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!).

Walkway through rock pools at Seahouses

This one is from Seahouses, Northumberland, from August 2013. This is in the middle of a large expanse of rock pools, near St Aiden's dunes. I left the kids and their dad looking for crabs and other creatures whilst I wandered round with my camera - love it there!

I cropped the image to put the horizon along the top third line and reduced exposure very slightly.

View from Cat Bells to Keswick

I saw this colourful little group of ferns and heather on the way down from Cat Bells in August this year and thought they'd look great with the view over Derwentwater to Keswick in the background. You can also see Latrigg and Skiddaw in the distance.

I cropped the image slightly (to position the fern on a 'third') and reduced highlights and exposure due to the brightness of the mid-day sky.

Path through woodland and bluebells at Hardcastle Crags

This is one of my favourite photos from April 2013, from Hardcastle Crags, Hebden Bridge. It became one of my final exam pieces for my Photography Btec. It's hard to get the balance of light right in a shot like this - you want the shadows to be light enough to see the bluebells, but still dark enough to contrast with the lighter areas of the picture; you want the sun to be bright, but not to dazzle out all the detail of the leaves.

I reduced exposure and highlights very slightly for this screen image (it would need to be adjusted differently again for printing).

Pink rose

This is a pink rose in my garden from July this year. I like to photograph roses when they're past their 'best' - curling and dropping slightly. I like the imperfections.

I increased exposure and contrast slightly post-production.

Long-haired white cat behind blinds

This is George, my 5-year-old cat. He sits behind the blinds a lot (always knocking things off the window sill!). On this day the sun was shining right into the window - back-lighting him and taking away much of the detail of the blinds, making a really interesting shot.

No post-production changes, other than conversion to monochrome.

Felled tree

We were walking around Derwentwater, Cumbria, this August when my son spotted this tree and ran off to climb it. I love the shapes of the trunk and branches and the way the grass frames and contrasts against its sawn-off base - still such an elegant tree, even after having been felled.

I used a shallow depth of field to give the image some scale. Post-production, I cropped it slightly to centre the tree and reduced highlights and exposure to take the glare out of the sky.

Wooded path to Janet's Foss

I took this photo in Malham, North Yorkshire, in August this year. We'd just walked part of the 'Malham Round' - up the cove, over the limestone pavement, over the hill to Goredale Scar - and were on the final leg to Janet's Foss and back along the river to Malham.

This picture shows the short, steep path down to Janet's Foss, a small waterfall at the head of a narrow, wooded valley. Even though I was keen to see the waterfall, I held back a good 10 minutes just taking pictures of this part of the path, which I found mesmerising. The colours, textures, shapes and shadows made by the contrasting foliage and stone with a dusting of sunshine made it feel like a magical fairy tale place. Then there was just a teasing glimpse of the river ahead, with the waterfall still hidden from sight.

I made no post-production changes - the extremes of light and shade are what drew me to it.

ps - the waterfall was a bit of a let-down - I much preferred the path!

Woodland waterfall in Autumn at Hardcastle Crags

I took this photo in November 2013 at Hardcastle Crags, a wooded valley near Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire. I set out with my tripod specifically to get a photo of a waterfall, having waited until Autumn to get the reds and browns in the surrounding foliage. I was actually intending to photograph a different waterfall, but on arrival found that it had dried up - not enough recent rainfall, for once!

After walking further up the valley, I found this one - much bigger and more picturesque than the one I'd originally looked for.

I reduced exposure and highlights and lifted the shadows slightly in post production.

Spider on its web spun from a fern

I took this one in my garden this summer. It was early evening and the sun was on its way down, side-lighting the fern and web.

I didn't have much time to get my camera out (and no time for a tripod) or to get my settings right before the sun moved on and the picture disappeared, hence the focusing could be sharper. I still love the image though - the highlights from the sun; the contrasting lines and shapes etc.

I reduced exposure slightly in post-production to darken and blur the background a bit more.

White cockerpoo dog

This is my puppy, Kizzy - around 9 months old when this was taken this summer. She's such a poser - very easy to photograph!

Just a conversion to black and white from the original shot.

Black cockerpoo dog

I decided to include my animal photos in my blog. This one is of Kipper, my 3-year-old black cockerpoo. It's really hard to get good photos of him (and black dogs in general, I think) - the detail of his fur often gets lost in the shadows. Outdoor lighting definitely gives better results than indoor.

I converted this to monochrome to take away the distracting green grass behind him, and cropped it slightly.

Sun-lit raindrops on a blade of grass

I took this one on my lawn in April this year. It had been raining hard, then the sun came out and the raindrops were sparkling.

I cropped this from a bigger image to get a better view of the drops I'd focused on. No other post-production changes made.

View over Brundholme Woods to Cat Bells, Robinson and Causey Pike, Cumbria.

