Lake-District Archives - Tony Tomlinson Photography

03/06/202603/06/2026

My Photography Exploits for the month of May

16x9, ashness-jetty, Cumbria, Derwentwater, Lake, lake-district, Landscape, Spring, Sunset, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK

The month of May was split into two defined timescales, the first two weeks produced only one photography activity, whilst the last two weeks of the month produced a flurry of activity.

Garden Photo Shoot

The month began with a ad hoc photo session with Cody, a short and fun session in the garden with a bubbles machine, the plan was to set off the bubbles and try and capture Cody’s facial expressions.

tony-tomlinson-photography, grand-children — Bubbles and Cody

The next photo activity for me was on the 23rd May when we visited Northumberland, we enjoy visiting the Commissioners Quay Inn, having stayed here several times and enjoyed our stay each time.

Blyth

The weather during our stay was exceptional, clear sunny days for each of the four days, the plan was to enjoy the area and secure some quality R & R.

The first day was a slight lie-in, enjoy the breakfast then take a leisurely walk along the beach and in the park, where coffee and cake was the order of the day.

The second day began with a gorgeous 5.05 am sunrise, I only seen it due to me waking unexpectedly, on the back of this, I decided to get up and photograph the sunrise for the following day, the forecast was much the same, so a 4.30 am alarm was set.

My plan was to visit the two jetties at the entrance to Blyth Harbour, the reasoning being that it was not too far away, and I thought that I could get some decent images from this location.

I was surprised how warm it was at 4.45am, my coat was swiftly discarded, with a tee-shit being the order of the morning.

I began the long(ish) walk along the southern pier with the aim of getting to the end of it which would create a suitable angle looking towards the lighthouse in front of the impending sunrise, unfortunately, this was not possible as part of the wooden pier had collapsed and was fenced off.

A quick improvise to lign-up a shot, then back to the beach to capture some shots whilst the sun was still relatively low in the sky.

3x1, blyth, Blyth-Pier, jetty, Lighthouse, long-exposure, Northumberland, Seascape, Spring, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography — Blyth Harbour Entrance

A satisfying mornings photography, and back to the hotel in plenty of time for the cooked breakfast.

This being the only photography of this trip, as I said it was aimed at plenty of relax and recreation.

Latrigg Fell

Once we were back home, and only a couple of days later, the weather gods were being kind, so it was another ridiculous alarm call to get me on top of Latrigg Fell well before sunrise.

The plan was to capture some pre-dawn blue-hour images, then concentrate on a shot that would go into my website portfolio section.

Overall, a nice morning’s photography with a suitable set of images, not the most original, but nice light conditions, and a sharp set of images.

3x1, Cumbria, Cumbrian-Mountains, Derwentwater, keswick, lake-district, Landscape, Latrigg, Spring, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — The View from Latrigg

I was back home before 8.30am with a well-deserved sausage sandwich purchased from Cottage Pie at Dearham on the way home.

Ashness Jetty.

The very next afternoon I was off to Ashness Jetty with the aim of securing a decent sunset image of the newly constructed pier which replaced the previous version which was wrecked during the winter floods.

Surprise number one was that I was unable to park in the car park on the road up to Ashness Bridge, this being full of cars, and a burnt-out wreck of a car, I managed to park the car just above the road junction.

Surprise number two was the number of people on, and around the jetty swimming in the Lake, it’s a while since I have seen this many people swimming in the water, but nice to see.
All I could do was wait and be patient, in the hope that by the time the sun began to set, the swimmers would have dispersed.

Waiting was not enjoyable, all I could do was picture compositions in my head, and wait for the people to leave, slowly, very slowly the number of people began to reduce, eventually leaving two paddle boarders, and a couple of people swimming, but I could work around these.

I needed to set the camera on the tripod so that I could capture a range of exposures which could be blended in post processing, this was necessary due to the very high dynamic range of the scene.

I was soon on my own, with a set of decent photographs, and a hope that one set of exposure brackets would be good enough to make it into my website portfolio.

