Over the last few years I have tried to crack that elusive low light photography skill with varying levels of success. I must admit to using Adobe Lightroom to help bring out these evening colours. My next few posts will be in this area as there has not been much in the way of Bushcrafting going on 🙂
To begin with I have taken a few evening pictures which included horses from around our village, our dog Sorcha and one from the Thames.
It is getting a bit of a tradition now of having a family calendar – I get to take all the pictures and my wife Alison creates a wonderful calendar to share with our family at Christmas – here is Alison’s selection for the 2019 Bushcraft Days calendar.
The cover picture
If you have never been to see the Callanish Stones on the Isle of Lewis I would strongly advise you to add it to your ‘Bucket List’ of places to visit – far older than Stonehenge and set on the idyllic west coast of the Isle of Lewis.
I did ‘over do’ the de-hazing of the picture in Lightroom to get the effect you see in the sky.
Cover
January
We had a few snowy days here in the South of England in January, so on a beautiful bimble round the village I came across this rather noble (and toasty) looking lady – she had plenty of hay and was well wrapped up.
January
February
Sticking with the snow theme this picture of a rather forlorn looking Daffodil was taken behind our local church – St James. This picture made it onto the weather section of Meridian TV here in the UK – first one ever for me 🙂
February
March
Beautiful Thistles – not taken in Scotland but on the slopes of the Brecon Beacons in South Wales while I was on a Duke of Edinburgh’s Expedition. I used my mobile phone for this shot and was very impressed with the results.
March
April
I spent a weekend with friends hiking in the Peak District and we were presented with this beautiful temperature inversion. I took the picture from just below the summit of Mam Tor overlooking Hope Valley.
The tall structure is the cement factory however you can just make out the tower of Castleton Castle on the right of the picture.
April
May
This picture was taken in the grounds of our local National Trust (NT) property – The Vyne. I must have chased this Thistle Down seedhead for at least half an hour before I got a shot I was happy with – nearly got my feet wet but it was worth it.
May
June
I took a group of friends and their kids from my village to the Brecon Beacons and we had a great time running up and rolling down the hills (well the kids did).
This picture of my son was taken on the ‘Diving Board’ on Fan y Big – it looks more precarious than it actually is.
June
July
The July spot went to my ‘Morning Classroom’ shot (granted the picture was taken in August). I stepped out of my tipi one morning at the BCUK Bushmoot and was met with this sight of the suns rays streaming through the canopy.
The parachute was set up to hold outdoor classrooms at our bushcraft event.
July
August
I took an evening stroll with my family while on holiday on the Isle of Lewis to visit my fathers grave. The graveyard is set on the ‘Machair‘ by the coast – as my children stared out across the Atlantic I managed to capture this silhouette shot.
August
September
On a trip to the mountains of North Wales with my ‘Grumpy Chums’ from Crisis we had ‘All The Seasons’ in one day. While descending from Llyn Idwal were were met by this curtain of hail/sleet moving through the Ogwen Valley.
I used my phone for this picture as it is water proof and my DSLR is not.
September
October
Another trip down to our local NT property – The Vyne and I managed to capture this lovely shot of my family. The leaves were just turning so producing some lovely purples along the lake side.
October
November
Each year my sons school host a fireworks night to raise funds. I decided to take my tripod this year and try out some slow shutter speed photography. I got a few good shots however I was particularly impressed with this one – not bad I thought for a first attempt.
November
December
Not taken in December (in August at the Bushmoot) however I thought that this picture of a long log fire with a sprinkling of ‘Magic Dust’ was a fitting Yuletide end to my calendar.
Like many others in the UK today I woke up to a touch of snow this morning – not enough to cause any undue trouble but enough to make a photographer smile.
We visited our local church, St James, here in Bramley for the 9am service (Alison was leading the service) and afterwards I took a stroll around the church to see what stood out for me. The Daffodils had taken a bashing however when I got down low their beauty really stood out. Needless to say my kids were happy just to ping snowballs at me.
St James – Bramley
I then took a stroll around our local woods – The Frith and the first spot I found were these two horses in their winter coats nibbling on some hay. I adjusted my angle and got the lovely heart shape effect with their heads which you can see in the bottom right picture.
Equine beauty
At this time of year it can be hard to see the colour in the landscape but if you look close enough you can see it. The Hazel catkins were all fluttering in the strong wind but I did get a picture of some hanging nice and still in a more sheltered area – they look delicate and beautiful however they are tough little things ‘hanging on there’ in the wind.
Winter colour
I was hoping to spot some Deer in the woods however they were all out on the fields today. The wind was strong but the Roe Deer were in the fields on the lee side of the woods avoiding the worst of it. They kept a close eye on me as I passed on by – normally they sprint off but not today – there spot was just too good.
Finding shelter
I also spotted a few of our feathered friends in the woods from the Kite soaring overhead, the Robin flitting from tree to tree and the Pheasant making his presence felt in its usual noisy way on the woodland floor.
Airborne colour
As Bimbles go this was a pretty special one, with lots of wind, snow, life and colour.
