Shaft of sunlight on the lower slopes of High Stile, Buttermere.

One from our holiday to the Lake District in August this year. The clouds were great that day - fast moving and creating gaps big enough for these shafts of sunlight to get through. You could watch them moving across the fells like big spotlights.

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

Muddy path between trees and mossy walls.

This is the Luddenden end of the path that runs past the church and alongside the river up the valley bottom. I took the photo at the end of a walk around the valley back in February this year. I love the different bright shades of green in the moss and leaves and the way the light catches the muddy puddles.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/80s, 20mm, 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.

Stone wall and snow-covered fields under a threatening sky

I took this last winter at the top corner of Roils Head moor, looking towards the Luddenden valley. The word 'bleak' comes to mind!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/5, 1/800s, 18mm, hand held.

Little waterfall at Maple Dean Clough, Norland.

Yesterday I did a lovely walk from Sowerby Bridge to Norland and back, climbing up via Maple Dean Clough. I didn't want to carry my tripod as it was a long walk, so came up with the idea of using a bean-filled microwaveable neck cushion in a plastic bag as a camera rest. It worked brilliantly - I used it for this shot, along with a remote release.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/18, 1 sec, 18mm, 'bean bag' & remote release.

Sunrise over Halifax roof- and tree-tops

I let the dogs out into the garden this morning, looked up and saw this beautiful sunrise. Luckily I already had my camera out ready for a long walk today, so I nipped back in for it and quickly took some photos. This one is a combination of 3 shots merged into a panorama in Photoshop.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/8, 1/250s, 18mm, hand held.

Puddle on the road leading up to Honister Pass

Today's photo is from my holiday to Keswick in August this year. On this day we were walking around Lake Buttermere - this is the section of the walk near Gatesgarth Farm where you join the road for a short while.

It's strange to think that in the middle of such stunning scenery I would choose to photograph a puddle, but the puddle really was the main focus of this image, with the mountains playing a background role. I really liked the reflections and the way the light and water brought out the textured lines on the road surface.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/11, 1/200s, 18mm, hand held.

Woodland path in Autumn

This path runs through the trees alongside Ryburn reservoir, leading up the hill towards Baitings reservoir, Ripponden. I took the photo on a drizzly morning in October. The sky was dark and grey but the colourful trees made up for it.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/8, 1/30s, 28mm, circular polariser, hand held.

Early morning sunshine on snowy Roils Head moor

Another one from my early-morning photography trip to the local moor in January this year. Having watched the sun rise, we spent a cold but exciting hour wandering round the fields - the light changed constantly and there were endless photo opportunities.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/9, 1/250s, 22mm, hand held.

River Hebden flowing around leaves and rocks

I took this at the beginning of November at Hardcastle Crags. I had my tripod and was experimenting with different lengths of exposure to see what worked best. I have lots of different versions now and keep changing my mind about which I prefer - smoothed out or rough textured. I definitely like this one, though - at the rougher textured end of the scale.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/4s, 55mm, tripod.

Reflections of trees between stones in a puddle

This is one of the first photos I took at Hardcastle Crags with my DSLR in June 2013. I'd intended photographing a little waterfall, but when I got there found that it had dried up due to a recent lack of rain. All that was left was this little puddle, so I set up my tripod above it and experimented. Close-up compositions had quite an abstract effect, made even more so by focusing on the reflections rather than the stones.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/9, 1.3s, 55mm, tripod.

Light and shade across the Luddenden valley

This is from February this year. There were lots of clouds around and the sun was popping in and out, lighting up patches of the hillside, whilst leaving other areas in deep shadows. Usually I try to avoid putting telegraph lines in an image, but I liked how they emphasised the contrast here - they're lit up in the foreground sun against the dark backdrop of trees.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/100s, 55mm, 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.

Winter tree framed by a break in the clouds

I took this on Roils Head moor in January this year. It was getting dark and we were making our way off the moor when I noticed how the edge of the clouds seemed to be framing this tree. You can see the dark rooftops of Norton Tower in the background, where a single street lamp has switched on.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/50s, 52mm, hand held.

Pillar-lined passage at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich.

More of the lovely architecture at the Old Royal Naval College, photographed in March this year. This is a crop from a wider scale portrait shot that included the ceiling. Whilst the ceiling was also quite impressive, the composition worked much better when narrowed down to this cross-section of the passage. This way you get to really appreciate the different tones in the pillars and stone floor as well as the lines and light.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/80s, 32mm, hand held.

