Sunlight catching a bridge in Whinlatter Forest.

This is from our holiday to Keswick in August this year. I liked the way the sun was catching the bridge and creating shadows on the lit-up patch of ground beneath it.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/4.5, 1/60s, -0.7step exp bias, 35mm, hand held.

Autumn leaves on a wooden bridge at Hardcastle Crags.

Another one from my walk around the Crags this week. I've photographed this bridge before, but with a greater depth of field. I thought a shallow depth of field would work well this time with the colourful fallen leaves.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2.5, 1/60s, -1 step exp bias, 35mm, hand held.

Beneath a Thames bridge.

I took this whilst on a Thames river launch in June this year. I can't remember which bridge it was, but I love the colours and patterns on the stone.

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

Woodland scene at Jumble Hole Clough.

It was the blue door that made me take this photo (in April this year), although it's a lovely little woodland scene anyway. I like the way the blue painted wood stands out from all the greens.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/80s, 35mm, hand held.

The Walsden valley viewed from above Gauxholme.

I took this one this afternoon on the way back from a walk with the kids. We set off on the zig-zagging path up the green hill on the right (The Naze), then crossed the (very boggy!) moor beyond, taking a circular route via Gorple Clough.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/200s, 35mm, hand held.

Shadows and pedestrians crossing Southwark Bridge, London.

I'm always drawn to photograph this bridge when in London. In this image, from March last year, my main focus was the contrasting lines of the cranes, buildings and shadows, but I also really like the silhouetted pedestrians against the bridge wall.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/80s, 32mm, hand held.

Southwark Bridge in early evening Spring sunshine.

I took this almost exactly a year ago on a short break to London. I love this bridge and everything around it - the cranes (which seem to be a fixture!), the towers, the mixture of new & old buildings lining the Thames... They all look even better in golden hour light too.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/9, 1/80s, 44mm, hand held.

Abstract shot of a bridge structure and lighting on the Thames south bank.

I can't remember which bridge this is, but I'm sure many Londoners will recognise it! I took the photo on an evening walk along the South Bank in March last year. Not having my tripod, I had to use a high ISO and wide aperture. I leaned on some railings for balance as I took the shot, which was directly above me.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/60s, 22mm, hand held.

Shadows of branches cast across a stone canal bridge

I took this one in April this year on the Rochdale canal, just outside Sowerby Bridge. It was around 5pm so the sun was quite low, casting strong shadows and bringing out the colours in the stone.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/250s, 18mm, hand held.

Sunlight filtering through trees onto a fenced bridge

This is the old railway path between Keswick and Threlkeld, photographed on last year's summer holiday. I could (and do!) take endless photos walking along this path.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/20s, 46mm.

Sunlight creating reflections under a bridge on the Rochdale Canal

I took this one on a walk along the canal between Mytholmroyd and Hebden Bridge one evening a few weeks ago. I love the patterns made by the water reflecting on the stones.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/10, 1/125s, 18mm, hand held.

Light, shadows and reflections under a canal bridge

This is underneath a stone bridge over the Rochdale canal, near Sowerby Bridge, taken a few weeks ago. The lowering sun was creating great patterns and highlighting the colours of the moss on the stone.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/250s, 18mm, hand held.

North Bridge, the Burdock Way flyover and Dean Clough mills, Halifax

I've been wanting to photograph these bridges for some time now, getting my chance on a walk around Halifax a few weeks ago, whilst my car was in the garage. My vantage point is the car park of the local sports centre, where my son attends classes a couple of times a week.

The lower bridge is the Victorian Gothic style North Bridge, opened in 1871 and made of iron and stone. It cost £21,000 to build (17 shillings & sixpence per square foot) and was apparently the cheapest bridge in England at the time (and is still in use today for local traffic). On the day it opened the whole town was given a half day off work and the crowds surged across the bridge before it had been officially opened, needing to be held back by 20 mounted soldiers!

In 1973, the (much less photogenic!) Burdock Way flyover (above it on this photo) was built to carry heavier and through traffic.

