Snow Archives - Tony Tomlinson Photography

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.

I have an image in my head which I would love to capture at Tewet Tarn, to achieve this I need some early morning light, and a clear view of Lonscale Fell and Blencathra.

First Visit

I first visited Tewet tarn on the 23^rd December, when the forecast was promising, and on arriving at the location, there were signs that there would be some good sunrise light on show, and for a short, very short period of time it looked like it was going to kick off, sadly the lovely red coloured sky only lasted a very short period of time, and did not reach the direction in which I was looking.

tony-tomlinson-photography, sunrise, red-sky — I was hoping for this light to arrive on the scene

Blencathra, tewet-tarn, tony-tomlinson-photography — All I got was flat light with a hint of colour in the sky

I was a little disappointed as I packed up and began making plans for the next weather window.

Second Visit

My next visit to this location was on the 3^rd January, again the forecast was looking good, but despite arriving well before sunrise, the conditions did not materialize, no light on show at all, just boring flat light.

I took a couple of photos to record the occasion, but these were not portfolio standard. Still, I was out, and about which is my aim for 2025.

Tewet-Tarn, Blencathra, lone-tree, tony-tomlinson-photography — More flat light, this being a long exposure

Third Visit

My third visit to Tewet Tarn was a week later on the 11^th January, when the snow gods had delivered a rare dousing of snow in the lake district, along with a block of very cold and frosty nights which had helped the snow to lay and last for a few days.

The forecast was looking good, so I arrived at the tarn well before sunrise to ensure I was I set up and in position for any sunrise light that made an appearance.

Off I trudged up the fell through the snow and ice, wrapped up against the biting cold.

I was a little surprised that there were no other photographers present, but this allowed me free range for my photos.

Looking east the sky was beginning to light up with crimson colours, and here was me trying my best to dig my boots into the slope of the fell to stop me sliding off down the slope.

The colours in the sky were now above my head, all I wanted was for them to reach the distant fells of Lonscale and Blencathra, when my wishes would be answered, please, please, as close as the coloured sky was, it wasn’t just far enough, I was taking photos, but I knew in my heart that they were not what I was looking for.

After waiting for 30 minutes or so for the red sky to travel over the valley, I admitted defeat, again I had been beaten by mother nature, so again, I was packing up with a unfulfilled morning.

lone-tree, Tewet-Tarn, sunrise, Blencathra, tony-tomlinson-photography — The best of the mornings light

As a trudged down the fell towards the Tarn, the sun suddenly broke through the cloud cover casting lovely light onto the snow covered fells of Blencathra and Lonscale Fell, so I stopped, got shot of the bag on my back and frantically raided the bag to get my camera.

The sun really brought the scene to life, we now had contrast, shadows, highlights and depth to the scene.

I headed to the shore of the Tarn to find some ice as foreground interest with me looking towards the sun kissed Lonscale Fell.

Tewet-Tarn, Lonscale-Fell, tony-tomlinson-photography — Ice and Light

I then noticed a lovely fluffy cloud hanging over the summit of Skiddaw to the north, so I grabbed the shot, a close crop of the summit with this fluffy cloud hanging over it. Only when I processed the image on my computer did I see the people making their way up the fell towards the summit, can you see them?

Skiddaw-Summit, winter, tony-tomlinson-photography — Skiddaw summit, can you find the people climbing up the mountain?

From this shot I panned round to the west where the sun had risen sufficiently to create some lovey highlights and shadows on the Cumbrian Fells, Grasmoor and Grisdale Pike being the prominent fells in this scene.

the-Cambrian-mountains, winter, snow, tony-tomlinson-photography — The Cumbrian Mountains

For a change, on my third visit to the tarn I was walking down the fell content, and pleased with the photos that I had taken. The snow had defiantly added another dimension to the views, and even the rising sun had made a slight impact on some of my photos.

To cap the morning off, I was sitting in the car enjoying a warm cup of coffee and a sandwich when I heard a tap, tap on the window, I looked round to see a female chaffinch pecking at the rear window of the car, I managed to grab a phone shot of the bird, but as I went for some food scraps of food it flew away. Quite a cure interaction this was.

Tag: Snow

A Frivolous February.