Sunrise Archives - Tony Tomlinson Photography

28/03/202628/03/2026

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.

01/03/202601/03/2026

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.

20/10/202513/12/2025

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.

30/09/202513/12/2025

Frustrating Summer Mornings.

Autumn, Cumbria, lake-district, Landscape, layers, lorton-valley, Mist, sourfoot-fell, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, trees, UK

As summer heads towards Autumn, from my least enjoyable season to my most eagerly awaited season, photography wise, I planned to be out on two consecutive mornings, the first was to get to Crummock Water for an image that I wanted to re-capture in more pleasing conditions, and the second morning would be decided on later on in the day.

So, off to Crummock Water to get this shot in the can, but whilst driving thought he Lorton Valley the conditions were sublime, lovely low-lying mists which were hiding the trees and fells as it swirled around. What do I do, I wanted the shot at Crummock water, but these conditions were special. I had a parrot on each shoulder, should I go, or should I stay, OMG, why does this always happen. Decision made, I’m going to Crummock Water.

The car was parked, and I was loaded up with the camera, a couple of lenses and off I set through Lanthwaite Woods towards the lake, noting as I went how high the river was. This was due to the recent high rainfall that we have had recently, this not registering with me at this point, but it soon would.

Upon arriving at the lakes edge, I looked over at the weir, and was surprised to see how high the water was, I needed to be on the other side of the river, which is navigated by crossing two small bridges across the lake outlet. As I made my way towards the first bridge, two lads were coming towards me, who asked where I was going, on hearing my plans to cross the bridges, the smiled and told me I don’t think you will be making it today. They were right, the water levels made it impossible to reach the bridges.

What a bloody fool I had been, so concentrated on the photo aspect of the morning and not giving any consideration to the recent amount of rainfall we have had 😒

Autumn, crummock-water, Cumbria, flood, lake-district, Landscape, Mist, Red-Pike, siunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — View towards Rannerdale and Red Pike

A little frustrated with myself, I took a wander around to see if there were any photos to be had, which would b any better than the existing ones that I have in my catalogue from this location. I ended up taking a couple, but knowing that these would not be any better.

Autumn, crummock-water, Cumbria, flood, lake-district, Landscape, melbreak-fell, Mist, siunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK, wier — The Flooded Wier at Crummock Water

Plan B stumbled into my head, lets get back to the valley where the mist was, so off I set retracing my route back to the car. Out of the car park we went heading back towards the village of Lorton where the earlier mists were. Again, I was frustrated to find that the rising sun had burned off nearly all the earlier mists, more frustration, what now.

Plan C quickly materialised in my head, many years ago we had walked along Burbank fell above Loweswater, looking back towards Crummock Water and Buttermere in the far distance. I was quickly computing if this would be a feasible option, but in the confusion, I just set off in hope.

Autumn, back-light, Cumbria, lake-district, Landscape, lowswater, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, trees, UK — The first hint of autumnal colours appearing

I turned off fangs brow and parked next to the footpath that would lead me to Burnbank Fell. I must admit, it was a pleasant walk, if not a little wet on the feet at times. As I crested the hill to get the view overlooking Loweswater, my mornings frustration continued, the sun was positioned just above the fells and glaring into the lakes surface, producing a ball of blinding light right across the lake. In these conditions it was impossible to get any image of Loweswater and Buttermere.

All that I could do was to pick out small aspects of interest looking north and westwards.

Autumn, Cottage, Cumbria, lake-district, Landscape, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — A Lakeland farmers cottage

So, like earlier, I grabbed a couple of snaps and began to retrace my steps back to the car.

There was potential of some decent shots from Burnbank Fell, but later in the day or early evening when the sun would be in the opposite direction.

So, what was the plan to be for the second morning, I was hoping for similar misty conditions, and I was heading for Lorton Valley.

