Taken or Made? A Morning at High Crags…
Do we “take” or “make” photographs? A morning at High Crag Ridge above Nidderdale…
I quiet often get asked why I get up so early to go and “take” photos. Well, when you experience a morning (and sunrise) like I did recently, then hopefully the photographs I “made” answer that question with conviction. Some people also say that they could take a similar photo with their phone and to a point they are probably right. In my world though I “take” photos with my phone, but I “make” photographs with my camera of choice.
So what is the difference between “take” and “make”? Photos that are taken, are often snapshots of a moment in time. A spur of the moment shot, with little or no planning. Photographs that are made are more considered, with planning using a proven process or methodology by a photographer to achieve a desired result.
So let’s take the morning of Saturday 21st January as an example. The process began by identifying a location that would be good for a sunrise. With some local knowledge, looking at an OS map and also Google Maps before confirming the weather forecast the night before, I decided that heading to High Crag Ridge, near Pateley Bridge would be good. I had not shot the location before, so I researched it from various sources to see possible options. I used Google Maps to decide where best to park, which would help me understand how long it would take to walk there. Sunrise was to be at 8.10am, so I knew I wanted to be there for 7.30pm at the latest. Allowing for a 15 minute walk, putting on walking boots etc, I had to be parked up by 7.10am. With a 30 minute drive from home, the alarm was set for 6am.
The first thing I do when on location, especially for sunrise or sunset is to understand where the sun will be. I use and app called Photopils, which provides this information and you can also see where the sun will be using AR. Brilliant. I put the bag down and walk around the location with my camera handheld to see what compositions might work. Once I’m comfortable with what I want to achieve, I get set up with the tripod to make my first composition. As the light evolves, I change my compositions and start to work the location to see what else I can achieve. This process goes on until I am happy with what I have captured and the light is no longer favourable. Time to return to the car and have a cup of tea and some porridge before returning home.
Once home, it is then into the digital darkroom to review, edit and process the images I am happy with. This can be quite time consuming depending on how many photographs are on the memory card and how many I like that need to be fully edited to complete the process.
Whilst this is a high-level summary of my approach, I hope it makes people understand the difference between “taking” and “making” photographs.
Here are some of the photographs I made on this particular cold and frosty morning on an exposed ridge, up above Nidderdale.
I hope you like them…
Fosse Gill
I had been meaning to make a trip to Fosse Gill for just over a year, after I saw my daughter take a picture of a lovely little waterfall during a DofE hike with friends. For those that don’t know, Fosse Gill is a little known small gorge just south of Pateley Bridge in Nidderdale. It is close to the well known Guisecliffe Woods and Yorke’s Folly. The Gill is only about a 20 minute walk across open moorland from a convenient parking spot. As I was walking across the heather moorland, I was thinking it would be “tick central” in the warmer months, so be warned if you visit in those months.
During the winter months, Fosse Gill’s orientation means it is a good sunset location. With this is mind, I was hoping for some dramatic skies over the waterfall I was heading for. There had also been a lot of heavy rain in the previous few days and as you can see from the photos, this gave the beck a lovely peaty colour. I was really happy with the results and I hope you feel the same…
Fosse Gill Waterfall, near Pateley Bridge in Nidderdale.
A Few Days in the Lakes
Towards the end of October, I was fortunate enough to get a few days in the Lake District on my own before the rest of the family joined me later in the week. I towed my caravan over to Coniston, where I based myself at the Caravan Club Park Coppice site. This is one of our favourite sites we use as it is a shortish walk into Coniston, as well as being very close to the Coniston Fells. I was also excited to be trying out a new lens. I recently traded in my old Sony Zeiss 16-35mm F4 for the new Sigma FE 16-28mm f2.8 DG DN Contemporary lens.
After setting up on the Saturday afternoon, I headed out towards Holme Fell. The weather was nice, and I was hopeful for some decent late afternoon light before sunset. After parking at Hodge Close Quarry, I made my way up on to the fell, to my first vantage point to capture the classic view looking back towards the Langdale Pikes, which had some incredible light on them. It was then that the heaven’s opened and as I had not packed my waterproof trousers, I was soon drenched and forced to return to the car to head back to base. Thankfully, I had captured the image I wanted…
Autumnal colours at Holme Fell, with the Langdale Pikes in late afternoon light in the distance.
After a change of clothes and drying off back at the van, I headed for a walk along the shores of Coniston Water to see what I could find to capture before having some dinner. Click on the thumbnails to view the full image.
Sunday’s plan was to get up early for a sunrise shoot at Tarn Hows, somewhere I had not been for many years. I headed for a good vantage point above the south-east shore, looking out towards Langdale. There was some nice cloud in the sky, but unfortunately mother nature wasn’t playing ball. Although there was broken cloud out towards the East, there was not enough clear sky for the sun to properly break through and set the sky on fire. Nevertheless, the autumn colours were just getting into full swing and I did manage some nice shots. Click on the thumbnails to view the full image.
Reflections in Tarn Hows at Dawn
After a full English breakfast at the excellent Bluebird Cafe in Coniston and some rest back at base, I planned to head to Tom’s Gill waterfalls and Blea Tarn in the afternoon. For Tom’s Gill waterfall I parked at Glen Mary Bridge Car Park. The walk up to the falls was fairly short, although tricky underfoot due to the leaves and the wet ground. There are a series of falls of different sizes, giving numerous options. Once again though, the heavens opened and even though I was suitably dressed, the rain became too heavy to continue. Click on the thumbnails to view the full image.
