remnants of the recent snowfall, that was left in the foreground amongst the winter grasses.
There were still clouds looming around on the horizon, but fortunately they broke just as the sun started to appear and the light came, the moorland in front of me was being illuminated.
As the sun began to rise higher in the sky, the mist in the distance was doing a fine job of defusing the harsh light, I started to press the shutter, again bracketing my shots for the sky and foreground, the tree in front of me was silhouette against the misty moorland, the dew on the grass was glistening, sparkling, like a sea of diamonds.
All too quickly the sun had gone, disappearing behind the cloud, it was time to move on and find another subject.
Camera: Fujifilm Xh2.
Lens: XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR.
Tripod: Benro Mach 3 Benro Geared Head.
ISO 125. 1/30 sec F8. @30mm.
White Balance: Cloudy.
Bracketed.
It didn't take me long to find another tree that gave me interest, another twined trunked specimen with some nice character, also set amongst the mist that now seemed to be increasing as it wafted across, weaving itself in and out of the trees.
After a little wandering around I decided to set up my tripod, this time looking over towards the west.Where the sky was starting to take on some lovely pink and pastel tones which was reflecting nicely onto the low lying mist adding to the atmosphere.
Sticking with the same lens set up, but this time adding my 0.9 soft grad just to combat any of the highlights that were beginning to blow out a touch to the left of the sky, I was ready and just waited for another break in the clouds, which happened a few minutes later, giving me some nice soft light, a perfect ending to a special morning..
Camera: Fujifilm Xh2.
Lens:16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR.
Tripod: Benro Mach 3 Benro Geared Head.
Kase Filters 0.9 Soft Grad.
White Balance: Cloudy.
On returning home and checking through my social media, It soon became apparent that I had been the subject in a couple of pictures that morning, while I had been out on the fen, and one person wanted to get in touch with me to send me a picture, so after getting his permission to include it into this blog I thought I would share it with you, I think it captures my morning out, stood in amongst the mist beautifully.
So it's a big thank you to Villager Jim for the picture, and the power of Facebook.
Thanks for reading.
Until next time.
Wayne..
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