Having spent the last 6 weekends on short holidays, visiting family, or attending concerts, it was time to drag my backside out of my bed and get out with the camera again.
The weather forecast was a bit hitty or missy, but what the heck, the alarm was set for the ridiculously early time of 3.15am, even though I was only going to Crummock Water, which is about 30 minutes travel time from where I live.
The car was parked, and I was of towards the lake, well before sunrise, with the hope of some misty conditions, has I had driven through some thick pockets of mist on my journey here.
I arrived at the lake side and took some time to take in the view and conditions, we had mist was floating along the waters surface, with me hoping for some colour to be cast into the sky as the sun rose over the hills to the east.
Red Pike Panoramic
A took a couple of images during the Blue Hour, mainly to check composition and framing, it was not long before we had some hint of pink in the shy to the west, everything was looking good.
The waters surface suddenly became alot calmer, which produced a mirror like surface, things were going form good to great, I snapped away over a period of 40 minutes as the conditions were ever-changing, switching between 4 x 3 format and panoramic format.
Crummock Water Sunrise
After a hour or so, I decided to move further round the shoreline to get a different perspective on things.
We had some lovely light, mist and reflections on display, I was as happy as a kid in a candy store.
Once the sun was up and above the hills, I tried my hand at a bit of woodland photography as there were some interesting shaped trees along the shoreline, admittingly, I do struggle with woodland photography, I find it so hard to pick out interesting aspects of the confusion.
This got my brain cells working, try and find some interesting foreground to complement the gorgeous scenes along the lake, so off I set trying to pick out items that I thought would add a interesting element to the photo.
The valley formed by the Rannerdale Knotts and Red Pike
I also threw on the telephoto lens to pick out detail of the scenes in front of me, I was in full flow now, and was so pleased that i had found the desire to get up and out with the camera, hopefully the flame has been re-ignited.
During the three hours that I was at Crummock water, I only saw two other people who were walking their dog. What a really enjoyable morning I had, and a couple of decent photos to boot.
Thank you for taking the time to read this news update, and until next time, take care and stay safe.
After many months in the planning stage, we finally got to visit the magical Isles of Harris and Lewis., because of the distance and travel time, we decided to break the journey into two days each way, this would allow a more relaxed approach to the journey and provide some respite after sitting in a car for many hours.
We decided to stay at the Caledonian Hotel at Fort William for an overnight stay on the outward and return journey. A pleasant experience this was, the hotel staff wherever so friendly and helpful, the food was tasty, and the room was clean, what more could you ask!
An early rise the next morning, breakfast was devoured, then we had a leisurely drive over to the Isle of Skye from where we were to catch the ferry over to the Isle of Harris.
We duly arrived in plenty of time to board the ferry, with plenty of fellow passengers lined up on the quayside waiting for the ferry to arrive.
The Uig to Tarbert Ferry Leaves Uig.
We were soon parked on the ferry and sought a suitable viewing position up on the higher decks of the ship. Once out of the bay of Uig, the sea became a little shall we say, up and down, and left to right. Neither of us being the best sea-going passengers, we decided to look for a suitable seat and try and enjoy the journey. Easier said than done, but we found being at the back of the boat helped us, so we settled down for the remainder of the journey here. We were soon being called to return to our cars, with disembarkation soon afterwards. Once off the harbour we soon found our home for the next 6 days, this being the Harris Hotel, which was located not 5 minutes form the harbour.
After a goodnights sleep and an excellent breakfast, my morning was going to comprise of a scouting session to the Isle of Lewis to try and find some of the famous old houses that are scattered around the island.
Isle of Lewis Sign PostIsle of Harris Sign Post
I travelled up as far as Crosbost, keeping an eye out of these remarkable buildings, having found several, I took a look around them, but being courteous, I did not climb over any fences in respect to the land owners, nor did I enter any of the buildings.
The weather was what it was, overcast rain and strong winds, this did not provide any interesting light, but you have to take what you are given form the weather gods.
Isle of Lewis Abandoned House.
I returned to the Hotel early afternoon to collect Mrs Tomlinson and head to the place where everyone visits, of course it would be Luskentyre, a place that I have viewed many, many photos and watched many videos.
As we headed along the A589, we got our first view of the gorgeous coloured sand and the turquoise coloured waters, what a sight.
We turned off the main road to head for the car parking area, being for-warned that it is not large and soon fills up.
Surprisingly, there were only a couple of vehicles parked when we arrived, so it was on with the wellies, I grabbed the camera bag and off we set. As we traversed the last sand dune, the sight that greeted us was, well, simply stunning, the tide was rescinding which had uncovered mile after mile of unspoiled golden sands.
Even with a strong prevailing wind, rain in the air, and the mountains of Lewis being hidden in the cloud, I just stood for minutes taking in the amazing view that was in front of me.
There were only a few other people on the beach with us, so it was straightforward to begin scurrying around to find some reasonable shots, and surprise, surprise, its just like everyone says, you struggle with composures due to the vastness of the area.
I slowly wandered along the beach, walking up to, and into the dunes as I went. The seas was pretty flat, with small sized waves, this meant that trying to capture any crashing waves was out of the question.
Once the rain began to fall heavily it was time to vacate the area and get back to the car reasonably dry.
From the car park it was time to head back to the hotel for a refreshing drink and some food.
Luskentyre Beach
Day two began with a planned drive around the shore line of Harris, this being recommended by one of the ladies who was working in the Harris Hotel, she even provided us with a few stop off places to visit.
So first stop was Seilbost Beach, and OMG what a view looking towards Luskentyre, car stopped and camera set up immediately, it was at this point that I realised the strength of the wind, It was lifting the tripod, even with the camera on it. So I had to maneuver the tripod to a area where the wind was not so strong and try and fit compositions around this.
