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I'm taking a break from my blog for a while. Thanks for looking, everyone!

Sunset over Bridestones rocks above Todmorden (2)

This is another shot of the sunset on a cold March evening this year (see my previous blog post on 20th March).

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/6s, 35mm, tripod & cable release.

Bare silver-barked tree in Autumn vegetation.

This is at Penistone Country Park near Haworth/Oxenhope - I took the photo in October this year, whilst walking the route of my son's fell race around the old quarries.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2, 1/800s, 35mm, hand held.

Bare winter trees in woodland.

This is high in the woods at Hardcastle Crags, photographed in February this year.

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

Black cab parked outside a railway station at night.

We passed this empty taxi on the way back into Manchester Victoria station after a trip to the Christmas markets a couple of weeks ago. I just really liked the way it was silhouetted against the brightly lit advertising on the station wall behind.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 800, f/2.8, 1/80s, 35mm, hand held.

Heather-covered mountain slopes.

This is a view of the lower slopes of Hall's Fell on Blencathra, photographed on the way down the mountain in August this year. The village of Threlkeld is just visible in the background. The green streaks of heather-free grass on the slopes caught my interest - I wonder why the heather doesn't grow on them?

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/80s, 35mm, hand held.

Summer woodland scene.

This one's from August last year, in woodland on the shores of Derwentwater, near Portinscale. I love how thick and lush the greenery is, both on the ground and above.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 800, f/11, 1/160s, 24mm, hand held.

Winter trees silhouetted in fog.

I took this photo last Monday not far from where I live in Halifax. Having had to go to an early morning appointment, I was lucky to reach this favourite group of trees before the fog lifted - I just had chance to walk round them once, then it cleared.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2, 1/160s, 35mm, hand held.

Little fishing boat in the North Sea.

I took this picture from the cliff-top path at Whitby in January last year. I loved the colours and tones in the sky and sea. The little boat gives the picture scale.

Camera/lens settings:ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/500s, 55mm, hand held.

Bluebells.

A memory from Spring this year - some lovely bluebells in my garden.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/160s, -1.3step exp bias, 90mm, hand held.

Exposed tree roots at Hardcastle Crags.

This tree is growing on a very steep slope high up in the woods - the path runs right beneath its roots. I took the photo in February this year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/4.5, 1/80s, 35mm, hand held.

Foggy Walshaw Dean reservoirs viewed across a snowy moor.

I took this on the way back from Top Withens in January this year. The snow was only at the higher levels that day.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/100s, 18mm, hand held.

St Pancras railway station, London.

I took this one in March last year. I love the architecture in this building.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/11, 1/80s, 32mm, hand held.

Exposed roots and leaves on the woodland floor.

This area of woodland is just above Mytholmroyd - I took the photo on the way back from a walk to Stoodley Pike in July this year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/2.2, 1/60s, 35mm, hand held.

Christmas lights reflected on car windscreens in Manchester.

Yesterday we visited the Christmas markets in Manchester. The lights on the House of Fraser store surpassed any of the others in the city centre, although you can't see the best of them in this picture. What caught my attention here was the way they reflected on the cars below.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/80s, 35mm, hand held.

Fence, wall and reflections at Lighthazzles reservoir.

I've posted a photo of this wall in Lighthazzles reservoir before (see 18th May 2015), but from a different angle. I love the contrast between land and water, and the way the reflections give them a surreal floating effect.

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

Slipway at Morecambe Bay.

This one's from September last year. You can see the shapes of the Cumbrian mountains on the far side of the bay.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/18, 1/200s, 24mm, hand held.

Sunlit Blencathra viewed across Derwentwater.

Here's a view I never get tired of, made slightly different every time by the changing weather conditions. This one's from August last year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/160s, 32mm, hand held.

Low clouds drifting over Norland and the Ryburn valley.

I took this photo through my landing window last Saturday afternoon. I noticed the low cloud as I was driving home and was gutted to not have my camera with me. When I got home I ran upstairs, grabbed the camera and just managed to get the photo before the clouds moved away.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/4, 1/40s, 70mm, hand held.