Ashness-jetty, Cumbria, Derwentwater, Lake, lake-district, Landscape, Spring, Sunset, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — Ashness Jetty Sunset

Harrington Railway Line

It is some months since I was last out to photograph the Red Squirrels at a local location, so I had a plan to visit here to try and get some more images of these lovely animals.
The temperature at this time were very un-seasonal in the mid to high 20’s, which I was unsure if they would affect the Squirrels.
Visit one, during the afternoon drew a blank with the Squirrels, I shot a few birds but that was it.

bird, bird-photography, Bullfinch, Spring, tony-tomlinson-photography, Wildlife — Bullfinch

bird, bird-photography, Great-Tit, Spring, tony-tomlinson-photography, Wildlife Photography — Great Tit

Visit two was a early evening visit, again no Squirrels on show, and it was soon too dark to take any reasonable photographs, so it was home empty handed.
Visit three was the nest morning, just after sunrise, the hope being the Squirrels would be out feeding at this time.
At first nowt, nothing showing, but after 45 minutes I caught sight of my first squirrel, then another and another. I was not sure if these were sightings of the same Squirrel, or different ones.
Again, a nice set of images was got, another worthwhile session

red-squirrel, Spring, tony-tomlinson-photography, Wildlife, wildlife-photography — Feeding Time

I was more pleased with a visit of a Jay, this was nicking the nits from the Squirrels, but they are a lovely, coloured bird.

bird, bird-photography, jay, Spring, tony-tomlinson-photography, Wildlife Photography — Jay

This brough to an end a hectic end to the month of May, which turned out to be a pleasing couple of weeks. A couple of images added to my portfolio, and a wide selection of images for my social media accounts.

Thank you for finding the time to read this blog, stay safe and lets seen what June brings?

14/05/202614/05/2026

April’s (photography) Adventures

April photography got off to a slow start, my first jaunt out was to Buttermere on a cold but clear spring morning for some Lake District sunrise photography.

It was a bit of a punt as the weather gods were not lining up for anything special, still you need to be in it to win it, as they say.

Buttermere

This being one of the best photography locations in the Lake District, upon arrival, I was feeling quite confident that the weather conditions would develop and allow me to get some decent photographs.

Despite being the lone photographer here, I just stood and soaked up the atmosphere, a very slight breeze, which was swirling around, but leaving flat calm water in patches, clouds developing and the sun slowly lifting itself from the horizon.

Time to get busy with the camera as the light began to develop, but being very conscious of the ever-increasing dark clouds being blown across the lake from the southwest, Lake District photography at its best.

Buttermere, fleetwith-pike, Haystacks, Lake, lake-district, Landscape, Mountains, Pine-Trees, Spring, sunrise, White-Cottage, tony-tomlinson-photography, — A Spring Morning

A short walk further along the lakes shore created some alternative compositions which were eagerly snapped up.

Buttermere, fleetwith-pike, Haystacks, Lake, lake-district, Landscape, Mountains, Pine-Trees, Spring, sunrise, White-Cottage — A Couple of Rocks

It was soon time to head home; the thought of a wholesome cooked breakfast was calling me home.

Catbells

My next adventure was off to Derwentwater with the sole aim of capturing some special photographs of Catbells, in what I was going to be calm and pleasant conditions, and is one of the best photography locations in the Lake District

I was very conscious of the ever earlier alarm call in the mornings to get out intime for sunrise, we are heading for that silly season form late May to July.

I arrived well before sunrise with the conditions not looking too good, but it was early.

The light was poor, but there was very little wind, and a superb lake surface which was reflecting the fells on the far side of the lake.

I was set up and waiting for the conditions, during which I had a good conversation with a couple of fellow photographers, one from the South of the country, and one from the North East .

Here is me complaining about having to get up at daft o’clock, but these two have travelled considerable distances to photograph the Lakes.

The light arrived along with a very nice umbrella of clouds, these creating very nice, dappled light across the fells opposite.

Catbells, Cumbria, Derwentwater, lake-district, Landscape, long-exposure, maiden-moor, Spring, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — A Spring Morning

I made the decision not to move, stay put in the hope that the conditions would come to me, and boy was it the correct decision.

Barrow-Fell, Causey-Pike, Cumbria, Derwentwater, Friars-Crag, Grasmoor, Grisedale-Pike, lake-district, Landscape, long-exposure, Rowing-End, Spring, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — Friars Cragg to Causey Pike

Here I was, in the same position and my fellow photographer was returning from his walk along the lake’s shores, he must have thought that I was daft.

Having captured some quaint wide-angle images, it was time to attach the longer lens to start picking out more intimate shots

After nearly 3 hours, it was time to pack-up head back to the car and look forward to editing the images that I had captured.

Hardknott Fell

Late last year I headed to Hardknott Fell for a sunrise shoot, only to be thwarted by a road closure which prevented me driving to the fell.

My plan for Hardknott had not left me, so as we were experiencing some unusual fine spring weather with late sunsets of 8.30 pm, I decided to drive down to Hardknott Fell to have a mooch about.

Has I was driving south along the main Workington to Barrow road (A595) I realised how much traffic is created at end of the day shift at Sellafield, the road north was gridlocked all the way, strange how you except these conditions when you are part of it for years and years.

