Cows in field with Blencathra in background

This field is on the opposite side of the lane to the Castlerigg Stone Circle in Keswick. I'd walked there from our holiday home in August this year to take photos of the stones, but when I got there my attention was diverted by this cute cow looking at me over the gate. I thought it'd make a great photo, especially with my favourite mountain, Blencathra, in the background.

In Lightroom I increased exposure, reduced highlights and cropped the image to position the cow on the thirds.

Rope swing in the trees at Hardcastle Crags

I came across this rope swing tied on one of the trees at Hardcastle Crags, Hebden Bridge, in May this year. On an aesthetic level, I liked how the blue rope stood out against the green/brown background of the trees and leaves. Even more, though, I liked how inviting and tempting it looked just hanging there, waiting for someone to jump on! But no, I didn't - way too old and sensible!

The only change I made post-production was a slight crop to better position the swing.

View from Malham Cove limestone pavement (2)

Another one from August this year, but a different view from the last one I posted, looking right over the edge of the pavement straight down the valley towards Malham. You can see the main path that takes walkers to and from the village alongside the stream. I think I prefer this viewpoint.

I used a graduated filter in Lightroom to take the glare out of the sky and did a slight crop to remove some very dark distracting clouds.

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.

Gibson Mill and pond at Hardcastle Crags

Gibson Mill is a 19th century cotton mill, now owned by the National Trust along with the surrounding woodland of Hardcastle Crags, West Yorkshire. I took this picture in May 2013, not long after buying my DSLR camera - I love the symmetry and stillness of it (even though the sky's a bit dull and grim!).

I exposed the image for the mill and trees, so I needed to reduce exposure of the sky and pond post production in Lightroom. I used 2 graduated filters to do this - one angled from the top right down; one angled from the bottom right up.

Weather-worn beach rocks

These blue/grey coloured rocks are on the beach at Seahouses, Northumberland. The wind and sea have worn them into complex ridges and swirls - lovely, intriguing patterns.

I cropped the original raw image and increased contrast to emphasise the shapes.

Horse looking over wall

I took this one a few years ago on a walk on the hills around Todmorden, West Yorkshire (where I grew up). This horse always came over to say hello and see if you had anything for it to eat - it would follow you along the wall until it reached the end of its field.

I used a Panasonic compact camera, so didn't have a raw file to work with, hence the sky's still a bit burned out in the background (after reducing exposure and increasing shadows). I think the hazy effect just adds to the atmosphere of the photo though.

Lobster pots and boats at the harbour

This photo is from our last holiday to Seahouses, Northumberland, in August 2013. I was drawn to the colours and patterns of the lobster pots and ropes and framed the picture to include a couple of boats on the water. Although herring fishing is still done from the harbour, these particular boats have been converted to carry tourists out to the Farne Islands and Holy Island.

Post production I reduced highlights right down to take the glare off the water, reduced overall exposure very slightly and cropped the image to remove some cars parked behind the harbour wall.

Coke glass on metal dish drainer

Bit of an obscure one tonight! I took this when I was first experimenting with my new macro lens earlier this year. I deleted most of the other experimental shots but hung on to it because I really like the mixture of lines and patterns.

I converted it to black and white, although there was hardly any colour in it anyway, and reduced exposure slightly.

Derwentwater launch and rowing boats

Back to Keswick again today - a picture from August this year. This one shows the launch heading back in towards the piers and rowing boats at the Keswick end of Derwentwater, You can also see Causey Pike in the background (top left).

It was a high contrast day - a mix of bright sunshine through dark clouds, so I had a bit of post production editing to do - a graduated filter to bring the sky exposure down, then increased shadows and reduced highlights slightly. I also cropped to position the launch on the thirds as the main focus point.

Lime kilns at Holy Island

This is another one from our holiday to Northumberland in August 2013. The lime kilns are at Castle Point on Holy Island and you can wander through them and actually climb into the kilns. They were built in the 1860's and are really well preserved. They were used to make quicklime (mostly for use as a fertiliser) by burning limestone and reducing it to powder.

