just one more summit

an easy route up to Hellvellyn summit.. this used to be my winter walk and wild camp route as it was easier to navigate and safer footfall than the choices of swirl or striding edge when the weather had come in.

spent many a night up here in the snow and the quiet.

Eilean Donan kelp

my first shot of this overly photographed locations, but one of my favourites, if only I'd had my GFX back then what an image this might have been,,...

Haystacks by sunset

sometimes you have to change your plan... a night up on haystacks in my little tent hoping for a sunrise the following morning.. the sky had been clear all day without a single cloud so my hopes for a sunset weren't high.

but just as the light was fading a raft of clouds formed in a thin blanket and I had to recompose the shot to take advantage of them.

most shoot wide whenever in the hills, but I usually try to extract the details with a narrower FoV.

the puddle in the foreground was actually the last of my water, I wanted an extra bit of light and refection in the frame so I sacrificed my remaining water supplies to rehydrate a little puddle and spent the night regretting it until I saw the image a few days later!

the long winding path

sometimes you don't need sharpness or light to capture the scene.. this is how the hills are much of the time here in the UK and many a hill walker will recognise this image as home rather than the spectacular scenes we photographers strive for,

Mountains interlaced

i couldn't have been luckier with this lighting, layer after layer.

Aside from a monochrome conversion i did very little to this shot,

taken with my 200mm 1.8L lens a lens I should have kept!!

the causeway

a magical, quite unreal place. it doesn't matter how many photos or videos you see... until you stand on those famous hexagonal rocks you cannot quite believe its real.

it's smaller than you think, perhaps from all the irish folk who have taken pieces for their bathrooms and to tile their showers.

Ross on Wye

a scene I used to drive past each time I visited my parents from university. a little town on a river surrounded by fields. this looks like home and Worcestershire to me.

burning through the cloud

sometimes the sun is suitably determined to win the battle.. try to be there when it does!

a view on Buttermere

stopping for a rest on the approach to haystacks. Buttermere valley below and a night on the hills ahead :)

Welsh lowlands

my first attempt a really processing a photo properly. not an amazing image, but it came from nowhere to bring out the tones and colors in the scene.

a reminder that the cameras sees more than you think if you know how to look properly

a remote beach

Many rave about the north Scottish beaches and how gorgeous they are... it's true there are some gorgeous sandy beaches completely deserted..

but this is because the rain has probably only just stopped and the water is freezing!
there's also no where decent to eat or stay, nor anything to do.

perhaps that's why I keep returning ?? :)

Striding the Edge

one of the most walked tracks in the lake district.. striding edge to Hellvelyn. I have seen all sorts conquering their fears making it across, I've seen children skipping across oblivious to the hazard, I've seen a man carrying a fully grown Alsatian across on his shoulders when the dog froze halfway across.. and I've seen northerners in office attire and heels popping out for a walk in the hills after work.

me.. i do it for the satisfaction of doing it but I feel uneasy every time!

Scottish Seaweed

on the Northernmost edge of mainland Britain there lays a loch. when I have a camper van I'll spend a night here once more.

Lock Awe in the weee small hours

taken at the start of morning 04:30 before the wind has woken to clear the mist and create ripples on the loch. a lovely spot...

Smokey Mountain memories

one of my very first photographs... but still a nice image and composition I think.

Cumbrian clouds

just a simple scene out across the lake district, enjoying the patchwork of shade being cast across the mountains in the distance.

GlenTully Slalom course

The scene of my last paddle :( tore my rotator cuff paddling down and being overly determined to make an attainment and pulled my shoulder right out.. 70% tear and no more white water paddling for me...