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.

Whitby Abbey under a dark winter sky.

One from my trip to Whitby a few weeks ago. We paid the £7.50ish/person to enter the Abbey grounds and wandered around taking photos from different angles. On reviewing them, I thought this was the best, most atmospheric, shot although, frustratingly, it's not quite sharp if you zoom in close. Looks like we might be paying again next time we visit so I can get it right!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/11, 1/160s, 18mm, hand held.

Metal loop on the edge of the mill pond, Hardcastle Crags

This is the edge of the pond on the opposite side of the river to Gibson Mill at Hardcastle Crags. This loop would have once held the handle for the sluice gate to let water out across the weir to the lower pond. I like the complementary mix of shapes, textures and colours in the picture, taken in November 2013.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/10, 1/8s, 24mm, hand held.

The edge of the mill pond, Hardcastle Crags

I took this one at Hardcastle Crags in November last year. This is a good example of one of my favourite types of photos to take - the less obvious 'hidden' beauties around us. Here, I was drawn to the colours, shapes and textures in the grasses, leaves and reflections.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/125s, 32mm, hand held.

Mill pond in Autumn, Hardcastle Crags

I took this one at Hardcastle Crags in November 2013 because I loved the colours and reflections. Although the side lighting from the low sun was what made the colours and tree textures so lovely, it also made the photograph difficult to achieve, due to the big contrasts. I didn't have any filters so I exposed for the shadows and hoped for the best.

In Lightroom I used graduated filters (top down and bottom up) to reduce exposure and highlights in the sky and water. I also increased shadows to bring a bit more detail out.

Gibson Mill and pond at Hardcastle Crags

Gibson Mill is a 19th century cotton mill, now owned by the National Trust along with the surrounding woodland of Hardcastle Crags, West Yorkshire. I took this picture in May 2013, not long after buying my DSLR camera - I love the symmetry and stillness of it (even though the sky's a bit dull and grim!).

I exposed the image for the mill and trees, so I needed to reduce exposure of the sky and pond post production in Lightroom. I used 2 graduated filters to do this - one angled from the top right down; one angled from the bottom right up.