432 Park Avenue shrouded in cloud

I'm going to post a few photos from our holiday to New York last summer. This first one's in Midtown Manhattan. It had been raining hard for a while and when the rain stopped a few low clouds were left hanging around - this one was partly shrouding the residential tower of 432 Park Avenue.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/10, 1/250s, 35mm, hand held

Storm clouds over moorland above Walshaw Dean reservoirs.

I took this one this afternoon on a walk around Walshaw Dean and Gorple reservoirs at Widdop, above Hebden Bridge. Just before I took this photo, there was a flash of lightning through the black clouds above the moor - typically, when I got my camera in position, it stopped!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/4.5, 1/640s, 62mm, hand held.

Lone sailboat on Derwentwater

I took this from one of the Derwentwater launches, as we crossed the lake in August last year. I love how the lake looks on dark, cloudy days. The mountain in the background is Skiddaw, usually standing out in bright green and purples at that time of year, but dark and shadowy on this particular afternoon.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/320s, -1step exp bias, 20mm, hand held.

Evening clouds over Haworth

I was at Haworth last night to watch my son in another fell race. After a lovely, warm weekend, it was back to winter layers for all the spectators, but the clouds and sky around sunset were stunning!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/3.5, 1/250s, 20mm, 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.

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.

Overlapping valleys in Todmorden.

This one's from almost exactly a year ago, on a valley-top walk around Sourhall-Cornholme-Todmorden. This photo is taken from above Cornholme, looking past Todmorden (hidden to the left) towards Walsden (the sun-lit far horizon is above Littleborough).

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/8,1/80s, 36mm, hand held.

Clouds and blue sky over moorland.

This is Hoof Stones Height - moorland between Todmorden and Burnley. I took the photo in February this year. The image feels to me like a landscape turned upside down - all the interest is in the sky, offset against the strip of flat, brown moorland below.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/125s, 35mm, hand held.

Low clouds on the fells around Ullswater.

I took this one on a walk along the shores of Ullswater, from Howtown to Glenridding, in August this year. We'd been under the trees for quite a while, then reached this craggy clearing which opened this lovely view up to us.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/800s, -0.7 step exp bias, 35mm, hand held.

Sun breaking through rain clouds over a Peak District hillside.

I took this one in July this year whilst watching my son doing a fell race. The weather started off sunny, then we watched the rain moving towards us across the opposite hills, blurring the view. At this point, the sun started to fight back and eventually we were left under blue skies again.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/8, 1/200s, -1step exp bias, 35mm, converted to monochrome and slight olive split tone added to highlights.

Path curving through a field to a group of trees.

I've posted a photo of this path and group of trees before (21st Sept 2015), but from a very different angle. This one's from a different visit in May this year. It's a very photogenic view, just off to the side of Malham Tarn.

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

Bare tree trunks in foggy Whinlatter Forest (2)

This photo of Whinlatter Forest is from August last year. The clouds were low that morning, lifting and re-settling as we walked around, providing varying degrees of visibility and lots of atmosphere.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 1600, f/8, 1/125s, 35mm, hand held.

Fallen tree and exposed roots on Derwentwater shore.

I'm back from another week in the Lake District with more photos. I took this one yesterday morning at Hawes End beneath Catbells. The mountain in the centre background is Blencathra, which we climbed earlier in the week. This was my first time trying out a new lens and filter that my husband gave me for my birthday. The conditions were a bit too bright to get maximum effect from the filter, but it still blurs the clouds and water a little.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 13s, 20mm, Lee Big Stopper, tripod & cable release.

Sheep grazing on grassy slopes.

These are the fields that surround Hollingworth Lake, Littleborough. I took the photo on a walk around the lake path in summer last year. There were a few things that drew me to the scene - the way the sheep were positioned around the shorter/lighter section of grass (must have been the tastier bit!); the little tree on its own on the horizon; the one sheep 'breaking rank' on the horizon next to the tree.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/160s, 42mm, hand held.

Clouds and sunshine above Lighthazzles reservoir.

I took this on a morning walk from Blackstone Edge in March last year. It was one of those days that varied between bright sunshine one minute and rain the next.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/160s, 28mm, hand held.

River Greta with Blencathra in the background (2)

I last posted a photo of this view not long after starting my blog on 15th Nov 2014. In that photo you could clearly see the mountain Blencathra in the background - this photo shows it hidden under low clouds. In the bottom of the valley, beside the river, is the holiday village where we stay in Keswick - a perfect location (although it suffered greatly in the floods last Christmas, when the River Greta broke its banks and washed several caravans away).

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/11, 1/200s, 24mm, hand held.

Reflections of clouds and blue sky in an iced-over reservoir outlet.

This is an outlet from Warland reservoir above Littleborough, photographed in March last year. I love the temperature contrast - the warmth of the sun against the cold of the ice.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/125s, 40mm, hand held.

Late winter afternoon at Blackpool's north pier.

I took this one in late December last year. I love how the shape and textures of the clouds seem to mirror those of the sea.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/8, 1/100s, 18mm, hand held.

Widdop moor viewed from below Gorple Cottages.

This is another one from our walk yesterday. We'd just walked alongside Graining Water (in the dip in the centre of the picture) and were heading in the opposite direction to this view, over Heptonstall moor on the Pennine Way. It was another typical summer 'weird-weather' day - one minute hot sunshine, the next dark clouds and a brisk wind - I think the photo shows that quite well.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 1/250s, -0.3 step exp bias, hand held.