Skiddaw. - a photo on Flickriver

Skiddaw.

            8 shot pano.

Wonderful conditions on Friday morning at Derwentwater. 

Bit of a story as to how I ended up here which essentially involved me standing under the Ribblehead Viaduct in the pitch black at 10pm feeling tiny and vulnerable under the clearest star strewn sky I've ever seen. My mind a mix of wonder at the beauty of the night sky and apprehension at being about a mile from the van with no phone signal, all alone except for axe wielding maniacs for company. I took a few test shots before deciding there was no way I was going to walk back at 2am to have a go at shooting the Milky Way.

The plan was for a couple of days away in Pembrokeshire. This would be my one 'big trip,' for the month. I'd spent the previous week avidly reading the Fotovue book and I was happy with my itinerary. Weather looked great with the forecast even better. The road through Castlemartin firing range to Green Bridge, Elegug Stacks and St Govan's was open, with clear skies one night and near perfect sunset and sunrise conditions for the second day....

I've spoken about this before. I love visiting these amazing locations we are so lucky to have in the UK but it's always much more enjoyable to have someone to share them with. So with that in mind and the van packed I set off.... 

Only the van decided to turn left and not right when I reached the M6. I pulled in at Charnock Richards services, made a cuppa and hastily drew up a new itinerary. Within a couple of hours I found myself stood at the lone tree in Malham for sunset. Another hour and I'd bought my curry from The Royal Spice in Settle and was making my way up to Ribblehead feeling smug I'd chosen a curry house that had signed pictures of some major A-Listers who had eaten there, most notably Michael Caine. As I drove up the B6479 I was trying to think of a joke involving Michael Caine and hot curries. You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off naturally came to mind but I couldn't formulate it in to a worthwhile anecdote; The curry was delicious, Chicken Handi. A little on the small side but bursting with flavour.

The new plan was Malham for sunset, curry in Settle, a quick scout at Ribblehead before 3-4 hrs sleep and some astro, then on to Keswick for sunrise where the forecast was screaming mist. I'd been wanting to shoot Otterbield Bay on Derwentwater for some time having scratched the similar itch of High Brandlehow Bay on my last visit to The Lakes three months previously. I'd rang Helen and the change of plan meant she could drive up Friday morning, arriving around midday to join me whilst I caught up on some sleep.

Standing there under the stars and marveling at the awe inspiring structure of the viaduct, the Victorians definitely built things to last, I did feel a little disappointed in myself at making the inevitable decision to bail on the astro idea. I just didn't feel comfortable. And with the decision made it was off to Keswick.

Alarm set for 5am I made my way down to Otterbield to be presented with the most wonderful conditions. Derwentwater was like a mill pond, there was intermittent low hanging cloud and mist, swirling around in what little wind there was and the only noise was from the birds and their early dawn chorus. As the sun began to get higher and reflect off the mist I could see the deep rich ochres and oranges that accompany sunrise on the fells and the snow topped distinctive shapes of Blencathra and Skiddaw in the distance looked stunningly beautiful.

After a couple of hours wandering around the shore of Otterbield Bay I made my way around to Ashness Jetty and despite the warm light of sunrise having passed, pockets of mist remained and there was a beautiful clarity to the air. And what's more I had the place to myself too.

The morning must rank as the finest I've ever had since I picked up a camera.

Pembrokeshire can wait for another time when hopefully I'll be able to share the experience. I only wish I had been able to share this experience too. 

Balm for the soul.

Taken in: UK / England / Allerdale District / Manesty (show map)

Taken on: April 8, 2022

Tags:

Lake District

Lakeland

Lake District National Park

The Lakes

Cumbria

Keswick

Derwentwater

landscape

mountains

fells

water

reflections

reflection

lake

sky

Skiddaw

Nikon

Nikkor « less

Sets appears in: • Lake District.

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Camera: Nikon Z 7_2, f/11.0, 1/400 sec, 120mm, ISO 160 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon Z 7_2
Lens:	NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S
Aperture:	f/11.0
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/400)
Focal Length:	120mm
ISO:	160
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 11.2 (Windows)
Show full info

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