Sunlight catching winter branches.

Another tree photo from Hardcastle Crags - this one's from March last year. I love the way the sun sneaks through to light up the edges of the mossy branches and the few remaining copper leaves.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/160s, 55mm, hand held.

Dead tree in a small clearing.

This is at Hawes End beside Derwentwater - I took the photo in August 2015. When we went back there this summer I looked for this tree again and was quite sad to see it had been felled.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/11, 1/250s, 50mm, hand held.

Autumn trees reflected in a mill pond.

I took this photo of the pond behind Gibson Mill at Hardcastle Crags a few weeks ago. I'd just managed to get my composition right and got a couple of shots of the different trees when 2 big labradors leaped into the pond, sending ripples right across it and destroying all the reflections.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/4, 1/125s, -1 step exp bias, 35mm, hand held.

'Laughing' black dog.

This is our lovely cockerpoo, Kipper, back in March 2014 when he was 2 years old.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/3.2, 1/100s, 90mm, hand held.

Colourful slopes above Summit Tunnel

I took this one on a walk from Walsden this weekend. The railway line runs right underneath the slopes in the foreground of the picture, via the 1.6 mile long Summit Tunnel, built in the 1800s.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/40s, 35mm, hand held.

Sheep crossing a fallen-down dry stone wall.

This is on the approach to Stoodley Pike from the Mytholmroyd direction - I took the photo in July this year. The sheep were in the process of crossing the wall when they heard us approach and froze as they turned to look at us - perfect posing for a photo!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 1/320s, 35mm, hand held.

Whitby beach.

I took this shot from the cliff-top path in January this year. I like the vast expanse of sea, sky and almost empty beach (there's a man and 2 dogs if you look closely) contrasted with the colourful little huts huddled in the corner.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/8, 1/160s, 18mm, hand held.

Barbary macaque monkey at Trentham Monkey Forest

One of the lovely macaques we saw on our visit to Trentham in April this year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/400s, 35mm, hand held.

Wooden doors on a stone barn.

I walked past this barn a few times on holiday in the Lake District this year and noticed how lovely the wood looked against the pale stone and roof. Each time, however, there was a big 4x4 parked right in front of them. (The barn is just beneath Catbells, on the road down to Stair.) Eventually, I decided to just photograph the bit I could see, above the vehicle. In Lightroom, I de-saturated everything but the doors, to help them stand out.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/9, 1/125s, 35mm, hand held.

Looking across the Duddon valley from the Walna Scar track.

Another photo taken on a fell running trip - this one's from June this year at the Duddon Valley. I love the windy dry stone wall in this shot.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 1/80s, 35mm, hand held.

Sunlight across Stoodley Pike, Todmorden.

My son was in a fell race in Todmorden, where I grew up, today. He was racing up the hillside below Gaddings Dam, just along the ridge from the hill in this photo - Stoodley Pike. It was very cold but a lovely morning. The monument on the hill is a replacement for the original structure which was damaged by a lightning strike in 1854. The original was build in 1815 to commemorate the defeat of Napoleon and the surrender of Paris.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/4.2, 1/320s, 125mm, hand held.

Winter trees at Hardcastle Crags.

This is from February this year - I love how the silver birch tree trunks and coppery leaves stand out from the dark greens.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2.5, 1/250s, 35mm, hand held.

Beneath an old building on stilts on Morecambe promenade.

I've searched the internet to try and find out what this building is but with no luck. I took the photo in September last year. The view in the distance is towards Cumbria, across the bay.

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

Burst of autumn colours at Hardcastle Crags.

Here's another one from the Crags this weekend - I love how the colours pop out of the shadowy woodland at this time of year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2.2, 1/100s, -1 step exp bias, hand held.

Mating craneflies

My son spotted these 2 flies on these blades of grass at Hardcastle Crags today - he was initially drawn to the raindrops on the grass. We didn't realise at the time that they were actually mating!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/8, 1/60s, -1 step exp bias (keep forgetting to turn it off!), hand held.

Southwark Cathedral and the Shard - London.