I took this one on the way up Latrigg, Keswick, in August this year. I nearly didn't take my camera as the day started out with such a flat, grey sky. Then the sun broke through the clouds in the distance and lit up the valley and group of fells behind Cat Bells. To me, the fells in the background and the cloud-streaked sky look like a painting superimposed behind the more photographic clarity of the trees.

I cropped the image and reduced highlights a little post-production.

St Aiden's sand dunes, between Seahouses and Bamburgh, Northumberland.

Northumberland again, from Aug 2013 - this time it's the dunes at St Aiden's, between Seahouses and Bamburgh. Dramatic dark clouds with a patch of blue sky breaking through. Yet again I didn't have my grad filter with me, so had to make post-production adjustments (total reduction in highlights and slight reduction in exposure) to get the detail back in the sky.

Lindisfarne Castle, Holy Island, Northumberland

This is a side shot of Lindisfarne Castle on Holy Island, Northumberland, taken a year ago. It was a day of bright sun popping out every now and then from behind dark clouds. I didn't have any filters with me so opted for an 'in between' exposure. I then had to take the highlights right down and reduce exposure slightly in post-production to get the detail back into the sky.

What I love most about the picture are the little out-buildings - their shapes, angles, details and colours.

Ferns in the woods alongside Derwentwater, Cumbria.

These beautiful woods run along the shore of Derwentwater, at the foot of Cat Bells. I've created 2 versions of the photo - one in colour and one converted to black and white. I also cropped the original image slightly, to arrange composition around the sun-lit ferns.

I can't decide which version I like best - they each have their own merits. I think the main difference is that the colour version draws your eye to the ferns (which were intended to be the main point of interest); the monochrome version seems to lead your eye instead to the gap between the tree trunks in the centre of the picture, making it seem like a leafy tunnel.

Which do you like best?

Close up of Forget-me-not flowers

This is an image from my garden this April. There was a big blanket of forget-me-nots and I used a shallow depth of field to blur all but one stalk of them.

I did a slight crop and a slight reduction in exposure post-production.

Morning sun on Derwentwater

One from my holiday in Keswick this August. I took this on our way up Cat Bells. The sun was high and bright and I loved the way it made Derwentwater so dazzling, silhouetting the trees on its shore and back-lighting the clouds above. I took this photo straight into the light, unsure what the result would be, and whether the camera settings would do it justice.

I resisted toning down the highlights post-production, as I wanted the effect to be as dazzling as it was on the day. So a very slight crop is all I did post-production, just to improve composition.

Cosmos flower

Another macro shot today - a Cosmos flower from my garden this July.

Slight crop done to accurately centre the flower.

Dandelion clock

A macro shot this time. Here's a dandelion clock from my garden in April this year.

No post-production changes.

Sun-dappled, tree-lined path

This is a section of the old railway path from Keswick to Threlkeld, Cumbria. I just loved how the sun was breaking through the trees - it almost looked like the whole 'tunnel' was sparkling.

A very slight increase in exposure was the only tweak, just to lift the shadows a little.

Surfer on Bamburgh beach, Northumberland, with the castle in the background

I took this in August 2013, during a week's holiday at Seahouses, Northumberland. I hadn't been to Bamburgh beach before so went on a mission to scope it out for photographic opportunities. I didn't really expect to get any great shots as the sun was high in the sky and quite dazzling as it reflected off the sand and sea. I think this shot works well within those conditions though - everything is almost silhouetted. I was just lucky that the surfer was in the position he was at the point that I turned for the shot.

The only post-production changes I made were to crop the image from a 3:2 ratio to this size and to convert it from colour to monochrome (there was hardly any colour in it anyway due to the bright sun).

View of Newlands valley from Cat Bells

Another image from my recent holiday in Keswick - the head of the gorgeous Newlands valley, taken from the summit of Cat Bells, with another sheep posing in perfect position.

Very slight reduction in exposure needed post-production to bring out a bit of blue in the sky - it was a really bright morning. Love the image as it is, but it would probably have been improved by one or two fluffy white clouds in the sky.

Castlerigg Stone Circle at sunset (Keswick, Cumbria)

So here we go with my first attempt at blogging!

This is an image from my week in Keswick this summer. I walked up to the stone circle hoping to get some interesting sunset shots. Didn't take my tripod - just leaned back against one of the stones and hoped for the best!

I love the fact that this sheep wandered into the shot just as the clouds parted to let the sun's rays through. The sky and mountains in the top left background and the back-lit sheep are really the main focus of this picture, with the stone circle and sun being more of a back-drop.

I turned highlights down and exposure up slightly in Lightroom to reduce the glare and lighten the image overall. There are obvious flare spots, but I don't think they detract from the image.

Constructive critique welcome!