There is something about the Lakes that I just love. Could it be that I have fond memories of going there with Mum and Dad for the last 8 years? Maybe. Could it be that we go after the academic year has finished and I am enjoying freedom? Maybe. Could it be that it is an unbelievably beautiful place? Absolutely! But there are so many reasons why I love going that just can't be put into words - maybe photos will help...
This year the weather had a few wet days in store for us which made it interesting for me. Get waterproofed up, you can enjoy the wet weather as much as the hot sun. One such wet day was a real wash out. I left Mum and Dad at a Cafe whilst I wandered down to the shores of Buttermere with the desire to get an atmospheric image of Fleetwith Pike in the rain. Looking at the scene before me, I couldn't work out which lens to use. Go wide and get more of the lake in or go close up and capture less dead space. I wasn't sure! So I did both, I can always decide later, right? Nope. I still struggled to decide. In the end, after a good month of thinking about it, I think the telephoto makes for a more imposing Fleetwith Pike in the gloom but I have included both below for you to decide.
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| To go wide... |
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| ...or close up? |
The next images are mostly scenics from our walks around Lakeland...
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| Ullswater tranquillity |
This is one of my favourite images from the Lakes. It may seem simple but that is probably why I like it. It reminds me of walking up Aira Force, up and round the side of Gowbarrow before reaching a viewpoint looking over Ullswater below. On reaching the viewpoint, I spotted this little yacht with the sun shining through the red sails and I liked how it was isolated on the textured water. I used a medium telephoto lens to frame up with the shores in the top corner to show the yachtsmen sailing free but still within a safe distance of land. At that moment, those sailors on the water below and me taking the image from above were both free and in a world of our own: an idea that really intrigued me. "Click" went the shutter. In post production, I removed a couple of intruders to the scene who were swimming in the lake near the shore, enhanced the intensity of the red in the sails and added a vignette so you could see what I saw.
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| Gowbarrow summit |
On the descent from Gowbarrow fell before walking round to the viewpoint I mentioned above, I stopped and turned around for some reason and saw Gowbarrow looking back at me. Whilst the summit didn't look as imposing as some of the bigger fells, the clouds looked like they could be promising for an image converted to black and white. I used Niksoftware and the antique plate filter to give this moody monochrome image from a not so attractive colour image.
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| Ashness Bridge |
Ashness Bridge is very popular but surprisingly, I have not photographed it before. I spotted an image of it at a craft fair by a local photographer and thought it would be good fun to walk up and try to get some images. I took around 30 images and blended them together in photoshop to give a long exposure effect. The sky was disappointingly empty of interesting clouds but I enjoyed the walk up there when scouting it out and also the drive up there a few days later when I took this image (or these images - however you look at it) so I thought it worth showing.
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| Troutbeck |
We have always stayed in a small cottage called Kitty Byre when we go away on holiday to the Lakes ever since first going eight years ago and this year was no different! Pam, the owner, is a wonderful lady who takes great pride in making sure that her properties are smart and ultra tidy so your stay is perfect in every way. Almost on the doorstep of the cottage, you have views up to Great Mell Fell, Blencathra and Little Mell Fell as well as others that I don't know the names of. Most evenings, we have a stroll down to the little stream where you can often get glimpses of Dipper, Buzzards and sometimes Grey Wagtails. The patio is a great vantage point where we like to look out for the Redstarts that have nested in a particular hedgerow for at least the last three years we have been going. This a view of the little stream leading your eye to Little Mell Fell in the distance. I had to take two images, one for the sky and one for the foreground and blend them together. Such a beautiful landscape. The border was added because I couldn't work out where to put the watermark!
If you're interested in visiting one of the Kitty cottages,
click here, you won't be disappointed!
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| Private lakeland |
Mum wanted to walk part of the Ullswater Way whilst we were in the Lakes so we started at Aira Force before walking through Glenridding to Howtown where we caught the steamer back to Glenridding. We had spectacular views of the lake and the wildlife like a pair of Red Deer that were just munching away on grass in a field as we walked past. As we descended from a hilly section of the path, we past this gate to a sheep field with some fells in the distance. What I was drawn to was the aged gate and dry stone wall with the private sign in the foreground and the fells in the background. Wouldn't it be a shame if we lost the national parks and these beautiful landscapes were not protected. Wouldn't it be a shame if all these areas were fenced off and we couldn't explore and escape.
Hopefully that's what this image says. But
that's just me. What do you see?
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| Hitting the trail |
My last scenic image shows the Ullswater way stretching off into the woods in the distance. It had been raining the evening before we set off walking which can be wonderful and give some pleasing tones in images. Whether this image shows that is debatable but I like it. I highly recommend you check out the Ullswater Way if you're in the area - it may be a long walk but because of steamer service, you can do it in manageable stages and really appreciate the landscape from shore and water level. Look out for Red Deer on the hills if you do decide to get the steamer back.
Time for me to hit the trail and take some more images. I hope that you have liked these Lakeland images. Remember to check out
Kitty Farm Cottages.
Matt
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