I was soon at the bottom of Hardknott Pass, an intimidating view when looking up as the road meanders up the side of the fell.

Thankfully the roads were very quiet, so it was time to select a low gear and face the extreme steepness of the pass.

Cumbria, eskdale, eskdale-valley, Evening, Fells, Hardknott-Fell, Hardknott-Pass, lake-district, Landscape, Spring, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK tony-tomlinson-photography, Valley — Hardknott Pass

Once at the top it was time to find a parking place which did not contain a campervan, how these are so popular now.

I was soon stretching my calves as the path was straight up from the road level, I was walking into the unknown, but surly there would be ample photo opportunities once on the top of the fell?

There were views along Wrynose Bottom to the east, but the very harsh light was not complimenting the scene.

I then came across a small tarn which, after quite a while scouting about made my first image of the evening

Cumbria, eskdale, eskdale-valley, Evening, Fells, Hardknott-Fell, Hardknott-Pass, lake-district, Landscape, Spring, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK, Valley — A Rock and Tarn

I was soon off on my travels around the summit of the fell, Scaw Fell and Great Gable on view to the North, but again the harsh light made a photograph pointless.

Next, over to the western side of the fell summit, it was here that I found the Roman Fort ruins in the bottom of the scene, these being contrasted against the extremely green Eskdale Valley floor.

I also noticed that Devoke Water was in view sneaking around the corner of Harter Fell, in the far distance, so I set up a composition in landscape orientation including the Roman Fort in the bottom of the scene, but including the very small Devoke Water in the top lefthand of the image

The plan was to stay here until sunset in the hope of the sky becoming pink and orange, this was still over an hour away, so I set off on another trek looking to use the many strange and unique shaped rocks as foreground interest.

Unfortunately, the very harsh and extreme dynamic range (very dark, harsh shadow against brightly light areas) made this very difficult to capture, I took some over and under exposure images to blend together in post processing, but when on the computer, I was not happy with the results.

It was now that I realised my waiting was in vain, the sun dropped behind the fells which resulted in everything being silhouetted against the sky, I was wanting to use some of the wester-facing fells as interest, but this was not possible.

Time to head home for a well-deserved hot meal.

Grasmere

As it was Blue-Bell season, I wanted to visit a different location for the Bluebells to those that I had in the past, so it was time to head to Grasmere.

My research suggested that there are Bluebells within the woods along the banks of the River Rothay, and they are also on the side of Loughrigg Fell.

As me arrival time was 5.15 am for a 5.45 am sunrise, there were plenty of free car parking availability.

I was soon walking along the path on the banks of the River Rothay, Bluebells were visible, but these were not in full bloom, and were patchy, the sun had not risen at this time, so I decided to continue walking in the hope of finding a more interesting area of bluebells.

On the shore of Grasmere, having not seen any worthwhile Bluebell scene, I was conscious not to let the gate slam shut as there were two tents pitched right next to it, quietly, quietly it was.

The lake surface was very calm which was creating nice reflections of the surrounding fells and buildings, I stopped a couple of times to frame up a shot, but I was not happy with these, so I carried on around the lake towards Grasmere village.

Quite by accident I stumbled over a little headland which provided a very good viewpoint of the Daffodil Hotel, time to set up and get the shot.

The first photograph of the morning, and what a good one it was.

Cumbria, daffodil-hotel, Grasmere, Lake, lake-district, Landscape, Reflections, Spring, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — Mere Sunrise

From here I moved left and right capturing slightly different images of the hotel.

Has I retraced my tracks towards Loughrigg Fell; I kept looking abut for other images of the surrounding scenes.

I then made the brave choice to hike up the fell to get on the Terrace path, this provides a great viewpoint over Grasmere towards the Pass of Dunmail, what I didn’t account for was the steepness of this route, boy was it bloody steep and hard work to get up it, shedding layers like a onion, I finally made it with my heart rate sky-high and me boiling hot.

After a cooling down, which took a while, and getting my heart rate back to normal, it was time to get cracking.

I found some Bluebells in a wood on the edge of the path which I had just hiked up, there were shadows and speckled light on these, so I tried to make a image from the scene. Not the best photo, but a start.

blue-bell-flowers, blue-bells, Cumbria, Grasmere, lake-district, Spring, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — Logs & Bluebells

Whilst walking along the Terrace path, I came across some bluebells below the path, being careful not to treat on any of the flowers, I descended with the intention of getting some close-up photos of the flowers.

Back onto the path heading eastwards and has I crested a little ridge a sight to behold came in front of me, freshly leaved Silver Birch trees contrasting with a slope of solid Bluebells, this was the shot.

