Kizzy watching a butterfly

This is my cockerpoo, Kizzy, 'helping' me with my macro photography last summer! I'd sit quietly and patiently waiting for the butterfly to land, then Kizzy would decide to go in for a closer look. Sometimes she'd frighten it away, but every now and then I got a cute shot like this (and when I got really lucky, it'd be in focus!).

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/9, 1/400s, 90mm, hand held

Spooky branches

Something a bit different today - I've been experimenting with split toning in Lightroom. I took this close-up of bare, spiky branches at Hardcastle Crags in April last year. Although I liked the shapes and textures, the colours were washed out and left the image lacking something. I wanted to complement the spikiness of the branches by giving it an ominous mood, so tried out different colours and balances for the shadows and highlights. My measure of success was when my 10-year-old looked over my shoulder and said "Ooh - that looks spooky!". Colours chosen!

(By the way, I've decided to change what I write on my blog. I've been mentioning all post-production changes, but I think that's probably getting a bit dull - I do tend to do similar changes to most images - and without the original to compare to, it's probably a bit meaningless. From now on, I'll just mention any changes of particular interest. I'm also going to start detailing the camera settings used for each shot.)

Camera/Lens settings: ISO100, f /2.8, 1/320s, 90mm, hand-held

Autumn leaves on the ground at Hardcastle Crags

I took this at Hardcastle Crags in November last year. I was right on the edge of the car park on my way home when I spotted this yellow leaf standing out amongst the brown tones of the other leaves and twigs.

In Lightroom, I adjusted exposure and contrast and cropped in to improve composition.

Rowing boats moored on Derwentwater shore

Another view from the Keswick end of Derwentwater, from August last year - there are so many different pictures to be taken from this point! I just love the colours and shapes of the boats, and the backdrop is just beautiful, whatever the weather.

I had a lot of playing to do in Lightroom with this one, as the original was a hasty snap with a bright lake and sky and dark shady boats. To get to the final image, I used the grad filter, adjustment brush and tone curve to alter exposure, contrast etc, cropped and increased clarity.

Surfer walking into the sea at Bamburgh beach

This is another shot of the surfer who featured in my blog post of 11th Sept last year - that time with Bamburgh Castle in the background. This time he's the main subject of the picture.

I've been reading up on Lightroom techniques today - now that I've got the hang of the basics I decided it's time to learn some more! So I've made quite a few changes to this image (crop, contrast adjustment via tone curve, clarity, blue saturation...) and I'm happy with the result.

Wind-blown tree in snow against a late afternoon sky

Here's another one from last weekend on the moor near my home in Halifax. I took this one around 3.30pm - just before the sun started to set - hence the bright sky on the right behind the tree (the sun would be on its way down directly opposite this) and the slight pinky/blue tone of the clouds. I love the 'ready-made' composition of this wind-blown tree sitting on its own on the little ridge and the line of tall grass leading along to it - it was a photo waiting to be taken (and I took it a lot over the next couple of days!).

In Lightroom, I added a grad filter to balance exposure in the sky, but made no other changes.

Track and trees in snow

I took this an hour after sunrise last Sunday morning on the moor near where I live. I love the different textures and black & blue tones brought out by the low sunlight and different levels of snow cover on the trees. Also, I don't know who had been out driving round the moor at that time of morning but they left some nice tracks in the snow for the photo!

In Lightroom, I increased contrast and reduced exposure.

Trees and roots at Hardcastle Crags (2)

This is the colour version of the photo I posted on the 4th January. Looking at them both again now, I think maybe I prefer the colour version - I think it brings out more detail in the ground and shows off the light better.

This is definitely one of my favourite photos.

Walled country lane curving through fields at Malham

This is another view from the path between Malham Cove and Gordale Scar, from August last year. I love the curve of the road, leading your eye to the straight lines of the sloping walled fields centre right, which are nicely lit up in the hazy sun. Pendle Hill is just visible on the distant horizon.

I cropped the image significantly in Lightroom, removing a large amount of dull grey sky and creating a panoramic view. I also increased contrast.

Sun-lit fern against a backdrop of brown leaves and twigs

Another fern (yeah - bit obsessed with them!). Taken at Hardcastle Crags again, in May 2013. This was in a very shaded part of the woods, but a beam of sunshine got through the trees and lit this one fern up. I like the contrast and definition against the brown leaves and twigs on the ground.

In Lightroom I increased contrast and darkened the blacks slightly, also adding a slight dark vignette, to emphasise the definition.