The next morning, the mists were again present in Lorton Valley, I was soon out of the car and tearing across fields looking for interesting woodland shots disappearing in the swirling mists.

Autumn, Cumbria, lake-district, Landscape, lorton-valley, Mist, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, Tree, UK — Mystified

Then drive further along the valley to find a field with an old tractor, and several trailers in it, I stopped off to see if I could make anything of this situation. I spiders web coated in morning due which had been spun within a rusted steel frame. I got a shot of the Scale Hill Hotel on a hill intermingled with wisps of mist.

Autumn, lorton-valley, spiders-web, tony-tomlinson-photography — Steel and Silk

Autumn, Cumbria, lake-district, Landscape, lorton-valley, Mist, scale-hill-hotel, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, trees, UK — Scale Hill Hotel

At this point the mist where I was began to disperse, probably due to the rising sun, so I decided to take a leisurely drive up to Buttermere to see if there was any mist around the lake, as I was passing Crummock Water, the rising sun was hitting the peaks of Mellbreak Fell, there being a few remaining wisps of mist circulating above the lake, so I stopped and grabbed a half decent image of the scene.

Autumn, crummock-water, Cumbria, lake-district, Landscape, mellbreak-fell, Mist, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — Mellbreak Fell

Once I arrived at Buttermere the conditions were rather harsh, no mist and an increasing breeze creating a disturbed waters surface, there was nothing more to do other than head home for some well-deserved breakfast.

I hope you enjoyed this short news article, until next time, stay safe😍

07/08/202513/12/2025

My June & July Photography Journey

tony-tomlinson-photography, Buttermere, Summer, Sunrise, Fells, High-Stile, High-Crag,

As I have mentioned previously, I always find the summer months a difficult time of year, photography wise.

So, what have I been up to during the months of June and July, you could be thinking, not much, but here is a brief record of my summer exploits.

11 June 2025

Early June saw me heading to Tewet Tarn to attempt to capture some lovely golden sunrise images, at this time we were still in the exceptionally sunny spell, so the conditions were a bit of a given.

Unfortunately, the ridiculous early sunrise time meant a 3am alarm call. Once on location I set up for a slightly different composition, trying to judge where the arriving light would be best viewed.

It didn’t take long for the rising sun to begin to light up the eastern sky, it was looking promising, but shock, horror, the golden glow from the sun arrived, and was over in about 20 minutes, this was a surprise to me as I was expecting (rightly or wrongly) that the sunrise glow would last longer than this.

The plus side of the morning was that I met a fellow photographer, Mike Childs from Penrith, we chatted about all thing’s photography, and local locations in between us taking the few images that were available.

Once the sun was up, the light soon vanished and became quite hard and direct, so it was time to head into Keswick to find a hot cup of coffee and a sandwich to ease my hunger.

4x3, Tewet-Tarn, Cumbria, Fells, Low-Rigg, Blencathra, Lake-district, Landscape, Mountains, Summer, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — The rising sun behand Blencathra

18 June 2025

During the middle of the month, we were tasked with baby-sitting duties for our grandson, so I made the provisional plan to try and use this time to shoot some images of Cody in order to record how his development.

So the kitchen was swiftly converted to a small photo studio where we could capture a selection of various shots of Cody, the plan being that we would present his parents with a surprise set of photos for them to use as they saw fit.

I would be using the Godox A200 pro speedlight flash units of the first time, the benefit of these were that they were battery operated, so no trailing cables, and they can be used outdoors if required.

Carole, my wife supervised the positioning of Cody, and the props and accessories we would be using during the shoot.

The outcome of an hour’s work was a variation of images of Cody in a selection of poses and using a number of props.

When we presented the photos to Cody’s parents they were vey pleased with the results.

tony-tomlinson-photography, family-photo's, — Baby Cody

21 June 2025

The Summer Solstice, and I headed for Wasdale as the forecast was vey promising, I have recorded this visit in a specific news article on my website, this can be found here, so I won’t repeat all the details here.

