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Lake District September 2009
It wasn’t so long ago now, but it seems like an eternity away when we visited the Lake District for the second time this year. We were very fortunate with the weather and had a wonderful two weeks of hill walking. It was challenging, but also immensely satisfying and despite eating well, I still managed to work my belt down a few notches!
Some of the fells we climbed this time around included:
- Skiddaw 931 metres (3,054 ft) – after several failed attempts due to bad weather on our previous visit, we finally managed to reach the summit. Perhaps, it was because it was the first big walk we did on the trip, but it felt like the toughest. Incredibly windy on top!
- Catbells 451 metres (1,480 ft) – my most climbed fell and I never get bored of the view from this relatively low climb. It’s from here I was able to capture some sunrise time lapse sequences.
- Barrow 455 m (1,494 ft) – one of Catbells’ neighbours. Not a difficult walk, but still a very rewarding view from the summit.
- Binsey 447 m (1,467 ft) – another relatively low fell, but with an amazing 360-degree view. It’s such a shame I took a camera without any memory cards and didn’t get a chance to revisit!
- Helvellyn 950 metres (3,117 ft) along Striding Edge – Our most exciting walk to date was on England’s third highest peak. Fantastic views and an exhilarating climb from the Striding Edge to the summit via the loose, rocky face.
Here’s a couple of photos from the trip and a few more over on Flickr.
All in all, it was a fantastic photo break, but I think I could do with a better way of carrying photography equipment especially when primarily shooting with a combination of a Nikon D700 and 14-24mm f/2.8 lens. That’s a couple of kilos of mass which I need to be able to stow away securely and easily whilst still having it at hand without too much stoppage time. My trekking rucksack and Lowepro Toploader worked out a little cumbersome at times, but on the whole did the trick.
If you’d like a few suggestions for places to dine whilst in the Lake District, I highly recommend the following:
Also posted in Blog
Tagged 2009, Barrow, Binsey, Catbells, Cumbria, Helvellyn, Keswick, Lake District, Red Tarn, September, Skiddaw, Striding Edge, Swirral Edge, The Lake District
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A White Lake District
In March, the Mrs and I went to the Lake District for a week-long break, staying in cottage in Bassenthwaite just outside of Keswick. It was a much quieter visit than some of our previous due to the extended snap of cold weather and with it being in the school term. Unfortunately, the weather at times was just too much and it either prevented me from getting my camera out of my rucksack or it forced us to cut our walks short and head back to shelter.
Amongst our plans was a trek to the Skiddaw summit and another to Helvellyn, but on each occasion the weather stopped us short. Fortunately, we did have one day that was clear enough for us to talk up Catbells. The views from up there are amongst my favourite in the Lakes and this visit made it even more so.
I’m looking forward to going back!
Snowy Catbells from William Lee on Vimeo.
The Highs and Lows of a Weekend in the Lake District
A few weeks ago, at the tail end of October, the missus and I spent a weekend photo-trekking up in the Lake District. Having had a taste of hill walking from our previous visits, we decided we would step it up a gear and tackle some bigger walks than our last visit up Cat Bells (or is it Catbells?)
Also posted in Blog, Showcasing
Tagged Buttermere, Cumbria, Haystacks, hiking, hill walking, photo trekking, The Lake District, trekking
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West Kirby Sunset
To make the most of the fantastic weather we were having this weekend, I revisited West Kirby Marine Lake with a photographer friend of mine.
There wasn’t as much activity on the lake as I’d seen on previous visits, but the conditions made it ideal for capturing some waterscapes with this being my favourite:
This image is actually a composite of 3 separate long exposures blended together using HDR techniques. Personally, I think this composite represents what I saw more accurately than any of the single exposures.
There was another shots I was trying to get and it involved this boat:
As soon as I saw the light from the setting sun hitting the boat, I made a run towards it in my brand new pair of walking boots only to discover the sand was not quite as solid as I thought it was…
Oh well, at least I got to test them out properly. Though, next time, I’ll take wellies too.
If you’re in the Wirral area and the weather’s looking photogenic then I’d strongly recommend a visit to the marine lake because there’s just so much to take photos of there.
As the lake is less than an hour’s drive away from me, before setting off, I check on the very handy West Kirby marine lake web cam to see what the sky is like and whether there’s any activity on the lake.
If you’re wondering exactly where it is, then here’s a useful map:
Also posted in Blog, Showcasing
Tagged HDR, Merseyside, West Kirby, West Kirby Marine Lake, Wirral
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The Best Walkabout Lens for Canon EOS DSLR
A question that I often see being asked in photography forums is
What’s a good walkabout lens for my xxxD?
Rather than it being a reference to lenses with legs, a walkabout lens is one with which you might take out on a day of walking whether it be to a park, to the shops or to your friends barbeque. The requirement being that because you don’t know what type of subject you’re going to come across you take a lens that can cover most general situations rather than lugging about a heavy bag filled with lenses. Prime lenses don’t fall into this category very well unless you’re deliberately wanting to restrict yourself to a single focal length. As such, zoom lenses – particularly those around the ‘standard’ lengths – are favoured for this role. In particular, zoom lenses that start at a wider (<= 35mm) focal length and reach up to short telephoto (=> 50mm). These ranges often provide a good balance between focal length range, image quality, cost and weight. Continue reading
Also posted in Blog, Canon, Equipment
Tagged Canon, general use, lens, walkabout, walkaround, zoom
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