In the background, under North Bridge, you can see some of the Dean Clough mills complex. These mills were built in the mid-1800's for carpet manufacturing. They now house many different businesses, including art galleries, restaurants and a radio station.

History lesson over...!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/160s, 18mm, hand held.

Night-time shot of the Thames path passing beneath Blackfriars rail bridge, London.

I took this one in London in March this year. I love the undersides of the Thames bridges, especially when they're lit up at night. This particular shot is one of my favourites because of the mixture of lines and curves from the 2 bridges (I think that's Waterloo Bridge in the background) and the wall and railings on the path.

I haven't done much night-time photography and have always had poor results whenever I've tried (usually with Auto settings on a compact camera). Some of my London attempts (such as this one) have come out ok, but they're extremely grainy as I had to use a really high ISO to pick up enough detail. I think the only thing I'm doing 'wrong' now is not using a tripod (conscious decision not to be carrying one round London!), but if anyone has any other tips for me I'd be grateful.

Update! - Thanks to my friend Leanne for tipping me off about the Noise Reduction section in Lightroom - I now have a much less grainy version (the one at the bottom - not sure you can actually tell the difference on here, though!).

Camera/lens settings: ISO 1600, f/4.5, 1/60s, 20mm, hand held.

 

 

Lauch gangway on the Thames riverbank

I took this picture whilst walking along the South Bank of the Thames near Tower Bridge on my visit to London a few weeks ago. The sun was setting, giving everything a blue-ish hue, and I liked the contrast of the yellow lights inside the gangway. I also really liked the line of seagulls perched on top of it.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/80s, 36mm, hand held.

Path beneath stone bridge under sunlit trees

This is another one from the former railway line path between Keswick and Threlkeld, Cumbria. This bridge carries a single track road that leads down to our holiday home by the River Greta (we stayed there in August 2014 and are returning in August this year). I love the contrasts and shades of green.

I used an angled grad filter at the top left to balance exposure, then increased overall exposure a little, but left contrast alone.

Beck running under Ashness Bridge, Cumbria

This is Barrow Beck, the stream that runs under Ashness Bridge, just above Derwentwater, Cumbria. I went for a close-up crop from my original photo because there was so much glare in the grey sky, even after tampering with it in Lightroom. I really like the composition of the crop, but I still made a lot of changes to contrast, exposure and grey tones to get a pleasing balance of tones and textures.

View from Ashness Bridge to Skiddaw

This is my version of the classic postcard shot from Ashness Bridge, above Derwentwater, looking over towards Keswick and Skiddaw, taken on a grey day in August this year. It's such a popular photo to take that you sometimes have to line up to get it, and then wait for ages until there's no-one in the shot! Fortunately, with the weather not being great, it was really quiet when we were there.

Once again, the sky was bright and I didn't have filters or a tripod, so I reduced the exposure and highlights with a graduated filter in Lightroom afterwards.

Wooden bridge in wooded valley at Hardcastle Crags

This is one of the small bridges crossing the river at Hardcastle Crags, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. I took it in May this year. It's a mixture of autumnal and spring colours - the red leaves from autumn/winter still carpet the ground, whilst there are new bright green leaves on the tree in the centre. I loved the lighting contrasts and lines/patterns created by the sunlight hitting the bridge from the side and breaking through the trees in patches.

I cropped the image to straighten and centre the bridge, then reduced exposure slightly and increased contrast, to better represent the dramatic lighting that drew me to take the picture.

Greta Bridge in Keswick

This bridge carries the dual carriageway (A66) over the River Greta's wooded valley, passing over the old railway track that is now a cycle/pathway between Keswick and Threlkeld. You can see Causey Pike (I think!) in the distance, below the bridge.

For a big concrete structure, the bridge is actually quite aesthetically pleasing and certainly not the eyesore you'd think it'd be in the midst of such natural beauty. There's a plaque underneath it that says.....'GRETA BRIDGE Voted Best Concrete Engineering Structure Of The Century September 1999', apparently as voted for by the readers of Concrete Magazine!

I reduced highlights post-production to take the glare out of the sky (again!).