A little time to frame up the shop, and a slight wait for the light to develop, I got the shop.

blue-bell-flowers, blue-bells, Cumbria, Grasmere, lake-district, Spring, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, trees, UK — Green & Blue

This was the best photo from the morning, one that made the visit worthwhile.

Has I descended into woods along the river, I found another group of Bluebells, the light was nice, but I found it difficult to create a decent image, the photo that I took was not that good, but it is attached below for reference.

A slow and leisurely walk back to the car completed a satisfactory 3 hours walking around the area.

Thank you for finding the time to read this blog, until the next one, stay safe.

24/04/202605/05/2026

Light: How it impacts on everyone’s photography

Barrow-Fell, Causey-Pike, Cumbria, Derwentwater, Grasmoor, Grisedale-Pike, lake-district, Landscape, long-exposure, Rowing-End, Spring, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK

As a Lake District Photographer, light is the essential, creative element in photography, acting as both the source of illumination and the primary tool for creating mood, depth, and texture.

Controlling light through natural or artificial sources determines the subject’s prominence, contrast, and overall atmosphere.

Understanding Light

To fully appreciate the importance of light in photography, even in the best photography locations in the Lake District, it is important to have a basic understanding of how light works.

Light is a form of energy that travels in waves, when light waves enter the human eye or a camera lens, where the brightness and colour are interpreted to create an image.

It is the perception of light waves that creates a picture.

Light is the most essential component of photography, but the fun doesn’t have to stop when the sun goes down, portable flash, speedlights (small portable flash units), or studio flash (larger, mains powered light units) can be used to create both soft and hard light under stringently controlled conditions.

Light defines the photograph through intensity, this can be either hard or soft light, the direction of the light upon the subject, and colour temperature of the light.

Soft and/or Hard Light.

Soft light can be categorised as being gentle and/or diffused light creating subtle shadows, often found on cloudy days or using soft boxes/diffusers in a studio environment these are ideal for flattering portraits.

Hard light is normally created by direct, intense light which creates harsh, defined shadows, this great for high-contrast, dramatic scenes.

Using the direction of light in your photographs:

Front Light, this normally Illuminates the subject evenly, minimizing shadows but can produce flat images.

Side Light this highlights texture and creates drama by illuminating one side of the subject.

Back Light is when the light source is positioned behind the subject, creating silhouettes or a glowing “rim light” effect that separates the subject from the background.

More than one direction of light can be used to illuminate the subject, this is normally used in studio photography where is easier to accurately set-up and control the different light sources to create the image that the photographer is looking to achieve.

Light Temperature

Light temperature can be measured in different ways; the Kelvin range uses a number value to a given temperature colour.

Colour temperature can also be changed using a slider/dial where the range can be aligned from the blue to yellow spectrum, as you move the slider/dial the temperature within the image changes according to the direction you are moving the slider/dial.

Examples of colour temperature are the golden hour, this would be rated a “warm” (yellow end of the colour spectrum) colour temperature, but an ice or snow scene would be rated as being “cold” (blue end of the colour spectrum) colour temperature.

A Lake District sunrise photograph would produce a “warm” colour temperature image, alternatively a Lake district winter photograph would produce a “cold” colour temperature image.

The following series of images are shot from the same location, but at different times to demonstrate the differing colour temperatures within the image.

Practical Tips for Managing Light

Time of Day, midday light is often harsh, while morning and afternoon offer warmer, softer light.

Modify the light by using reflectors to bounce light into shadows or diffusers to soften harsh sunlight.

Light Painting is where a moving light source is used during long exposures to illuminate specific areas of a scene, or create a light “trail”

The Role of Light in Photography

The way you use light in your photographs can greatly impact the overall look and feel of the image.

Light creates shadows, highlights, and contrast which can add depth and ambience to your photographs.

You should learn to experiment with the placing of light or move your subject around to see how the changing light impacts upon your subject; this can dramatically impact the look and feel of an image.

The Roll of Exposure in Photography

Another important aspect of using light in photography is exposure.

The exposure settings on your camera will dictate the amount of light that enters the camera and hits the camera sensor.

A proper exposure is essential for creating well-lit photographs that accurately capture the subject.

Techniques for using light in Photography

You can be as creative as you wish when experimenting with light but there are several techniques that are most effective when lighting your subject.

One technique is to use reflectors to bounce light onto your subject, this can help to fill in shadows and create an evenly dispersed lighting effect.

Another technique is to use a diffuser to soften harsh light, a diffuser can help to create a more natural-looking effect by spreading out the light and softening the intensity of shadows.