Post production I converted to monochrome, increased exposure and contrast slightly, cropped to get symmetry and added a small dark vignette that helps to draw your eye down into the tunnel.

Autumn maple leaves

 I was in the supermarket car park today when I spotted these fallen leaves with such a striking mixture of colours. After I'd packed the shopping into the car I went back and collected a few - no idea what I was going to do with them but I just had to photograph them!

Back at home it was too windy to position them outside, so I arranged them on the sideboard in the conservatory, where there was still a lot of natural light and a bit of sunshine at times - I still had to use a high ISO for a lot of the shots, though, as I didn't want to restrict my angles and slow things down by using a tripod (ie. too impatient!).

I took about 100 photos of these leaves, so expect more to appear on the blog at later dates!

I increased contrast and reduced highlights in this image to make the colours jump out but take away the distracting glare from the sun reflecting on the yellow leaf.

Red admiral butterfly on pink Sedum flowers (2)

Here's another one of the red admiral butterfly in my garden a few weeks ago. Happy to have got its 'face' in focus and I like being able to see the green Sedum leaves in the background.

I cropped the image to position the butterfly on the thirds and reduced exposure.

Sunlit lane through Autumnal woodland at Hardcastle Crags

I took this one a year ago at Hardcastle Crags, Hebden Bridge. It's my favourite place to photograph - no matter what the season or weather.

This was a difficult scene to capture due to the high contrasts. Post production I had to reduce highlights to take some of the glare off the lane and increase shadows to bring out the ferns in the foreground, whilst also increasing overall exposure slightly.

Ginger and white longhaired cat

I wanted to post a photo of George, my gorgeous 5-year-old cat, because he's just today been diagnosed with lymphoma. He's otherwise quite healthy and the vet tells us that with chemo (not as bad for cats as humans apparently), we will get up to another year with him. We're all gutted, but glad he's not leaving us yet.

Hopefully a happy year ahead for George, being spoiled silly...

Seahouses beach from St Aidan's dunes

This is from our holiday to Seahouses in August 2013. The beach is so photogenic and you get great photos in all weathers just from walking along the sands. On this occasion I'd climbed up into the dunes deliberately to get a shot from between the reeds for a change.

In Lightroom, I converted the raw file to black and white, used a graduated filter to bring the sky exposure down, then increased overall contrast and exposure slightly.

Cosmos flower and bud

This is another one from my garden in July this year. This Cosmos plant was really lovely - flowered continuously until a couple of weeks ago.

I reduced exposure very slightly - no other changes.

Sunset reflected on Cumbria mountains

When I took this photo in August this year, I was standing at Castlerigg Stone Circle, Keswick. I had gone there specifically to photograph the stones with the sun setting in the background and was hanging around waiting for the right moment. I happened to be looking round in the opposite direction at these mountains when the sun moved out below the clouds and lit them up. I had to make some quick changes to my camera settings to get the picture before the light changed, resulting in an image that is not 100% sharp, but perfectly captures the mood of the moment.

The lower level mountain in the foreground with sunlight on its ridge is High Rigg. Behind it to the left, also touched by the sun is Clough Head. Continuing along to the right in the background is the Helvellyn range.

Post production, I cropped the image to better balance it and increased exposure and contrast slightly.

Rusting wheels in the sea at Longstone Island

I noticed these big iron wheels in the water on Longstone Island, one of the Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast, whilst we were wandering round looking at the seals. I was really struck by the lovely colours of the rusting metal alongside the green moss on the rocks. I thought it funny at the time that I was photographing rusting metal wheels whilst everyone else was still photographing the seals!

I have to admit to a big post-production 'cheat' on this one though. The sky was totally flat grey, albeit very bright, and it really let the picture down. So I created a blue sky and corresponding reflection in the water by using 2 graduated filters (one from the top, one from the bottom, both at angles) - reducing exposure and temperature in each.