Seilbost Beach
From here we literally drove another 5 minutes along the A859 when we encountered Nisabost Beach, another 30/40 minutes were spent here, admiring the view and capturing images of outstanding beauty that were in front of me.
Footsteps off Nisabost Beach
As we drove the beaches just kept coming, Borve Lodge beach, Traigh Mhor beach, Sgarasta Mhor beach, this was a huge expanse of sand, beautiful with hardly a sole on it, simply breathtaking.
Onwards and past the Northton salt marshes, unfortunately we had spent so much time at the beaches that we could not stop here, as lovely as it is.
We soon found the sign post for St Clements Church, this is where the lady in the Harris Hotel said we must visit as it is full of history and is open to visitors.
We soon parked the car, but I left the camera in the car and planned to use the phone of my small compact digital camera to record any images in the building.
We took a walk around the church  and observed the many information boards that were located around the building, these provided fascinating information about the Church through the ages.
We then went inside, and what a lovely place it was, ancient brickwork with the solid wooden roof, with many historical stones placed  around its perimeter. All very interesting and enjoyable visit which lasted for well over an hour.
St Clements Church
From St Clements Church we followed the Golden Road along the east coast of Harris, where we were on the lookout for wildlife, Seals, dolphins, Eagles etc.
We didn’t travel far when we seen our first sight of seals basking on the rocks, and like the proverbial bus, you see one, then you see many more, nether the less, they are a lovely creature, especially when in their natural habitat.
Unfortunately, we didn’t see any dolphins, or eagles, but the journey along the Golden Road was a lovely experience, and thoroughly enjoyed.
Seal Lions
Thus, ends part one of our trip to Harris and Lewis, part two will follow shortly, we hope you have enjoyed our recollection of our first few days on the islands.
We had planned a 5 day visit to the Glencoe area of Scotland some months ago to fall in line with the February half term school holidays in England.
Unfortunately, first Mrs. Tomlinson fell very ill with a virus a week before we were due to leave, then, as is fate, I was struck down with the same bug 3 days before we were due to leave.
We tried to leave the inevitable decision as late as possible, but eventually, reality set in and we realised that we had no other option other than cancel the trip.
We are so disappointed not being able to get up to the highlands at this time of year, we were hoping for a smattering of snow while we were there, and we had researched half a dozen new photo locations to explore, still, I suppose they will still be there when we next visit the glorious Glencoe area.
We have further trips planned during 2024, one is a re-visit to a splendid photography area, with another visit being to a new location for us, one which we are both really looking forward too.
In the meantime, until I recover back to full health here is a little video clip to remind us all what a stunning part of the UK the Glencoe area is.
This years Autumnal season has passed me by in a blink of an eye. I was astonished to find that it was over a month since I was last out with the camera, the joys of being a “Weekend Photographer”.
Even though family commitments were again taking preference, I was determined to get out on the Sunday morning, even though the forecast was not the best.
Because of the poor weather forecast, I was not prepared to plan a long journey, so it was off to Borrowdale to see what materialised, and hopefully include some woodland photography.
Has I approached Keswick there appeared to be the possibility of some mist over the Lake, so a short detour was the order of the day.
Upon arriving on the Lake Shore via Crow Park, the light was very nice indeed, Derwent Island was dressed in its Autumnal colours, a photograph waiting to be taken.
From here I quickly shot round to Isthmus bay, where I captured a lovely image of the old jetty looking out towards the Cumbrian Mountains.
Isthmus Jetty, Isthmus Bay, Derwent Water,
From the shore of Derwent Water, I made my way to Grange Fell where I was hoping to secure some woodland photography images, this is genre of photography is well outside my comfort zone, but I really wanted to get some images of the remaining Autumnal season.
Once up on the lower slopes of the Fell there were gorgeous shades of oranges, browns and reds on the trees, but the hard part is always finding compositions form the surrounding chaos.
Disappointingly the whole area was in shade, but the rising sun was beginning to strike the surrounding ridge lines, this was my starting point.
Silver Birch trees on a ridge line on Grange Fell in Borrowdale.
I then found several knurly old trees covered in green moss, (I’m sorry I am not sure what type of tree they are), these really attracted me to them, but by god, it takes some time to pick out a suitable composition, still you have to learn somewhere, haven’t we?
Knurled trees on Grange Fell in Borrowdale,
I then found what appeared to be a tree with three trunks, again a little pottering about to find the best place to shoot it, what do you think of this photo, does it create interest for you ?
A tree with what appears to be three trunks.
As I was walking out of the woods a stumbled across some small toadstool or fungi like plants hidden in the undergrowth, time for some macro photos, these plants looked really nice, so I was careful not to tread on any has I retuned to the path.
Fungi hidden on the floor of the woods on Grange Fell
After a really enjoyable time in the woods, I decided to head to the southern shores of Derwent Water to try my luck in capturing some images of the lovely morning light striking Otter Island and the surrounding areas.
As I arrived the light was really nice, shining on Otter Island and the far side of Abbots Bay, as I began to set up sods law struck again, the sun became hidden behind the bloody clouds.
Despite waiting for just over an hour, there was no sign of any improvement, so I decided to grab the panoramic image and head home for a well deserved breakfast.
Abbots Bay & Otter Island, Derwent Water looking towards Blencathra and Walla Crag.
It Just goes to show, the weather forecast is not always right, and I was well pleased to have made the effort to get out.
I thoroughly enjoyed the six hours that I was out during the morning on my adventures, I makes you relies how much IÂ enjoy what I do.
Thank you for your likes, comments and shares, as always, until the next post, take care.