You can also experiment with different types of lighting to create different moods in your photographs.

Warm light can create a cosy and inviting atmosphere, while cool light can create a more clinical or sterile feel.

Another important technique to consider is the use of artificial lighting, studio lighting can help you to create a controlled lighting environment that allows you to highlight specific elements of your subject.

Tips for Using Light in Different Situations

Using light effectively in photography can be challenging in different situations, here are some tips for using light in different situations:

Outdoor photography:

When shooting outdoors, it’s important to pay attention to the direction and quality of the light. Early morning and late afternoon light can create a warm and inviting atmosphere, while midday light can be harsh and unflattering.

Try shooting in the shade or using a diffuser to soften harsh light.

By following these points, you are well on the way to produce images that will be suitable for landscape photography prints

Indoor Photography:

Indoor photography shoots generally require artificial lighting; there are numerous options available to create your own studio so try experimenting with different types of lighting.

Reflectors, soft boxes, or light diffusers are a helpful tool when attempting to bounce light onto your subject.

As a family photographer in Cumbria, these actions are always assessed before and during a shoot to ensure the best possible results are obtained.

Portrait Photography:

When shooting portraits, the subject’s face is usually the focal point and the area that needs most attention.

Here, side lighting can create dramatic shadows, while front lighting can create a drab and unflattering look.

If the aim is to create a natural effect, a diffuser will soften any harsh light, any outdoor family photoshoot in the Lake District would embody these considerations.

Landscape Photography:

When shooting landscapes, the direction and quality of light will differ at different times of the day.

Early morning and late afternoon light can create a warm and soft atmosphere, while midday light can be overly severe, try using a polarising filter to reduce glare and create more vibrant colours.

You can use light to create depth and dimension where light can create long shadows and interesting highlights, this can add another dimension to photos and create additional depth.

Try experimenting with different lighting angles and intensities and observe how shadows and highlights behave as you move and adjust.

Conclusion

The importance of lighting in photography cannot be overstated, lighting is central to all photography and once you have a strong understanding of techniques and light quality, there is no stopping you from creating stunning images.

Thank you for finding the time to read this article, if you have any questions relating to “light” please get in touch.

28/03/202605/05/2026

A Marvellous March (For my photography)

blea-tarn, Cumbria, lake-district, Landscape, langdale-pikes, Reflections, side-pike, Spring, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK

March has been a marvellous month for me, during this time I have been reasonably busy with my photography.

Wasdale

I started the month with a visit to Wasdale, which produced some reasonable photographs which I shared on social media, including a couple of drone shots.

Isle of Harris and Lewis

Shortly after this I set off the Isle of Harris and Lewis for a week’s photography on a workshop organised and delivered by Dean Allan Photography.

I had attended one of Deans workshops in Assynt a year before which was probably the best weeks photography ever.

We (Carole & me) had visited the Isle of Harris and Lewis once before for four days, this ended up being a very hectic few days chasing the honeypot locations. This inevitably lead to a huge amount of time being wasted by travelling from one location to another.

The plan behind booking onto Dean’s workshop was that he would take the hassle out of locating and finding the photo locations.

There are a (very) large number if images which I captured during this week, the plan is to create a specific blog post reflecting on this visit in the future, once I have completed editing them.

Woodland Bird Photography

Upon returning home, the photography continued with a visit to the Cumbria Woodland Photography Hide, it is a place that I have visited on many occasions.

Stephen and Linda have done a fantastic job in getting the hide up and running and securing the visit of the Sparrowhawks and the other small woodland birds.

On this visit, I was very fortunate to photograph a male and female Sparrowhawk, amongst the large number of small birds, I even managed to capture some in flight.

Male Sparrowhawk, tony-tomlinson-photography — Male Sparrowhawk

Bullfinch, tony-tomlinson-photography — Bullfinch Landing

Low Rigg

Three days after the visit to the hide, I was off to visit Tewet Tarn, another place that I have been visiting for a few years.

I am specifically looking for a replacement image to use on my website, the one I have on show now is a really nice photograph, but I am conscious that it is becoming several years old, so a replacement would bring a nice update to the website.

After checking the weather gods, it looked very promising for a clear sunrise, with a smattering of cloud cover.

When I arrived at the Tarn, I was very hopeful, the sky was showing signs of pastel colours, just what I wanted, then within 5 minutes it was gone. The sky was ow a boring blue, with very little cloud cover.

Still, I was here so it was time to make the best of a bad situation, I took some photos of the Tarn from higher up on Low Rigg fell, then took a walk over the fell towards High Rigg fell.

