Weeping willow overhanging the lake at Harewood House

I visited Harewood House in Leeds for the first time in August this year. The lake, house and gardens are lovely and I'll definitely go back (especially for the afternoon tea overlooking the terrace!). The bright sunlight was just breaking through these thick weeping willow branches on the edge of the lake creating shadows, reflections and shimmering colours on the water.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/5, 1/125s, 35mm, 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.

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 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.

Sunken fence on the shore of Derwentwater.

This one's from our week in Keswick in August this year. That day, we walked from Newlands to Keswick, then got the launch back to Hawes End. This fence was close to the landing stage - I love all the colourful reflections on the water's surface, combined with the patterns from the ripples. The water was quite high that week due to recent heavy rain, meaning a couple of the other landing stages had to be closed.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 1/125s, 35mm, hand held.

Flag on the bow of a Windermere launch.

I took this one whilst cruising up Windermere from Lakeside to Ambleside in June this year - a gorgeous trip, as always.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/8, 1/640s, -0.7step exp bias, 35mm, hand held.

Ripples, reflections and shadows on Ullswater.

I took this from the lakeside path around Ullswater last month. I like the complexity of the picture - all caused by the overhanging tree branches.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2.5, 1/250s, -1 step exp bias, 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.

Ivy overhanging the shell grotto at Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

This is one of the installations at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, where we spent a couple of hours this afternoon. It's a little stone 'cave' built into the side of the lake, with shells set into the stones in the ceiling. I was more attracted to the lovely shapes of the ivy dangling over the doorway against the lake backdrop.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/320s, -1.3 step exp bias, 35mm, hand held.

Reeds and reflections on Trentham Lake.

Here's another one from our visit to Trentham Gardens, Staffordshire, in April this year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/2, 1/3200s, 35mm, hand held.

Sunlight on Low Raven Crag and Buttermere's shores.

This is the crag above Gatesgarth Farm at the end of Buttermere and at the foot of Honister Pass. The sun was putting on quite a show for us on that day in August last year, lighting up different sections of the mountains in turn as the clouds passed in front of it.

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

Waves and layers of colour on Buttermere.

I took this on our walk around Buttermere in August last year. I loved how the light was bringing out the different layers of colours in the water.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/200s, 34mm, hand held.

Geese feeding beside Trentham Lake in heavy rain.

It had just started raining hard when I took this photo in April this year - it was bouncing off the lake and giving it a shimmery effect. Whilst everyone else was running for cover, the geese didn't even seem to notice and just carried on munching away on whatever they had found in the grass.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100. f/4, 1/80s, 35mm, hand held.

Little yellow flowers and rocks beside Malham Tarn.

I took this a few weeks ago in May. The kids and dogs were paddling on the edge of the tarn after we'd had our picnic, whilst I took photos. A lovely afternoon!

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

Fallen tree, surface algae and sunlight on Stanley Park lake.

We've walked round Stanley Park almost every time we've been to Blackpool to visit my husband's family, but, for some reason, never taken the path round the lake - until last night. This was also the first time I'd taken my camera. Now I want to go back and spend some time there, with a longer lens, to photograph some of the many birds/ducks/swans etc, in these lovely surroundings. This photo shows the top corner of the lake, which is sectioned off from the fishermen and boats and at its most natural. The lowering sun was just catching the surface of the water, setting off a few sparkles amongst the greens and oranges of the algae.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/4, 1/100s, -0.7step exp bias, 35mm, hand held.

Fairy sculpture on Trentham Lake.

This is one of the many stainless steel wire fairies hidden around the lake and gardens at Trentham. They were created by local artist Robin Wight and I think they fit beautifully with their surroundings. I took this photo on a visit to the gardens and Monkey Forest in April this year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/1.8, 1/1600s, hand held.

Tethered boats on Trentham Lake.

I took this on our walk round Trentham Lake, after we'd visited the Monkey Forest a few weeks ago. The weather was really varied at that point - throwing it down one minute; hot sun the next. That created a real mixture of clouds - the black heavy ones hanging over the white, fluffy ones on the horizon.

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

Looking across Derwentwater towards Blencathra on a cloudy day.

This one's from our holiday to Keswick in August last year. I love dramatic skies like this one - particularly in the Lake District with the mountains and lakes beneath them. On the far horizon in the centre is one of my favourite mountains - Blencathra; to the left of it is the little wooded hill, Latrigg; behind and to the left of Latrigg is Skiddaw.

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

Sunlight touching the water and shores of Lake Buttermere.

Here's another from our holiday to the Lake District last August. This was a lovely day of cloudy skies with shafts of sunlight breaking through like spotlights on the lake and mountain slopes. It really brought out the colours in the water and made the surface sparkle.

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

Looking across Derwentwater to low clouds and sunlight on Blencathra

This one's from our holiday to Keswick in August this year. We'd just cruised across the lake on one of the launches and were starting to walk along the shore towards Portinscale. The mountain lit by the sun is Blencathra, also known as Saddleback due to the shape of its main ridge (which is obscured by clouds on this photo).

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