Sunlight through trees onto ferns

This is another one from our walk round the shore of Derwentwater, Cumbria. I'm addicted to photographing this type of scene - I love the contrasts, textures and patterns created by the sunlight.

I made a few post-production tweaks - reducing highlights and increasing shadows slightly to cope with the high contrast; also a crop to better position the main tree and fern.

Dog drinking from rock pool

This is my black cockerpoo, Kipper, taking a break from running around and having a (very salty!) drink from a rock pool on the beach at Seahouses, Northumberland. You can seen the harbour wall in the distance.

I converted the raw file to black and white in Lightroom and reduced the exposure in the sky with the graduated filter tool.

Insect on Sedum flowers

Here's another flying critter taking pollen from my pink Sedum flowers a couple of weeks ago. No idea what type of insect it is, but it looks like a shiny little alien up close!

Just cropped the image - no other changes made.

Black clouds over Bamburgh Castle

This is a perfect example of the changeability of the British weather - black clouds replace sunny skies over Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland. I loved the drama in the sky and liked the way the path lead my eye up to the castle and beyond.

Due to the huge contrasts in the sky, the image I got at the time (without filters) wasn't great, but after many post production changes to the Raw file, I managed to retrieve what I actually saw.

In Lightroom, I first increased the overall exposure (I'd under-exposed the grass to bring the bright sky areas down a bit), then used a graduated filter to sort out the sky - reducing exposure and highlights and increasing shadows. A lot of 'fiddling' but I'm happy that the final image is realistic.

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.

Alstroemeria flower

I took this one a couple of weeks ago in my garden. This was the second round of flowers from this plant this year. From a distance the colours alone are stunning, but close up you also see how intriguing the inside of the flower is.

I cropped the image slightly and used spot removal in Lightroom to remove the distracting tip of a stamen from another flower from the bottom left corner.

Spiral staircase in Dunstanburgh Castle

This is looking down the spiral staircase inside one of the towers at Dunstanburgh Castle, near Craster, Northumberland, from August 2013. It's a classic type of shot that I've seen lots in books and online, but it was still great to be able to take it myself. I love the patterns and textures made by the shafts of light on the steps and handrail.

I converted to monochrome and increased exposure slightly.

View from Malham Cove limestone pavement

Here's another one from our walk around Malham, North Yorkshire, this August. This is taken from the top of the cove, on the limestone pavement, looking back down and across the valley.

It was a bright, greyish day, so I wasn't sure I would get great photos, but I think this image works particularly well converted to black and white. I also used the Grad Filter tool in Lightroom to bring down the exposure and increase saturation in the sky.

Butterfly on pink flowers

I took this in my garden last week. With a shallow depth of field and manual focus it's really difficult to get the focus right - on this one I'm pleased to have got a clear shot of the butterfly's head. I've made 2 crops - one in black and white, which highlights the head and antennae and the detail in the flowers; one very close crop to highlight the colours and the detail of the head and wing.

Rainclouds over rock pools at Seahouses

This is looking South from Seahouses, Northumberland over the rockpools and the North Sea. I took it in August 2013. I love the shades, shapes and textures in the clouds, which were threatening (and eventually delivered) rain. I also like the way the rockpools draw your eye up to the end of the headland and on to the clouds.

I reduced highlights and exposure to better balance the lighting between the sky and the rocks.

Woodland scene in Autumn at Hardcastle Crags

I took this one in November last year at Hardcastle Crags, Hebden Bridge. I love the range of autumnal colours in the trees, ferns and fallen leaves and the contrasts created by the sunlight and shadows.

I increased shadows and reduced highlights fractionally post production.

Bee on pink Sedum flowers

I took this in my garden last week. The Sedum flowers attract all kinds of insects - I sat next to them and snapped away for way too long (appx 250 pics and a sore neck!).

I don't know exactly what kind of bee this is - need to start learning about insects if I'm going to do this more often - but I just loved the way the sun lit up its wings. Also love the detail on its head (again, not big on insect anatomy!).

I just cropped the image for better composition - no other changes post production.