Blencathra, Cumbria, Lakedistrict, Landscape, Low-Rigg-Fell, Spring, sunrise, tewet-tarn, tony-tomlinson-photography — Tewet Tarn form Low Rigg with Blencathra in the background.

I found a dead straight drystone wall which made a interesting leading line for another photo looking towards Blencathra.

Blencathra, Cumbria, Lakedistrict, Landscape, Lonscale-Fell, Low-Rigg-Fell, Spring, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography — The straight drystone wall leading towards Blencathra.

A little later on I came across an area of Daffodil swich contracted against the surrounding colours, so I framed up a couple of shots using these as foreground interest.

Blencathra, Cumbria, Daffodills, Lakedistrict, Landscape, Low-Rigg-Fell, Spring, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography — Daffodils in the Valley

Finally, I consulted the OS map to see what paths were local to me, I followed a bridleway back towards here the car, hoping to come across something worthwhile to photograph.

Sadly, nothing caught my eye, so it was a swift journey back home for some breakfast.

Blea Tarn

My next trip out was three days later, the 26^{th of} March, again the forecast was looking favourable, so it was time for the long run to Blea Tarn.

The reason behind this choice was that I have a image on show on my website, but it has been there for a while, time for a re-fresh.

As I pulled up at Blea Tarn with the sunup and hitting the Langdale Pikes opposite, also, there were a few photographers already in place capturing their shots.

It was not long before I was in position on the lake shore and trying to find some reasonable foreground rocks, I hate having loads of them in the foreground.

Again, the only blight on the horizon was the lack of cloud cover, just a boring plain blue sky, not to worry, you have to work with what you are given.

16x9, blea-tarn, Cumbria, lake-district, Landscape, langdale-pikes, Reflections, side-pike, Spring, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — Blea Tarn and those fantastic reflections

Chatting to several of the fellow photographers, it was interesting to hear that they were on a four-day workshop in the Lakes organised via Jessops.

It was nice to chat with them to hear what and where they had been too in the previous days, and whet their plans were for the remainder of the day.

Back to the photography, I had moved location to try and create something different, shortly afterwards moving higher up the hillside to change the angle of the scene.

Once I had captured all that I needed, I took a short walk further around the lake where I took a couple of photos using the wooden fence as a leading line, and another close-up of a frozen inlet.

It was soon time to get back to the car and head home for a well-deserved bacon sarnie, the benefit of these early sunrises, a 4.30am alarm, but you are home by 10am.Thank you for finding the time to read my news post, until next time stay safe, and enjoy life.

01/03/202605/05/2026

A Frivolous February.

crummock-water, Cumbria, lake-district, Landscape, long-exposure, mellbreak-fell, Reflections, snow, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, winter

February 2026 has been a very slow and unproductive month for my photography work and my social media updates.

There are the usual reasons for this, my lack of enthusiasm, time constraints, shocking weather in the Lake District, and family commitments.

The major reason for my lack of photography is very personal, that being my wife, Carole has had major surgery and has needed me to support her through her journey

She isn’t out of the water just yet, but she is on the mend, and hopefully it wont belong until she has her mobility and independence back.

So with this aside, what have I been up too during the month of February, there isn’t much but here it is!

Red Squirrels.

The first weekend of February, a good friend of mine Lorraine introduced me to these adorable creatures at a local location.

I have always wanted to see these creatures in the wild and to photograph them, this visit fully met my wishes. Once the Squirrels became use to us, they were soon scampering about snatching the food that we had laid out for them.

Despite the speed and agility of the squirrels, and me still getting use to my new camera, I managed to get a few reasonable images form this visit, many thanks to Lorraine for her support and guidance.

tony-tomlinson-photography, red-squirrel, wildlife, winter, cumbria, — Red Squirrel feeding

Derwentwater

I had a little bimble (a leisurely walk or journey) around Derwentwater, hoping to meet the forecast mist, sadly this was missing, but a nice wee walk anyway!

The Centenary Stones, created to celebrate the Centenary of the National Trust in 1995.

The Green Curved bench was placed on the headland of Calfclose Bay by the Keswick Lions Club to celebrate the Millennium.

The Derwentwater Launches, these travel in a clockwise and anticlockwise direction visiting the seven landing jetties scattered around the lake.

I had a short chat with Mark Hetherington about our plans for the morning and the conditions, as us photographers do!

Mark is a very good photographer who has an excellent back catalogue of images on his Instagram page (Instagram).

