A few from my trip to the Lake District

I spent a wet few days in the Lakes last week, although we did have one sunny spell on Tuesday during which I visited Castlerigg Stone Circle.
The views were spoilt to a certain extent by the number of people who were also visiting. I intended to return much earlier the next day, but it was raining......

Prehistoric man certainly had an eye for a view!

350D, EF-S 17-85 @ 17mm, f16, 1/100 sec.




350D, EF-S 17-85 @ 85mm, f16, 1/100 sec. I had to clone out the blue rope that the NT had used to allow the grass round the stones to recover.




Also during the sunny spell, a shot across Derwentwater to Skiddaw.



Regards,

Stuart

StuartRae said:

The views were spoilt to a certain extent by the number of people who were also visiting. I intended to return much earlier the next day, but it was raining......

Prehistoric man certainly had an eye for a view!

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What a lovely treat Stuart, I love the Lake District, every time you post some shots from the Lakes, I think I must go soon!!

Just like you though I dislike the number of tourists there, they'd no business being there spoiling your shot for you had they, LOL. The last time I was at Castlerigg, there was a lady there on her own, very early in the morning performing some kind of ritual, walking repeatedly diagonally across the circle touching each stone as she arrived at it and chanting whilst holding a small bunch of flowers, I watched her fascinated for a while, wondering what on earth she was doing, but she looked uncomfortable at my presence, so I left, leaving her to do whatever she was doing in peace and solitude....

Derwent water looks beautiful, lovely clouds, thanks for reminding me what I'm missing!!

Thanks Jan. Yes, you must get up to the Lakes again soon.

Wednesday was much different weather-wise. I spent an hour or so down by the lake, dodging sleet showers and trying to get some decent shots before the clouds came right down. Unfortunately (my fault) I lost the sky on a lot of them. I managed to kludge some sort of recovery by making 3 conversions in RSP and using Photomatix to generate an HDR and tone-map. They may be over-done for some tastes.

Looking across the lake towards Robinson and Grasmoor. 85mm, f11, 1/250.



Looking along the lake to the rather gloomy Jaws of Borrowdale, with Glaramara and Great End rather better lit in the distance. 85mm, f11, 1/320.



And finally a shot of Skiddaw taken from the window of the cottage on Tuesday morning. 50mm, f5.6, 1/1000.



And the same view on Wednesday evening.



Regards,

Stuart

Stuart,

I love the photographs from this area. I wish I had visited. Maybe next time in England this will be on my itinerary. The first two shots you have presented with high contrast and sharpened finish. The last two are very soft. Is there a reason for this?

Asher

Hi Stuart,

Enjoy seeing your pictures of the Lake District, you seem to be up there more often than me, even though I'm only in Lancashire!

As a general rule I'm not a fan of HDR images, but I like the images of Robinson and the jaws of Borrowdale - the HDR seems to really capture the dramatic light.

Agree with the comments about how busy it can get - but you can escape! My girlfriend and I often rent a small cottage near Ennerdale, and on several times have been for walks in this valley and hardly seen another soul.

Below is my own image of Castlerigg stone circle, taken a couple of years back now - you're right about them having an eye for a view!




Cheers,

Asher,

The first two shots you have presented with high contrast and sharpened finish. The last two are very soft. Is there a reason for this?

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By 'soft' do you mean a lack of sharpness or a lack of contrast?

As for sharpening, I use Focal Blade for most iamges, so there should be little difference.

The first two were a result of HDR and tone-mapping in Photomatix, which usually produces a very 'contrasty' result.

The last two were taken at extremes of the day - early morning and late evening - when the light is much softer. Additionally I may not have taken quite so much time in PP with these, as they were just intended to show the view from my holiday cottage. Imagine sitting on the sofa, glass of preferred beverage in hand, and looking through the floor to ceiling windows. I could live in that house!!


Hi Andrew,

As a general rule I'm not a fan of HDR images

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Me neither, but in this instance it helped get some detail into a uniform grey sky.

Below is my own image of Castlerigg stone circle...

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I know I'm old, but surely my eyes aren't that bad? I see no circle....


Regards,

Stuart

StuartRae said:

Imagine sitting on the sofa, glass of preferred beverage in hand, and looking through the floor to ceiling windows. I could live in that house!!

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Hi Stuart

I like the Jaws of Borrowdale too, and more to the point I love the view from the house, if it's a self catering property that takes dog's would you mind sending me a PM with the details? I can definitely see us having a very nice relaxing time there.....


Andrew, I like your B&W version very much too...

I know I'm old, but surely my eyes aren't that bad? I see no circle....

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A fair and valid point Stuart! 'View FROM Castlerigg Stone Circle' would perhaps be a better title. My own visits, like yours, have coincided with many other peoples visit. I've never yet managed to get a picture of the full circle without people in the shot.

From a photography point of view I think this time of the year is great for a visit to the Lakes. The April showers often fall as snow on the tops and add an extra dimension to the shots.

Asher - you really should visit next time you're in England, it would be a shame to miss it out.

Hi Jan,

if it's a self catering property that takes dog's would you mind sending me a PM with the details?

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There'll be one on the in the next 10 mins or so.


Andy,

A fair and valid point Stuart! 'View FROM Castlerigg Stone Circle' would perhaps be a better title.

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I wasn't complaining about the shape of your circle, just its complete and utter absence from my screen. I assume that Jan can see it as she's commented. ??!?

Regards,

Stuart