Surprise View (August 2022)

Although I had intended to take a complete break from photography over the summer, I couldn’t resist stopping at Surprise View in August to capture the heather in full bloom. Also inspiring were the streaks of sunlight cutting across the landscape below Millstone Edge and across to Stanage Edge and Higger Tor:

Peak Sunset (March 2022)

The aim of trip to the Peak District was two-fold: plein-air artwork on Stanage Edge and golden hour photography on Higger Tor. 

The first was achieved, although the results are a work-in-progress. Watercolour painting outdoors is challenging and the Peak District landscape is hard enough to photograph let alone paint! More practice is needed. 

The photography was somewhat hampered by the subdued sunlight particularly towards sunset. There was a haziness which dampened the golden hour light and the resulting photographs. However, right at the end of the day these conditions worked in my favour as the sun turned into a golden globe in the sky and two people standing on Callow Bank added scale to the compositions:

These were some of the shots form earlier in the day:

Also taken were a few intimate landscapes and rock studies. These are part of a long running collection of alternative Peak District photographs, something different to the standard landscape views:

Peak District (September 2021)

September saw a return to the Peak District, the first visit in more than 18months. It was an opportunity to re-engage with an area that I know well from past photography, a location that I enjoy for the open views, the tall gritstone edges and the rugged moorland:

After a walk along Stanage Edge my attention turned to the main event, golden hour photography on Higger Tor. It is a time when the setting sun paints the landscape with low warming rays, tracing the shapes of the rocks, whilst shadows lengthen and creep towards the night…a landscaper’s delight captured with an enthusiasm that reminded me of my first visits to the Peaks many years ago…