Sunlight highlighting a bare tree at Ogden Water

This one's from my second visit to Ogden Water this week. I went back with my tripod to get some macro shots, then had another wander round the woods. It was an overcast afternoon, but windy, so every now and then the clouds blew away and the sun broke through for a few seconds. I spotted that this tree was getting singled out whenever that happened, so I stood and waited for the next gap in the clouds and got the shot.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2, 1/160s, 35mm, hand held.

Muddy woodland at Ogden Water.

This weekend I visited one of our local reservoirs - Ogden Water. My son went for a long muddy run across the surrounding moors, whilst I wandered around the woods with my camera. This is the last photo I took on the day - it's a muddy, but very colourful, ditch over a wall beside the car park.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/3.2, 1/100s, 35mm, hand held.

Bare winter trees in woodland.

This is high in the woods at Hardcastle Crags, photographed in February this year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/1.8, 1/200s, 35mm, hand held.

Sunlight catching winter branches.

Another tree photo from Hardcastle Crags - this one's from March last year. I love the way the sun sneaks through to light up the edges of the mossy branches and the few remaining copper leaves.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/160s, 55mm, hand held.

Ripples, reflections and shadows on Ullswater.

I took this from the lakeside path around Ullswater last month. I like the complexity of the picture - all caused by the overhanging tree branches.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2.5, 1/250s, -1 step exp bias, 35mm, hand held.

Light and shade under the trees at Hardcastle Crags.

I took this one in June last year - you can see the bright midday sunshine just managing to break through the branches into the shadows beneath.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 1600, f/9, 1/80s, 35mm, hand held.

Mossy branches surrounding mill ruins.

This is the old mill near the top of Jumble Hole Clough, between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden. I took the photo in April this year, before the leaves appeared on the trees. I'm planning another visit soon so I'll see how the leaves change the atmosphere.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/100s, 35mm, hand held.

Silhouetted tangle of boughs and branches.

I took this in Midgley in April last year - just a tangle of bare branches and a slightly over-exposed sky, but I like it!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 1/125s, 40mm, hand held.

Colourful, textured, winter branches in Eaves Wood.

This one's from my Hebden Bridge-Heptonstall-Mytholm walk in March this year. I love the colours and textures in the branches - every bit as lovely as summer leaves, but in a totally different way.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2, 1/400s, 35mm, hand held.

Bluebells flowering around a fallen branch.

Another one from yesterday's wander round Hardcastle Crags. I find it quite difficult to get pictures of bluebells that I'm happy with - they always seem so stunning when they blanket everywhere around you, but it's hard to scale that down to a photo that still captures the effect. In this case, this log helped with the composition, scale and context.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/5, 1/200s, 35mm, hand held.

Snow-laden branches.

One from the heavy snow in January last year. I took this on our local moor. I love how snow transforms the ordinary and makes it beautiful.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/60s, 46mm, hand held.

Contrasting tree lines in autumn woodland.

I love the mixture of colours in this photo from November last year. The main reason I took it, though, was to show the contrast between the crooked, horizontal foreground branches and the straight, vertical trunks in the background - they almost look like they're trying to hide them.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/30s, 55mm, hand held.

Summer foliage over the River Hebden at Hardcastle Crags.

This one's from June last year, photographed on a lower section of the river between the mill and Midgehole car park. There's some blurring of the branches and leaves due to a breeze and the long exposure, but I don't think it matters as there's an obvious sense of motion to the picture anyway in the water.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/22, 13s, 18mm, tripod, ND filters.

Colourful mixture of autumn branches and foliage.

I took this one at the top of Maple Dean Clough, Norland, in late November last year. I love how many colours are packed into this frame - particular the tiny splash of orange in the centre - and how well they complement each other.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/5, 1/80s, 32mm, hand held.

Bare winter branches silhouetted against a grey sky.

This lovely big tree is half way down Stock Lane, Warley, close to where I live. I took the photo in January this year, having looked up to watch some birds and noticed what a delicate pattern the twigs made against the sky.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/125s, 40mm, hand held.

Winter branches at Hardcastle Crags.

Yesterday I got a new prime lens (Nikkor 35mm f/1.8) so this morning I headed to my favourite location (Hardcastle Crags) to play with it! I love it! It's sharp and fast, meaning I can get shallow depth of field and photograph in low light at low ISO - perfect for woodland shots. Here's one of them; the mossy greens are standing out beautifully at the moment, along with the crisp brown leaves of the beech trees.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2, 1/400s, 35mm, hand held.

Colourful autumn trees.

These trees line the edge of a field just off to the side of Bacup Road, Todmorden. I took the photo on a sunny day in late October last year. Although the colours are gorgeous, it's the contrast of the blue-grey trunk and branches that makes the picture for me.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/40s, 50mm, tripod.

Web-like tangle of white branches over the River Hebden

This is from March last year at Hardcastle Crags. Don't know if this tree was dead or just in its leafless winter state, but it contrasted beautifully against the surrounding earth tones.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/9, 1/60s, 22mm, hand held.

Tangled boughs

I passed this little group of trees on the way down the hill after walking round Withens Clough reservoir, Cragg Vale, in June this year. I was drawn to the contrast of their light coloured, winding branches against the dark, shadowy background.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/9, 1/160s, 40mm, hand held.

Waterfalls at the head of Buttermere, viewed from between tree branches

This one's from our holiday to the Lake District in August this year. The mountains (Fleetwith Pike & Haystacks) and waterfalls at the end of Buttermere are always stunning to look at or photograph, but I also really liked this hint of the view to come through the natural frame of branches.

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