The next target location on Sunday was Side Pike. On the drive over and close to Blea Tarn, I stopped to capture some images looking towards Wrynose Pass as the light and conditions where nice and moody, with low cloud moving across the fells. Click on the thumbnails to view the full image.
I parked the car near to the footpath to Side Pike and got myself ready for steep ascent. The conditions weren’t improving, but the low cloud and glimpses of light still provided excellent opportunities to capture some mean and moody shots across the upper Langdale Valley. This image is one of my favourites from the trip.
Upper Langdale Valley taken from the lower slopes of Side Pike
Here are a selection of further images as I climbed to the top of Side Pike, including Crinkle Crags through the cloud and Blea Tarn. Click on the thumbnails to view the full image.
The destination for Monday was Loughrigg Fell. Again, somewhere I had not walked for a few years. On the way there I stopped in the lay-by at Yew Tree Tarn, where the autumn colours on the trees by the tarn were really nice. There was also some watery sunshine helping to lift the colour a bit more. Click on the thumbnails to view the full image.
The route I took for Loughrigg fell started at Eller’s Brow, where I parked the car. I then headed east, around Ivy Crag before turning north towards the summit. As with previous days the light was ever-changing and as the views opened up, so did the opportunities to capture some images. Click on the thumbnails to view the full image.
As I approached the summit, where I had my lunch, I was rewarded with incredible 360 degree views and some amazing light towards Langdale Valley and the Pikes.
Langdale Pikes from the summit of Loughrigg Fell
Here are a selection of other images taken from a very productive lunch break on the summit of Loughrigg Fell. Nature can make landscape photography very rewarding on occasions. It certainly made the slog up well worth the effort. Click on the thumbnails to view the full image.
After leaving the summit, I continued in a northerly direction descending towards Loughrigg Terrace, where I knew there would be some good views across Grasmere towards the Pass of Dunmail Raise. As you can see from then next set of images, I was not disappointed. Click on the thumbnails to view the full image.
On my final day before the family joined me, I opted to stay locally in the immediate Coniston area. I was up again early, hoping for some good dawn light and some mist on Coniston Water, which was only a 5 minute walk from the caravan. Once again, the conditions didn’t materialise, however, there were some moments of nice soft dawn light, with a bit of colour in the sky. Click on the thumbnails to view the full image.
For the afternoon on Tuesday, I took the lazy option and drove up to Walna Scar car park. I had a route planned to walk up through Boulder Valley to Levers Water, before descending down into Coppermines Valley and a return route under Grey Crag back to Walna Scar. As with the previous days, the light was always changing and I was rewarded with many opportunities to capture some nice shots. The scenery was dramatic and included many incredible waterfalls and rock features.
A selfie with me standing next to “The Pudding Stone” in Boulder Valley.
Click on the thumbnails to view the full image.
The highlight of the final afternoon was capturing the impressive and very imposing Levers Waterfall. This waterfall descends from Levers Water over multiple steps down into Coppermines Valley. The light whilst I was there was also very nice, bringing an added degree of colour.
Levers Waterfall
Here are a selection of further images of Levers Waterfall. Click on the thumbnails to view the full image.
Well that concludes my summary of my trip and the images I feel worthy of sharing. Whilst there were no amazing sunrises or sunsets, you have to work with the conditions dealt to make photographs that you feel reflect the moment and location you are in. These few days were some of the most productive I have had with my camera in a long while. It was a great few days enjoying a hobby I love and countryside I love…
If you like any of the photos in this blog post so much that you would like to order a print, then drop me an email and we can work something out. I will quote depending on size and finish.
Thanks for reading and viewing.
James
30th October 2022
Thomas Heaton & Simon Baxter Photographers Meet-up
Hosted by Simon Baxter and Thomas Heaton, 50 photographers meet-up for an overnight camp, beers and BBQ. What could possibly go wrong…
On the 17th September 2022, 50 photographers gathered at the beautifil location of Laskill Country House in the North Yorkshire Moors for a meet-up. It was the brainchild of Thomas Heaton and Simon Baxter who thought it would be great idea to get to know some of their YouTube audience.
At 2pm campervans arrived and tents were pulled from the boots of cars to enable those attending to get set up ahead of the afternoon and evening. We were all invited to bring along an A4 print, which would be exhibited and then judged to see who could bag some prizes from Shimoda, Kase and Manfrotto. The quality of work on display was superb and it was a privilege to be in the company of such talent.
The beer then started to flow, before Mandy, Laskill’s owner, fired up the barbeque for some great food, which took us into the evening around a roaring firepit. The conversation flowed, locations were shared and friendships were formed before everyone drifted back to their sleeping bags. We woke on the Sunday morning to the smell of bacon and coffee coming from the house, before everyone went on their way, back home.
It was an incredibly enjoyable event and one that will hopefully be repeated in the future.
For those that don’t know the work of Thomas Heaton and Simon Baxter, then please check out their websites and Youtube channels at:
Thomas Heaton
https://thomasheaton.co.uk/
Simon Baxter
https://baxter.photos/