Despite not taking many images, it was good to be out in the fresh air and to be able to have a pleasant walk about without the maddening crowds of later in the day.

blue-hour, cumbria, Derwentwater, jetty, keswick, Landscape, launch, rain, tony-tomlinson-photography — One of the Keswick Launch’s tied up at the jetty

Cumbria, Derwentwater, hawthorn, Landscape, Lone-Tree, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK, winter — A Lone Hawthorn on the shore of Derwentwater

Borrowdale, Cumbria, Derwentwater, lake-district, Landscape, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK, winter — The curved seat at Calf Close Bay

calf-close-bay, Centenary Stones, Derwentwater, long-exposure, winter — The Centenary Stones

Harrington Red Squirrels

A return to the wood to photograph the Red Squirrels, to horn my photo skills and to witness these stunning little creatures again.

We had to wait a while until they made an appearance, but the wait was worth it.

I managed to get some better photographs of the squirrels this time, and cant wait to get back to photo them again.

Cumbria, red-squirrel, tony-tomlinson-photography, Wildlife, winter — Posing

Crummock Water

I had a photograph in my head that I have been trying to capture at Crummock Water for some time, so with the weather gods looking promising I set off to the northern end of the lake.

What a pleasant morning it was, cold, crisp, and clear with a slight dusting of snow on the higher fells. The water was flowing over the weir but not has high as I thought it would be considering the amount of rainfall we have had recently.

crummock-water, Cumbria, lake-district, Landscape, long-exposure, snow, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, winter — The weir at Crummock Water looking towards Mellbreak, Red Pike and High Stile.

United Utilities want to drastically change Crummock Water by removing the weir and lowering the level of the water by 1.3 meters, I have covered this in a previous news post, this can be found here.

After taking a short walk around the southern and northern shore of Crummock Water, I decided to head to the southern end of the lake, a area that I had not visited for several years.

It is a lovely walk around the southern shore of Crummock Water, I was hoping that the old rowing boat would be there, this has made many photos in the past.

As I headed around the rocky headland where there are three rocks that jut out into the lake, I could not resist stopping to get an image, the light was not the best, but it wasn’t too shabby a shot.

crummock-water, Cumbria, lake-district, Landscape, Rocks, snow, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, winter — Headland

As I was walking along the lake shore, I noticed three black horses and a whit horse in a field which were being back-light by the mornings sun, the white horse made a really nice composition.

Cumbria, lake-district, Landscape, long-exposure, snow, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, White-horse, winter — Silhouetted White Horse

Sadly when I reached the meadows which sit between Crummock Water and Buttermere and where the rowing boat use to live, the area was totally waterlogged, far too much flowing water flowing through the reeds to move around, but I did manage to reach the little bay where the rowing boat is normally located, this was missing, so getting wet legs and feet was not worth the end result lol.

Unfortunately, this sums up my photography exploits for February, but all being well with Carole, I have a week’s photography to look forward too on the Isle of Harris and Lewis in March.

Thank you for finding the time to read this news blog, until the next one, stay healthy and safe.

Tony.

20/10/202505/05/2026

The most intense Inversion I have witnessed

Whilst mooching around the home, I casually looked at the weather apps, they all indicated favourable conditions for mist and possible inversions around the Lake District the following morning.

I was eager to follow the indications of the weather forecast, but where to go, I had recently spent a morning in the Lorton Valley in misty conditions, Ambleside was visited last week, so where to go?

I decided to play it by ear! get in the car and drive towards Keswick and see what the conditions were looking like.

As I dove past Embleton, not much sign of mist, my enthusiasm was draining, onwards towards Bassenthwaite Lake, and my fists sign of mist, my enthusiasm returns, within no time, I was driving under a thick blanket of mist or cloud, no visibility of the surrounding hills, and less than 150 meters of visibility up the road.

Time to reduce the speed as it was becoming a serous peasouper, even in these conditions, drivers were flying past me at ridiculous speeds driving into a wall of unknowns.

I reached Keswick and stopped to take stock of what was around me, thick mist horizontally, but still no sight of any of the surrounding fells. Racking my brain, I decided to get up high, in the hope that I could get above the mist, Ashness was the closest road which would enable me to do this, so this is where I was heading. Even driving along the shore of Derwent Water Catbells was not visible.

As I began to gain height up towards Ashness bridge, the mist was still very thick, over the bridge I went and continued up towards Surprise View, I passed Ashness farm on my left and I was still in the mist, but then suddenly as I gained a little more height, I came out of the mist to a clear autumnal morning. I was intrigued to see what the conditions were going to be like at Surprise View, would I be above the mist, or still entwined in its grasp.

As I approached the viewpoint, having parked the car, I was gobsmacked at the scene in front of me, the whole of the Borrowdale valley was smothered in a sold blanket of mist, nothing was visible in the valley for as far as the eye could see. Time to get the camera out and find some compositions.