I have never seen so may tents and campervans along the shores of Wast Water before, whether the Summer Solstice was the reason, or the exceptionally hot weather we were encountering I do not know.

Cumbria, great-gable, Kirk-fell, lake-district, Landscape, scawfell, Summer, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK, wasdale, Wast-Water, Yewbarrow — The view of Wasdale

29 June 2025

Here I found myself in seventh heaven (photography wise), I headed for Buttermere on a whim (instant decision) where I encountered the most amazing conditions that I had seen here.

It did not start off like this, upon arrival, it was warm and windless, but the light was flat with little notification of what was to follow.

No wind, and warm temperatures resulted in mirror like reflections in the lake with high cloud cover, all this was then intermingled with the developing glorious light from the sun has it rose over the neighboring fells (some 20 minutes after sunrise) to create these unique and beautiful conditions.

I had the place to myself, with the exception of a sole photographer who walked past me not long after I arrived at pre-sunrise.

I left Buttermere on this morning, a very content and satisfied person.

Buttermere, Cumbria, Fells, Fleetwith-pike, Haystacks, Lake, lake-district, Landscape, Mountains, Pine-Trees, Reflections, Centennials, Summer, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK — Beautiful Buttermere

3 July 2025

I had been booked to take photographs of a student’s prom evening, concentrating of the celebrations within the home. This was a new event for me, but I planned it along the lines of a family photos session.

I had the option of taking photos inside, or outside the premises, but I had no prior knowledge of the layout or size of the home and garden.

On the afternoon of the event the weather was undecided, it being overcast and heavy cloud present.

I was met by the student’s mother, who made me very welcome, and left me to it. I began with a talk to Megan, then it was straight in to getting some images. The house was quite full of family members and friends, but I commandeered the conservatory.

I was using an on-camera flash using TTL as this was the easiest and quickest method to use, the results were very favorable throughout.

I was booked for a two-hour slot, and would only photograph at the house, my final few shots were of Megan getting into the “special” taxi that was taking her to the Prom itself.

tony-tomlinson-photography, School-Prom, — Megan

8 July 2025

This morning, I was heading for Rydal Water, with plans to photograph a specific image, but the conditions had to be right. Another 3am alarm call was the order of the morning, followed by a 50-minute drive to get to the location 30 minutes before sunrise.

I was surprised to find that there were a group of people camping next to the place where I wanted to shoot, and that they were up and about, and rather loud. I suspect that they had been up for some time, but it was only an assumption on my part.

I was at the Rydal Water lone tree and wanted to get a photo of it reflected in the water, but without any interference of the shore.

Sadly, the water was rippled, and the water levels prevented my getting the shot that I was looking for. I hung around for the sun to rise above the surrounding hills, but things didn’t improve, so I set off for a leisurely stroll around the lake to see if I would find anything.

I tried the boathouse, but nothing grabbed my attention, but has I was following the shoreline, a view through the trees towards the far hills got my interest. It turned out to be an interesting snap, but nothing else.

I continued around the far side of the Lake, but I couldn’t find that composition, I continued around to Grasmere, but again I was devoid of any inspiration.

At the end of my efforts, I had walked a few miles on a pleasant morning, got a bit of exercise in the can, and taken a few snaps of the area. Once back at the car, time for a coffee and sandwich, only to find that the car park was full of contractors vehicles, one of the chaps came to inform me that they were about to close the road for resurfacing, so if I wanted to miss the long detour, I should set off and get to Grasmere village where I could partake in my sarnie and coffee, his advice was very welcome, so I was soon on my way.

Rydal-Water, Tony-tomlinson-photography, Lake-District, Summer, Sunrise, lake, — The view along Rydal Water

24 July 2025

Northumberland, we had booked a four-night stay in Blyth, this was primarily a holiday break for me and Carole, but I would be able to fit in some photography work at sometime during our stay.