Another view of the Shard today. This is a great (and, no doubt, much-photographed) juxtaposition of architectural styles from London's South Bank. I took the photo in March last year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/80s, 24mm, hand held.

Seagull on a Thames launch passing the Shard.

I was photographing the buildings beside the Thames as we passed them on this tour boat in June this year, when I noticed the seagull land just above us. I realised how close we were to the Shard, so waited for the right moment to take the photo, hoping it didn't fly off before we passed it.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f.7.1, 1/200s, 35mm, hand held.

Spider beneath a dew-covered web.

Another one from around this time last year. This was a lucky find high up in the woods at Hardcastle Crags. I had my tripod and macro lens with me so set about taking photos of the lovely dew droplets on the web. It wasn't until I reviewed the pictures at home that I realised the spider was there. It's well camouflaged amongst the greens and browns of the foliage, so I desaturated the rest of the image to make it easier to spot.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/22, 1/2s, 90mm, tripod & cable release.

River flowing around mossy rocks and autumn leaves.

This is at Hardcastle Crags, photographed about this time last year. I took 3 different exposures - one fast, one very long and this one, which I think captures the best of both - the darker water is smoothed out to simplify the scene, but there's still an element of movement in the white water.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/18, 5s, 38mm, tripod & cable release.

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.

Multi-coloured ferns on a rock face.

This little rock face is just below the road next to Booth Wood reservoir at Rishworth. I spotted these lovely coloured ferns on a walk along the valley at the end of April this year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 1/80s, 35mm, hand held.

Autumn foliage.

I don't know what these plants are, but their delicate, feathery tops are lovely in autumn. I took this photo on Norland moor in November last year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/5.3, 1/100s, 46mm, hand held.

Trees reflected in the Rochdale canal.

This one's from a late afternoon in April this year, between Mytholmroyd and Luddenden Foot.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/3.2, 1/250s, 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.

Heron in the river at Hardcastle Crags.

I've seen the heron at Hardcastle Crags many times but never managed to photograph it. A few weeks ago, I followed it quite a long way upstream, seeing it in numerous places each time it stopped to fish, but I only had a wide lens on my camera and couldn't get close enough. So, today, I deliberately took my long lens in the hope that I'd see it. I couldn't believe my luck when I reached the river beside Gibson Mill and found it posing perfectly for me in the waterfall. Then it flew further upstream and I managed another shot of it perched on the river bank. I'd love to know if there's more than one heron - I've only ever seen one on its own.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/4.8, 1/125s, -1 step exp bias, 210mm, hand held

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/5, 1/200s, -1 step exp bias, 120mm, hand held

Pink and yellow mesembryanthemum flower

I photographed this lovely flower in my garden in July 2014.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/500s, 90mm, hand held.

Aerial photo of the Fleetwood to Blackpool coastline.

I took this one on my microlight flight in September this year. It's great to get such a different perspective on such a familiar place - Blackpool Tower looks tiny in the distance!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/5, 1/640s, 35mm, hand held (in one hand, without use of the viewfinder!)

Cantering horse.

This is another one of the photos I recently took for a friend, of her gorgeous horse, Remo. At this point he was charging around me so that I could get a few action photos - I had to keep reminding myself to lower the camera and get out of his way when he was getting close!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/4.5, 1/500s, 70mm, hand held.

Boats moored on Morecambe Bay at Walney Island.

This is the north-western point of Morecambe Bay, at Barrow-in-Furness, looking across to Walney Island. We stayed there overnight in June this year after my son ran a fell race at the nearby Duddon valley. I took this photo early Sunday morning, before anyone was really up and about - I like how peaceful and still the water and boats are.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 1/250s, 35mm, hand held.

Raindrops on a fallen oak leaf.

Here's another macro shot from last week's walk round Hardcastle Crags.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/100s, 90mm, hand held.

Up a London underground escalator.

This is from my trip to London in March last year. I love the lights and lines in the underground and always try to get a few pictures on each trip.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 1/60s, 24mm (and lots of exposure increase and noise reduction post-production - should've increased ISO!)