3 x 1, Autumn, Borrowdale, Catbells, Cumbria, inversion, lake-district, maiden-moor, Suprise, surprise-view, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — Greeted by this view from Surprise View

It was 10 minutes before sunrise, so the light was flat with little contrast, it was surly just a waiting game for the light to hit the masses of mist from above?

Patience was the name of the game now, lets just wait and see what develops, a fellow photographer joined me at this time, he being set up at the opposite end of the viewpoint.

I began by taking a series of panoramic shots of Maiden Moor and Catbells to show the intensity of the inversion, even though there was no real light on the fells at this time. This method would be my composition of choice for the remained of my time here, as I was struggling to capture the story of the conditions in one standard 3 x4 frame.

Autumn, Borrowdale, Catbells, Cumbria, inversion, lake-district, Surprise, surprise-view, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — Maiden Moor to the left and Catbells to the right, under the inversion is Derwent Water!!

Then, wowsers, as the light began to impact on the views in front of me, some lovely light in the sky contrasted with the light being bounced off the layer of mist in the valley. There was some lovely light and mist conditions around the Skiddaw range, but I was frustrated not to be able to shoot the full length of the hills as I was being blocked off by the encroaching trees and bushes close by. Not to be disappointed, I shot what I could in the hope of being able to create some decent images from those that I took.

Autumn, Borrowdale, Cumbria, inversion, lake-district, Skiddaw, Surpise, surprise-view, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — The Skiddaw range

The conditions were stunning when looking towards Bassenthwaite Lake the only land I could see was Swinside poking through the solid layer of mist in the centre of the scene, Skiddaw range to the east, and the Cumbrian Mountains to the East, everything else was hidden from view.

19 x 9, Autumn, Borrowdale, Cumbria, inversion, lake-district, surprise-view, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — The Cumbrian Mountains to the east, Swinside poking through, and Skiddaw to the west.

The sun was getting higher in the sky by this point, further enhancing the magical conditions which I was witnessing, I just kept taking shots.

Soon it was over, the light was becoming very intense and hard, but the inversion was still 100%, as I had been snapping away for over a hour, I had a thought in my head, what kind of conditions would there be at Ashness Bridge, there was mist adoring it on my earlier drive up, so off I set to bomb down the hill and see what greeted me.

I was well please when I got there, the mist was swirling around, clearing then closing in in. Ideal conditions for trying my hand at some woodland photography, now, I am by no-means competent at this genre of photography, but I had to give it a go.

Ashness, Autumn, Borrowdale, Cumbria, lake-district, Landscape, Mist, silver-birch-tree, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — Mist and the Birch Tree

I even got an unusual set of images of the Ashness Bridge looking towards Keswick, with nothing in the background but mist, the autumnal coloured trees helped make the images though.

Ashness, ashness-bridge, Autumn, birch-trees, Borrowdale, Cumbria, lake-district, Landscape, Mist, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — A atmospheric Ashness Bridge

I went for a little trek around the area, having the place to myself, and found several shots of things like spider’s webs covered in due and back-light, I also found several interesting woodland shots

Ashness, Autumn, Borrowdale, Cumbria, hawthorn-bush, lake-district, Landscape, Mist, spiders-web, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — A Spiders Mess

From Ashness Bridge I decided to head down to the lake to see if the mists had lifted a little and was hopeful of finding something interesting.

Isthmus Bay was my location, and I was happy to find that the mists had in fact dispersed from the lake area, but was still prevalent higher up along the fells, the sun was breaking through which was creating some nice light, calm conditions so the water was reasonably calm, and on my jack jones again.

Time to get snapping, not long after, I noticed that the lake launches were running, with the mist creating a rather surreal image as they sailed into, and out of the mist, I was on to this right away as I thought that these would make interesting images.

Autumn, Catbells, Cumbria, derwent-water, fawepark, Isthmus-bay, jetty, lake-district, Landscape, launch, Mist, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — The Launch Towards Catbells

The autumnal coloured trees on the opposite shore of the lake created an interesting backdrop for a couple of photos when contrasting against the whiteness of the mist and the water.

Autumn, boat-house, Cumbria, derwent-water, fawepark, Isthmus-bay, jetty, lake-district, Landscape, Mist, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — Mistiness

After a hour or so at this location, the light was becoming hard, and the mists were slowly disappearing, the best conditions were behind us, so it was time to head home for a warm drink, some food, and to reflect on what had been an enjoyable 5 hours.

Thank you for taking the time to read about my adventures, I hope it brings some enjoyment to you, until next time, stay safe, and enjoy life.