The first morning was the opportunity, St Mary’s Lighthouse was 20 minutes down the coast, so it was high on the agenda. A footnote being that last year when we were here, it was covered in scaffolding.

So a 4am alarm, and a very quiet exit from the hotel got me to the lighthouse before sunrise, There were a few other photographers there when I arrived, but I wanted some specific shots from the causeway with waves breaking over the road in the foreground, and some form the shore, using rocks or similar as foreground interest.

As the sun rose over the North Sea, the light was so, so lovely, but as it rose the cloud formed what I can only describe as a fog-like filter which the sun was shining through, this created a defused sun, with a more orange like shade to the light, all contributing to a set of good photographs.

Once back at the hotel, it was off for an hearty breakfast, followed by a bit of relaxation before we went for a drive down the coast to sample the fresh air and beautiful coastal scenery of this part of the world.

16 x 9. St Mary's Lighthouse, Northumberland, Seascape, Summer, sunrise — St Marys lighthouse

Unfortunately from here the break went downhill, Carole became unwell which necessitated a hospital visit to be prescribed medication to control her symptoms, and I came down with a viral infection which knocked the stuffing out of me.

We ended up spending the next two days trying to recover, only improving in tome to make the return journey home.

Upon reflection, quite a busy period for me photography wise, but being of a wide selection of photo events.

Landscape Photography wise, it was quiet, but has I have eluded too previously, this is normal for me during the summer months.

The variety of the photo opportunities during the two summer months have helped keep my interest high and further developed my photography skills.

What will August bring?

21/06/202513/12/2025

Summer Solstice Sunrise

We have been experiencing exceptionally warm weather in Cumbria over the last couple of days, I decided to head to Wasdale for a sunrise session, not realising that the day was the summer solstice.

Upon approaching Wast Water, I could not believe my eyes, every parking place was taken with cars of campervans, I drove some considerable distance along the lake, but nothing changed, car, after car, so I turned round and retraced my route to find a parking spot.

I was soon pulled up on a grass verge, well off the road so that traffic could pass safely., I then headed down towards the lakes edge to look for a decent composition to capture the impending sunrise, not a chance, there were tents at all the locations which I could use.

So, plan “B”, I headed up from the shore to try and use the road as a leading line into the scene. As I was heading up for the lake shore, I bumped into a group of wild swimmers who were coming out of the water, a very friendly bunch of people they were, fancy going for a swim at 5.45 am !!

I found a reasonable place on a small mound to set up, and began the waiting for the sun to rise above Great Gable and Kirk Fell to the east.

The sunrise was short, not much time for pre-sunrise colours, which soon became hard light. It can be frustrating having to get up a daft o clock in the night to get to a location, then what seems like a blink of an eye, its over.

Whilst I was waiting for the sun to rise, I got to thinking, was the fact that it was the Summer Solstice that there were so many people camping or visiting Wasdale on this morning, or was t the fact that we were having a exceptionally warm spell of weather which had enticed all these people to be out at such a time?

By the way, I am not grumbling about people being out in the countryside, they have as much right as anyone else (including me) to be enjoying the experience, I found it a little confusing to understand that’s all.

I took the scenic route home, heading south before turning north on the A595, as I was pottering along the road, I seen four Roe Dear in a field, managing to catch a photo on one, they certainly do not hang around once a human is close by.

Cumbria, lake-district, Landscape, Summer, sunrise, tony-tomlinson-photography, UK, wasdale — A Roe Dear

I also came across a Buzzard perched on a farmers gate post, no doubt eyeing up its breakfast. I didn’t have chance to grab the camera, but it was pleasing to watch such a beautiful bird out in the wild, it was soon off looking for a meal though.

I stopped off at Egremont to grab a coffee, surprised to note that it was still only 6.15am.

One home, time to edit the photos an plan where too tomorrow!!

Until next time, stay safe and take care.