Welcome to my latest Blog Post, also a big thanks to those who took time out to read my last post Misty Mornings. Leash Fen 10/02/2024
This viewpoint looking down over Ladybower Reservoir - Visit Peak District & Derbyshire from halfway up Crook Hill is a place that hasn't brought me luck in the past, after many visits I just never seem to come away with a picture that I've been totally happy with, be it a clear sky, one with too much cloud, even on one occasion fog that thick I couldn't even see the gate that was only a few yards in front of me.
After another failed trip up there a few weeks earlier, I was a little hesitant to go back so soon, but after checking the forecast the evening before and with the chance of getting a decent sunrise I thought I would give it another go, so setting off early I made my way over hoping that my luck would change.
I parked up at the large layby on the A57 and made my way over the viaduct, looking down over into the water as I passed above It, things were looking good, not a ripple to be seen, the water beneath was flat calm, so I hopeful that I would get some reflections.
Looking over my shoulder as I went through the gate, the sky over towards the east above Bamford Edge, didn't fill me with much hope. Lots of low clouds was what I was looking at, but It was moving quickly, but glancing over to the west there were odd breaks developing.
The climb up to the viewpoint is a short, but steep walk, and a bit of a lung buster at 6.15 am in the morning, and never seems to get any easier, but well worth the effort.
There was a slight breeze when I got to where I wanted to be. It had also started to rain,(which wasn't any surprise, that's all we seem to have had around these parts since the start of the year),so on went the waterproof coat.
Deciding not to photograph the first gate I moved a bit further up the dry stone wall to where there is another nice view looking down the hill and decided to set up there.
It didn't take me long to compose my shot, the wall running from the left ,a old barn filling the space looking through the gap,( there was once a gate there but its been removed), and after making sure I was just high enough to get the viaduct above the tree, with the gate that I had just walked through down to the right of the frame I was satisfied.
The rain had now stopped, the breeze had dropped a little, it was time to pour myself a drink and wait. I had got a good 40 minutes until the sun was due to rise above the edge in the distance, though it wasn't looking good, there were still plenty of clouds above me.
Colour started to appear in the sky just as I had finished my coffee, so I was now feeling a bit more optimistic that I would get some shots.
There was drama, the clouds were catching some light, so it was time to start taking some pictures. My highlights were starting to clip so I slipped the 0.9 reverse grad over my 16-55mm lens and It did the job perfectly. The first shot of the morning was to be taken in portrait orientation.
I was happy with what I was seeing on the back of the camera, and the water in the reservoir below was just calm enough for me to get some reflections so that was a bonus.
Camera: FujifilmXh2.
Lens: XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR.
Tripod: Benro Mach 3. Benro Geared Head.
Kase Filters 0.9 Reverse Grad.
ISO 200. 1/125 sec F8. @18mm.
White Balance: Cloudy.
Now it was time to hang around for a little while longer for some light, the clouds were breaking so there was a good chance that eventually it would happen.
Flipping the camera back over horizontally, adding the 1.2 reverse grad,and going wider to get more of the drystone wall in the frame I was ready, all I needed now was the sun to pop up above the cloud.
Eventually it happened and the light appeared bathing the hillside in front of me with a lovely golden glow,Illuminating the grass in the foreground and field in the distance, unfortunately the breeze had got up a again, so I wasn't getting the reflections on the water I had hoped for but all in all I was happy with the results.
The sun soon retreated back behind the cloud so I packed up my gear and made my way back down the hill and headed towards the car.
Camera: Fujifilm Xh1.
Lens: XF16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR.
Tripod: Benro Mach 3. Benro Geard Head.
Kase Filters 1.2 Reverse Grad.
ISO 200 1/400 sec F8 @ 16mm.
White Balance: Cloudy.
While I was driving back home and going through the village of Bamford. I thought I would pay a visit to the little waterfall that's on the River Derwent at Yorkshire Bridge, Initially to check on the Dipper's that frequent the river in that area, hopefully to get some pictures of the birds in the future.
Parking up at the bottom of the lane, I decided that while I was there that I may as well get a couple of shots.
I hopped over the wall and made my way down the bank towards the water's edge. The river was flowing fast and was a lot higher than on my previous visit way back in spring of last year, the wet mossy rocks were a bit sketchy underfoot so I was treading carefully, the last thing I wanted was to be taking a dip.
Eventually I was comfortable with a composition that caught my eye, 2 trees on the far side of the river with their trunks, branches and exposed roots covered with lovely green moss, the Marcescent Beech Tree sapling to the right hand side, with its copper toned, brittle leaves was a added bonus. Also the rock protruding out of the water just to the left, in the lover third of the frame set the scene nicely.
I went for a vertical shot, shooting at 40 mm with my 16-55mm lens, adding the Kase Polarizer gave me a 0.5 second exposure at F11.
Just after setting up I got what I was hoping for, a break in the clouds and some nice light started hitting the trees, making those greens pop, the splash of rustic colour from the sapling looked nice too, it seemed to compliment the orange tinge, which is Peat that enters the river, after being washed down from the nearby hills. Perfect I had got what I wanted.
Camera: Fujifilm Xh1.
Lens: 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR.
Tripod: Benro Mach 3. Benro Geared Head.
Kase Filters CPL.
ISO 200 0.5 sec F11 @ 40mm.
White Balance: Auto.
Now I was thinking about going for a more longer shutter speed, something I hadn't done for a while, with the water pushing through fast and hard there were lots of bubbles being created, but after setting up the camera vertically, going wider to incorporate the 3 rocks that I wanted in the frame, plus with more of the waterfall in view, but after taking a couple of shots shooting with the same exposure time as my first shot, I just wasn't getting the effect I was after, It just didn't look right.
So I slipped on my 6 stop ND filter over my polarizer, after settling on a aperture of F 6.4, I was happy with a shutter speed of 2.5 seconds, that just gave me enough time to smooth out the water without getting too much motion blur, from the odd leaves that were catching the light breeze on the opposite side.
I was happy with the shot, I liked the 2 rocks in the midground. They looked like Dorsal fins of sharks swimming against the strong flow of water towards the waterfall.
Camera: Fujifilm Xh1.
Lens: 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR.
Tripod: Benro Mach 3. Benro Geared Head.
Kase Filters CPL and 6 stop ND.
ISO 200 2.5 sec F6.4 @ 40mm.
White Balance: Auto.
All in all I was happy with the resulting pictures from the morning's outing, as for the Dippers that I had come down to check on, well they were flying up and down the river, so hopefully I'll be having a morning out with the longer lens in the future..
Thanks for reading.
Until next time.
Wayne..
Add comment
Comments