Blackpool seafront

Welcome to my first post of 2017! I took this one at Christmas - I love the light, lines and curves on the Blackpool seafront. The view here is beneath Central Pier, looking towards North Pier.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/4, 1/500s, 35mm, hand held.

Slipway at Morecambe Bay.

This one's from September last year. You can see the shapes of the Cumbrian mountains on the far side of the bay.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/18, 1/200s, 24mm, hand held.

Beneath an old building on stilts on Morecambe promenade.

I've searched the internet to try and find out what this building is but with no luck. I took the photo in September last year. The view in the distance is towards Cumbria, across the bay.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/18, 1/200s, 18mm, hand held.

Aerial photo of the Fleetwood to Blackpool coastline.

I took this one on my microlight flight in September this year. It's great to get such a different perspective on such a familiar place - Blackpool Tower looks tiny in the distance!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/5, 1/640s, 35mm, hand held (in one hand, without use of the viewfinder!)

Clouds and blue sky over moorland.

This is Hoof Stones Height - moorland between Todmorden and Burnley. I took the photo in February this year. The image feels to me like a landscape turned upside down - all the interest is in the sky, offset against the strip of flat, brown moorland below.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/125s, 35mm, hand held.

Aerial view of farmland near Blackpool.

Yesterday I went on a 1-hour microlight flight around Cockerham, Fleetwood and Blackpool on the Fylde. It was a perfect sunny day and a great experience. I took my camera, but had to operate it one-handed, in variable winds and without being able to see through the viewfinder, so the photos are a bit hit and miss! I like this one though - it shows how lovely the colours and shapes of the fields and trees are from the air.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/5, 1/400s, 35mm, hand held.

Sheep grazing on grassy slopes.

These are the fields that surround Hollingworth Lake, Littleborough. I took the photo on a walk around the lake path in summer last year. There were a few things that drew me to the scene - the way the sheep were positioned around the shorter/lighter section of grass (must have been the tastier bit!); the little tree on its own on the horizon; the one sheep 'breaking rank' on the horizon next to the tree.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/160s, 42mm, hand held.

Blackpool beach and central pier on a late winter afternoon.

Another one from late December last year. I love the colour palette created by the light in this series of photos - subtle peaches and blues.

Beyond the pier on the left you can just see the Big One - the huge rollercoaster on the edge of the Pleasure Beach.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/8, 1/100s, 40mm, hand held.

Clouds and sunshine above Lighthazzles reservoir.

I took this on a morning walk from Blackstone Edge in March last year. It was one of those days that varied between bright sunshine one minute and rain the next.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/160s, 28mm, hand held.

Reflections of clouds and blue sky in an iced-over reservoir outlet.

This is an outlet from Warland reservoir above Littleborough, photographed in March last year. I love the temperature contrast - the warmth of the sun against the cold of the ice.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/125s, 40mm, hand held.

Fallen tree, surface algae and sunlight on Stanley Park lake.

We've walked round Stanley Park almost every time we've been to Blackpool to visit my husband's family, but, for some reason, never taken the path round the lake - until last night. This was also the first time I'd taken my camera. Now I want to go back and spend some time there, with a longer lens, to photograph some of the many birds/ducks/swans etc, in these lovely surroundings. This photo shows the top corner of the lake, which is sectioned off from the fishermen and boats and at its most natural. The lowering sun was just catching the surface of the water, setting off a few sparkles amongst the greens and oranges of the algae.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/4, 1/100s, -0.7step exp bias, 35mm, hand held.

Boats on Morecambe beach (2).

Here's a different view of the scene I posted on 7th March (and in colour this time, instead of black and white). Beyond the boats, you can see right across Morecambe Bay to the beaches and hills on the other side.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/5, 1/400s, 30mm, hand held.

Blackpool's north pier viewed from the promenade steps.

This was a late afternoon at the end of December last year. I love the mixture of soft pinks and blues, the curves of the steps and dark lines of the pier.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/8, 1/60s, 44mm, hand held.

Fishing boats silhouetted against the setting sun at Morecambe.

Another one from my afternoon in Morecambe in September last year. The lens was fully zoomed in and then the image further cropped to best frame these little fishing boats silhouetted against the setting sun.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/18, 1/10s, 55mm, tripod.

Seagull perched on the barrier on Blackpool seafront.

I took this one about an hour before sunset at the end of December last year, close to Blackpool's north pier. The whole seafront in Blackpool was redesigned a few years ago and the new barriers, lights and steps all have great curves that complement rather than clash with the sea and beach.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/80s, 55mm, hand held.

Late September afternoon on Morecambe Bay.

Another one from my afternoon in Morecambe last year - we called there after I'd had a helicopter flight from nearby Carnforth up to Ambleside and back. I got just as many photos at Morecambe as I did on the helicopter - the beach has a lovely mixture of textures and on that day the clouds were great too.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/250s, 20mm, hand held.

Birds on a wire.

I took this photo whilst walking around Hollingworth Lake in July last year. I was photographing the lake and surrounding foliage and just happened to look straight up and see these birds, perched very still on a phone wire, silhouetted against the cloudy sky.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/8, 1/250s, 50mm, hand held.

Boats on Morecambe beach.

I took this on a late afternoon in September last year. I love the mixted angles of the lines in the sand and the boats and their masts. I also love how the mast of the boat in the centre looks like it's trying to pop the little cloud!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/5, 1/800s, 34mm, hand held.

Pendle Hill viewed from Hoof Stones Height at Black Hameldon.

Today I tried out a new walk around the moors above Kebs Road in Todmorden. I ended up at the trig point at the top of Black Hameldon - a stunning viewpoint! The weather was gorgeous today so I could see for miles in every direction. This particular view is looking across Burnley towards Pendle Hill - the steeper end of which is lit up in the sunshine. I'm not sure whether I was actually standing in Burnley (Lancashire) or Todmorden (West Yorkshire) at this point - either way I was very close to the border!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/250s, 35mm, hand held.

Abstract aerial view over the north-eastern estuary of Morecambe Bay.

This is one of the shots I took on my helicopter flight from Carnforth to Ambleside and back in September last year. This cropped photo shows the sands of the north-eastern estuary of Morecambe Bay, somewhere between Grange-over-sands and Arnside (I think!).

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/4, 1/1600s, 18mm, hand held.