Seal on the Farne Islands

I took this on our holiday to Seahouses in August 2013. This was our second boat trip to Longstone Island, one of the Farne Islands. The first time, we'd climbed up inside the lighthouse (you only have about 20 mins on the island) so this time we wanted to just explore and look for seals. The seals are used to people being around so I wasn't too surprised when this one let me get quite close (although not as close as the photo suggests - I had a zoom lens!). It wasn't until I got round the other side of it that I realised it was actually injured - the poor thing had a cut on the side of its face. Apparently they fight a lot. I felt quite guilty for taking its picture (and very much like a tourist!) once I realised it was probably in pain.

Just a slight increase in contrast and dark vignette in Lightroom on this one.

Derwentwater and Keswick, viewed from Catbells

This is the lovely early-morning view from the mountain, Catbells, looking over Derwentwater to Keswick, taken on our holiday in August last year. The bigger mountains in the background are Skiddaw (left) and Blencathra (right). I took the photo quickly to make sure I just caught the boat and its trail in the perfect position on the lake.

I used a grad filter in Lightroom to balance exposure in the sky and increased contrast a little overall.

Lone little tree on a snowy moor (2)

2 days ago I posted a photo of a little tree in snow from Jan 2013 - this is the same tree photographed yesterday. At first glance it doesn't seem to have grown, but it's actually filled out and got a bit taller - so much so I had to do a square crop of the image, as it wouldn't fit snuggly into a 2:3 aspect ratio any more!

I had a fantastic time with my camera on this trip - for the first time ever I did what photographers are supposed to do and got up before dawn to catch the sun rising on location (I hate getting out of bed, particularly at that time!). It didn't go entirely according to plan as I didn't know exactly where the sun would rise, but I got some great shots and wonderful lighting, with some surprises too (I'll tell more in future posts!).

Besides the crop, I converted to black and white, darkened the blacks (to bring out the tree) and reduced contrast (to tone down the textures in the snow, which distracted from the tree).

White cockerpoo peeping through wooden gate

This is Kizzy, our 1 year old cockerpoo, watching me through a gap between the boards in a gate in our garden. We had this gate put in last year after renovating the garden - it separates the half the dogs are allowed in and the half they're not! When I go into the 'forbidden half' she sits at the gate and watches me, whining for me to come back when I take too long (more than about 30 seconds, that is!).

Lone little tree on a snowy moor

It's been snowing on and off all day today and I spent a couple of hours on our local moor (with husband, kids and dogs) taking photos. Unfortunately I haven't had chance to process them yet, so instead I've picked one from Jan 2013 to post instead. I took this one and a few others that day with my compact camera and have been waiting for snow since then to be able to get similar shots with my DSLR - hopefully I'll have got some good ones today!

In Lightroom I tweaked the jpeg - darkened the blacks to emphasise the tree, reduced contrast to take detail out of the foreground and added a slight reverse vignette.

Insect on Sedum flowers (2)

I took this in September 2014 in my garden. I don't know insects well enough to be able to say what it is, but I love how its wing and hairs shine golden in the sun!

I cropped the image substantially to get a closer view of the insect, but made no other changes.

Sparkling pink rose

Here's another one from my macro shoot at home last week, using a tripod, macro lens and ring light. I love this one - the different pink tones and the sparkling water drops - some in focus, some not. If I could change anything, in hindsight, I'd position the tightest point of the petals further down the picture - it feels a bit cramped so close to the top!

No post production work done at all this time.

Snowy graveyard at sunrise

I took this one this morning with my iPhone. I had walked my son to school and was walking home through the fields with my 2 dogs. As I passed the graveyard it started snowing again heavily and the snow falling in front of the rising sun created this lovely orangey-yellow haze. So glad I had my phone to capture it but it would have been so much better with my DSLR...there's absolutely no chance of carrying or using my DSLR whilst walking my 2 crazy cockerpoos though!

Sparkling sea below dark clouds

I took this from Holy Island, Northumberland, looking South from the beach towards Bamburgh Castle, in August 2013. The focus of the picture is the stretch of sea sparkling in a shaft of sunshine, whilst everywhere else is in the shade of the dark clouds. I also love the two very different silhouetted structures - the castle on the horizon and the little cairn of pebbles on the beach; each obviously very different in actual size, but both dwarfed by the vast sky.

In Lightroom, I cropped the image to remove some of the pebble beach in the foreground and increase the drama of the clouds dominating the sky. I also tweaked contrast and exposure to highlight the 'sparkles'.