Graining Water in spring sunshine

Any regular visitors to Widdop will know this view - it's taken from the Widdop Road bridge at Blake Dean. It's always a lovely scene, just changing colours with the seasons. This photo was taken in late March this year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/160s, 36mm, hand held.

Abstract colourful bokeh

The subject in this photo is the glass plant-pot butterfly from my earlier post on 14th October. I wanted to replicate the effect of screwing your eyes up so that you can just see blurred sparkles, so I played with the camera focus.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/4.5, 1/1000s, 90mm, hand held.

Bare tree amidst autumn colours in foggy woodland

Hardcastle Crags again today - one from a couple of weeks ago. I'd taken my tripod aiming for some long exposures of the river. Having spent 20 minutes or so doing this, I decided to pack away and move further up the river, turned away from the water and saw this. It's usually the pictures I don't go looking for that excite me the most and, to me, are the best!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/3.5, 1/125s, 18mm, hand held.

The Walsden valley from above Bacup Rd on a drizzly autumn afternoon

I took this on the first stretch of a walk around Sourhall, Cornholme and Lydgate a couple of weeks ago. The drizzly low light conditions seemed to make the autumn colours even more vivid - the valley and its contours look lovely.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/8, 1/80s, 40mm, hand held.

A boat named 'Hopeful'

'Hopeful' of ever sailing again, maybe...?! This boat is on the edge of the promenade at Morecambe - I have no idea what its story is, but I'm intrigued. I think sunset was a good time to photograph the boat - it seems to signy its stage of life!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/16, 1/125s, 18mm, hand held.

Distant crows amongst bare trees

I'm sure this picture isn't going to be everyone's 'cup of tea' but there's something about the textures and mood that I really like. I took it in February this year, in woodland above Jerusalem Farm in the Luddenden valley. I was drawn to the silhouette of the bird perched on the post and watched it, expecting it to fly off. When it stayed still for so long I decided to try to get a picture of it and, as I did, the other one flew into the scene.

I was shooting landscapes so had a wide angle lens and was unable to zoom in any further, but I like the fact that the surroundings are there for context and that this represents my actual view from a distance.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/100s, 55mm.

Flowering thistle on the path beside Malham Tarn

Another one from my walk around Malham Tarn (which is just off the photo to the right) in August this year. I liked the splash of purple in amongst the greens and white limestone. It was a dark, cloudy evening so I had to use a high ISO as I hadn't taken my tripod (although looking at the settings I used, I could have reduced ISO somewhat and brought shutter speed down instead).

Camera/lens settings: ISO 1600, f/11, 1/250s, 24mm.

Sun rising behind snow-covered trees

This is the only sunrise I've managed to photograph so far (because I hate getting out of bed early!). I only made this one because it was in January and was therefore rising quite late. The photo is taken over a wall looking onto West End golf course at Highroad Well, Halifax. It was too high up for a tripod so I rested the camera on the snow on the top of the wall.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/40s, 55mm, hand held (resting on a wall)

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.

'Face' in Lindisfarne Castle wall

Whilst I was looking up at the castle wall, framing out a photo (on holiday in August 2013), one of my sons spotted this 'face' in the wall. There's a hat, eyes, nose and mouth and, to me, it looks just like Pinocchio, the puppet.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/13, 1/20s, 55mm, hand held.

Autumn leaves against a tree trunk in foggy woodland

This is another one from my walk at Hardcastle Crags yesterday. The leaves look lovely against two very different backgrounds - the dark, textured bark of the tree and the lighter, foggy woodland behind.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/60s, 55mm, hand held.

Spooky tree in foggy woods

I took this today at Hardcastle Crags. The weather forecast was for fog all day so I was hoping for some atmospheric photos of the trees. It wasn't quite as good as I hoped - the fog kept lifting and moving (and not coinciding with me being in the right place). This particular shot worked out well, even though I'd have preferred more fog!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/3.8, 1/25s, 20mm, tripod.

Shaft of sunlight between dark clouds onto Widdop Road

I was lucky enough to capture this moment in September this year whilst on a walk around the Blake Dean area of Widdop. I'm hoping to do more walking in 'bad' weather now that I've got a waterproof cover for my camera - that's when you get the most interesting and moody shots.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/16, 1/100s, 18mm, hand held.

River Hebden flowing beneath autumnal trees.

I took this one this morning at Hardcastle Crags - with my tripod, my son and I balanced on a rock in the middle of the river. It's absolutely lovely at the moment - the colours are so vivid and varied. There was a heavy mist when we arrived, but it lifted and the sun got through for a while. I wish I could have stayed all day!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/18, 1/2s, 18mm, tripod.

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.