Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: winter

Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts

Morning Mist

Here are some photos taken on a trip to Ilkley at the end of last year. I stopped off on the way at Dowley Gap in Bingley, hoping to get some misty shots of the canal but, as sod's law would have it, the mist was just starting to lift. I did manage to get a few shots before having to admit defeat.

It was then on to Ilkley to do a bit of shopping, The mist was still lingering in the higher reaches of Middleton Woods, so I parked up and had a walk in the top section. The weather must have put people off as I only saw a couple of dog walkers the whole time I was in there. One of them stopped to grumble about the weather and was a bit put back when I said I loved walking through the woods when it was misty and wet.

Maybe it is a photography thing!

Leeds-Liverpool Canal

Middleton Woods

A Winter Wonderland

Sometimes beauty is sat on your doorstep and you fail to see it until you get a morning like this. This was an area I usually just drive through, either on my way home or to some other destination. Usually its the coffee shops at Brougham Hall, Lowther Castle or Larch Cottage Nurseries at Melkinthorpe that are attracting me but today it looked so breathtaking with all the hoar frost on the trees, walls and fences that it just forced me to stop.

All the photos were taken within a few miles of Penrith and in the triangle encompassing Eamont Bridge, Brougham Hall and Brougham Castle and all were roadside shots. Also the hoar frost was very localised because just a mile down the road at Clifton and beyond, everything was back to its winter drabness.

People often say that you see the world differently and more intimately when you have an interest in photography and that is true. Before my camera days, I would have probably just carried on my journey home and missed nature's stunning display.

Eamont Bridge

Brougham Castle

River Eamont

Frosted Branch, Brougham

Frosted Fence, Brougham

Frosted Seed Pods

Brougham Hall Farm

Country Lane, Brougham

Brougham Hall Farm

Frosted Berries

Frosted Coppice, Brougham

Winter photography in Wharfedale

Saying winter arrived was a bit of an exaggeration as there was only a couple of inches of snow in the fields and the roads were all clear. I know everyone says we don't have the winters and snow like we used to have but its true, we don't. I'll grant you that last year was bad when the Beast From The East raised its ugly head but that was just a one off occurrence.

My day was another day when I wish I'd have taken a zoom lens with me. I would have loved to have got some close-ups of those three trees in the enclosure but unfortunately I only had my 24-70mm lens. The 70-300mm would have been ideal and also it would have given me the opportunity to get some close ups of the trees on Barden Fell too.

For the most part it was a cloudy day but the sun did break through later in the afternoon when I was up near Kettlewell. This gave some good light but even so, I still prefer the shots I took earlier in the day near Appletreewick. There's a certain simplicity and minimalism to them which I really like, especially the ones I took of the clump of trees and dry stone wall.

In future when I go out for a drive, I think my best bet will be to have both lenses in the car so I can chop and change when the need arises. If I had been going for a walk then I would have had my photography rucksack with me which would have had both lenses in anyway.

It's very frustrating thinking that you have missed out on a opportunity through your own bad decision making.