After my previous post, I thought I'd share another photograph from the Yorkshire Dales trip earlier this year.  Compare it with the photograph in the previous post and the differences between the high moorland and the lower-level stone walled fields are stark.

It's not somewhere I've photographed before but I have been there climbing and so had a vague knowledge of the area.  Considerable advance research was still needed, if only to identify a good location to stay!  Such research is always hard, no amount of looking at maps, Google Street View etc can surpass actually visiting an area.  I normally prioritise the review of maps to assess topography and sun rise/set angles over looking at images and photographs captured by others.  

Sometimes photography is essentially luck.  And this photograph is just that :-)  I had set-out from home earlier in the day with the specific intention of exploring the coast just South of Bristol.  I was aware of a pier having seen 'pier' on a map but had no intention of going to Clevedon let alone photographing the pier at sunset.

One Autumn a few years ago I stayed at Kingshouse on the Eastern end of Glen Coe.  Over the years its somewhere I've stayed on several occasions.  Initially camping at the back by the stream, later in the bunkhouse then more recently in the actual hotel.  I recall on some of the early trips occasionally seeing the odd deer just before sunrise.

I'm hoping this photograph makes you go Brrrgh, followed by, he's not that old is he? ;-)  Well, no, I'm not thank you :-)  Its a photograph captured at Toddington on the Great Western Steam Railway (GWSR) not too far North of Cheltenham one winters day in 2008..

The North coast of Somerset and Devon have some great photographic spots.  Exploring the area a few years ago I found Porlock Weir. It didn't look that interesting on the map or on arrival but actually its got some lovely spots.  So if you live in the area I recommend a trip.

OK, so perhaps this is getting a little repetitive!  But Buttermere is a wonderfully photogenic location ;-)  The tree in this photograph is pretty famous now but I didn't know that at the time.  Its been a few years since the photograph was taken and, with the benefit on hindsight, I now realise the lake was very full making the tree look as if it was growing quite far out in the lake!

A few years ago I decided to spend a few days photographing Scottish castles.  Quite why, I cannot now remember but my thinking was probably something like:  I like Scotland; Castles are usually found in nice locations; Castles would make an interesting subject!  This led to some research and the identification of a number of castles, some famous like Eilean Donan and some not so famous.

Or is it Balamory? Well the answer to that depends on how much telly you've watched ;-)
Tobermory is the main town on the Isle of Mull and the traditional view is of the three brightly painted buildings, one of which is the Mishnish hotel.  I wanted something different for this photograph, but something that was still very much Tobermory.

Hearing the news that the UK government is reducing the tolls on the new Severn bridge by 20% and plans to abolish them completely from 2019 got me to thinking about the bridge.  Its something I've photographed a few times and despite its size and the muddy brown waters of the Severn its an interesting architectural feature.

Puffins are such cute things!  I'm writing this from a hotel bar in Lerwick, Shetland whilst waiting on some light for costal landscapes.  Now, I associate Shetland with ponies and hand-knitted woollen jumpers.  Not with Puffins!  Anyhow, they are clearly a tourist attraction and the local shops are filled with them.

Like some unseen magnetic attraction I find myself drawn to Buttermere.  Due to the fine clear skies the light was very harsh at all times apart from the early morning and late evening. So it was that I found myself part way along the Northern edge of Buttermere just before sunset watching how the last rays of light lit the hills and the lake.  

Some years ago a friend introduced me to the Banff Mountain Film Festival.  The festival tours the world and visits my home town of Bristol in the Spring of each year.  Its an enjoyable selection of short films celebrating the outdoors.  If outdoor adventure and mountain culture is your thing I can heartily recommend going.  One year there was a short film from some guys surfing big waves in the far North at the dead of Winter.

I recall that it had been a long, hot August day with clear skies and bright sunlight, but as the sun set it just caught a few thin, high clouds which reflected in the calm of Derwent water.  What's more a full moon was rising from behind the distant line of hills and it was also casting a reflection.  Hence this short post is called 'Derwent water reflections'.

Black Tor on Dartmoor lies just South of Princetown on the B3212.  It's not a large Tor, in fact, it's a rather small, non-descript Tor easily missed as its set back off the road just over the brow of a hill.  It's on a rise and stands just a little higher than the surrounding landscape so offers some nice views.

Buttermere in the English Lake District is another of my favourite places.  One November a while back, I spent a few days there and had some beautiful weather.  The photograph to the left was captured in the early morning as the sun rose.  It was one of those winter mornings where the air was absolutely still, clear and a light frost covered the ground.

This post is about something a little different, something much closer to home.  Although not originally from Bristol, I've lived in the area for a little over 20 years and don't see myself moving.  Its a great city with a rich and varied history.  Its connected to the sea via a long tidal channel and in the past had a large commercial harbour from which ships laden with goods and rather notoriously, people sailed the world.

Wastwater in Wasdale is one of my favourite English lakes. Catch it in the right light and it just looks fantastic. This photograph was made during November 2006 at the end of a long and cloudy day. I don't remember much about the day other than I certainly hadn't planned to end it at Wastwater as I was staying over the hills to the East at Langdale!