Little waterfall at Hardcastle Crags

I took this in May 2013 at the Crags. It's only a little waterfall, but I thought it was really cute - I love the contrasting tones, shapes and textures of the rocks and their zingy green covering of moss. I used a tripod and ND filters to get the long exposure on the water.

In Lightroom, I cropped the image to an aspect ratio that better suited the composition, then tweaked contrast and shadows.

Monochrome rose

I got a few bits of macro kit for Christmas this year and this is the first shot I took in my first play with them last week! I used a ring light, tripod and macro lens, set up in my front room. I really want to work out how to get great black and white shots and show how different angles and depths of field can represent a flower in so many different ways.

In Lightroom I tweaked exposure and contrast and added a slight dark vignette after converting to monochrome.

Derwentwater pier and silhouetted mountains

This one is from our holiday to Keswick in August 2014. I love the light on the horizon (between the mountains Catbells and Causey Pike), its reflection on the lake and the way it highlights the lines of the pier.

In Lightroom I used a grad filter to balance exposure, converted to monochrome and increased contrast. I also cropped to a panoramic view as the grey sky above didn't really contribute anything to the picture.

Trees in snow

I took this with my compact camera in January 2013 - it's on Norton Moor, Halifax, 10 minutes from where I live. It's a great place to take the kids and dogs when it's snowed - as it's on the top of a hill you get brilliant deep snow drifts to jump around in!

I increased contrast and converted the original jpeg to monochrome.

Weather-worn beach rocks (2)

These intriguing rocks are behind the rockpools on the beach at Seahouses, Northumberland, photographed during our holiday there in August 2013. The wind and water has carved fantastic shapes and contour lines into the rocks over the years, making them look like mini canyons on an ordnance survey map.

I reduced exposure and increased contrast in Lightroom.

Trees, ferns and bluebells at Hardcastle Crags

One from Hardcastle Crags tonight, from June 2013 - looking down into the trees from the path that runs along the top of the woods between Midgehole car park and Gibson Mill. I love this path - you don't have to go far to feel completely alone, with just the birds to listen to.

I tweaked exposure and contrast and added a slight dark vignette in Lightroom.

Raindrops on the washing line

These two images are taken from the same series of photos as my post on 2nd Jan. I created each of them by cropping in as far as possible to the original images, which contained a long stretch of the line, similar to the 2nd Jan photo. It's a miracle they're as sharp as they are, considering how far away I was and that I wasn't using a tripod!

I really like the effects of the shallow depth of field and sun glinting in the water - it's inspiring me to do some better macro work with raindrops.

I made adjustments to exposure and contrast and added a slight dark vignette in Lightroom, after cropping.

Countryside view beyond a dry stone wall, Malham

Another view of Malham, but not the Cove itself this time. This is taken from the path between the Cove and Gordale Scar, looking across Malham to the road that brings you in (or back away towards Gargrave).

I nearly deleted this photo due to the dull, flat, grey sky, but realised that if I cropped the sky out almost completely, what was left made a lovely photo.

Trees and roots at Hardcastle Crags

This is one of my favourite subjects to photograph - I love the shapes and textures of tree branches, bark and roots, and I'm even happier if I can include a dry stone wall too! I took this one in May 2014 on my way back to the car park from photographing bluebells.

It was a hard decision whether to leave it in colour or convert to black and white. The latter won for now, but I'll probably post the colour version as well at some point. In Lightroom I used a grad filter to adjust exposure, highlights and shadows from the wall upwards. I also increased overall contrast slightly.

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.

Raindrops sparkling on a washing line

This is the washing line in my garden, photographed when the sun came out straight after a downpour in Spring this year. I think I was in the middle of making tea in the kitchen at the time - when I looked out of the window and saw everything sparkling I had to grab my camera and capture some of it!

In Lightroom I made small adjustments to exposure and contrast and added a slight dark vignette, then converted to black and white.

View across the Calder valley from Stoodley Pike

I took this one on the last part of the climb up from Hebden Bridge to Stoodley Pike, Todmorden, in November this year. It's the view across the Calder valley. I grew up in Todmorden, at one end of the valley, and now live in Halifax, at the other end.

I love the colours, lines and textures in this picture. About 10 minutes after taking it, we reached the top, the sky went black and it started raining (see my post on 28th Dec).

In Lightroom, I used a grad filter to bring exposure in the sky down and made small tweaks to overall exposure, contrast, vibrance and saturation.