Waterfall Day

Last day for checking out the state of locations that we wanted to use for our Glencoe photo course that starts Tuesday 25th.

Lots of waterfalls in Glen Etive. Shots from Lochan Urr where I took one of my best reflection photos ever a few years ago. Had to clear a path through rhodedendron bushes to reach waters edge.

Photos here from mobile and edited on phone. Proper film versions in a few weeks!

All 3 clients arrived this afternoon. Good evening in local pub getting to know one another. First day of course tomorrow taking waterfalls as forecast not brilliant for big views.

More New Photos of the Glencoe Area

I ran off another 7 rolls of Ilford FP4 120 film today, 11 in total for this trip. Lots of boats and coastal/sea loch shots to start with around Glencoe and Loch Leven. Later on we returned to the Glencoe Lochans for reflections of the mountains. Then it was up Glen Coe for more mountain shots, including the 3 Sisters and the Buachaille.

The light was rapidly going so we finished early by checking out the Kingshouse Hotel. Jolly interesting as we arrived, there were 4 Red Deer eating carrots and other vegetables outside the front door! See mobile photo.

They had 3 cask ales on, all from the Cairngorm Brewery. I preferred the Stag Bitter best. I also tried Autumn Nuts, a red ale but it was too hoppy for me.

The weather is due to take a dive tomorrow. Keeping fingers crossed we're far enough north to avoid the worst of it.

New Photos of Glencoe, Aonach Eagach ridge, Ben Nevis and Loch Leven

It was a fantastic day in Glen Coe today. Chilly but lots of blue sky with white fluffy clouds all day until 5pm.

We started by climbing the Pap of Glencoe from the Long Leven side; the steepest side but no track.

Good views from the top along the lake and across to the Mamores mountains were spectacular. Ben Nevis was in cloud though but better was to come.

From here we went down to the pass and then it was a long uphill haul to Sgorr nam Fionnaidh (967m), the Munro at the end of the Aonach Eagach ridge.

This gave us the first view of the Aonach Eagach ridge. It was after 2pm and the light and sky were great. I used an orange filter with Ilford FP4 roll film in my Mamiya 7 camera.

I thought there were better views further along the ridge so down I went to it.

The shots of the ridge were great as well as views to Ben Nevis, highest peak in Britain at 1344m.

We ended the day by checking out the waterfalls on the uphill side of the Clachaig Inn, near the A82. The falls were well lit at 5pm but the hills behind could have have been brighter.

Somehow we then found ourselves at the Clachaig Inn. They had a new dark ale just on from the An Teallach brewery called Hector. I tried it several times to check it was jolly nice and not just a fluke with the first pint, you can't be too careful these days! Oh, and the food was jolly good too.

Glencoe Photo Trip

Jan is driving us north for 6 hours to Glen Coe. We're about halfway, a bit south of Glasgow.

Warm and sunny here unlike Derbyshire which was cold and wet.

We have some time to ourselves until Monday afternoon when we collect 2 clients from Fort William station. We are running a landscape photography course Tuesday to Thursday from our base at Fern Villa in Ballachulish village. Looking forward to seeing Andrew from Nottingham again, one of our regular clients arriving Monday night.

Forecast is good for tomorrow and Sunday. Planning to walk up to Pap of Glencoe and along to the famous Aonach Eagach ridge. Fingers crossed for good light on the ridge or it may be difficult to take in black and white. I took some shots of it about 15 years ago when we first traversed the narrow ridge during our munroing days and the light was flat. Some snow on it would be even better!

Looking forward to checking out the many waterfalls in Glen Coe as well as one of my favourite locations down Glen Etive.

Bring it on!

Lake Light Exhibition at the Woolpack Inn, Boot in Eskdale, until 31st October

Here are some pictures of my Lake Light exhibition at the Woolpack Inn in Boot in Eskdale (taken by Emma Aylett of Travelling Curators who organised and hung the exhibition as part of the Lives in the Landscape exhibitions in Eskdale and Ravenglass). It is on display until the 31st October 2012.

There are 23 traditional hand-printed archival framed black and white photographs in total, so lots to see. We will be there from the 2nd to the 5th October (running a photo course based at the Woolpack but taking in Eskdale, Wasdale and Ravenglass) if you want a chat in the evenings. I will take my own shots then, maybe some wider views too if I can get in before the bar opens to the public!

Most of the photographs are taken from my 3rd book, Lake Light, available through my web site, booksellers (quote ISBN 978-0-9555627-1-6) or Amazon UK.

ICHF Kent Craft Show at Penshurst Place Final Day Sunday 9th September

Just 1 day to go at the ICHF craft Show at Penshurst Place. It ends 5pm tomorrow.

Lots to see with 10 marquees and more. We still have lots of pictures, we brought about 500 down with us to make sure we didn't run out!

Good forecast too, hotter than today at 26°C.

We're stand F17.

ICHF Penshurst Place Kent Craft Fair Friday to Sunday

Jan drove us down to Penshurst Place in Kent near Tonbridge. We are here for the ICHF art and craft show. We set up our stand, F17, and are ready for the show to start.

Opening times are 9.30am to 5pm Friday 7th, 9.30am to 5.30pm Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th September.

Lots more new photos, mostly at the lower prices. I used to make prints of every image to scan to get it on my website (now I scan the negative so avoiding this step). These were on resin coated paper rather than the archival fibre based paper I use for hand prints now (still good for several decades though!). It's these prints that I have mounted and are now available in limited numbers of mostly just 1 or sometimes 2 prints, mostly at £20 each.

Books at the £5 this weekend; still making storage space for next book, City Light, coming in March 2013.

Posters are selling out fast; 3 no longer available - all keenly priced.

Hope you can come and see us over the weekend - good weather forecast for the whole weekend too. Looks like summer has finally arrived!

New photos of Manchester.

After several false starts over this wet summer Jan and I finally had a good day for taking photos there on Sunday. It was cloudy and damp in the morning but a sunny afternoon and evening was forecast. 

We started at Salford Quays as the clouds cleared. Good shots of the modern bridges and buildings, including around the Lowry building and BBC media centre. 

Castlefield was next and the old bridges and the new Beetham Tower.

Then it was on to the Central Library. This is an impressive building but not at the moment - it's being renovated. The entire building was shrouded in plastic, so no pictures are possible here until 2013. Shame, I had it pencilled in for an image in my new City Light book (pub. March 2013). 

We stopped at Wetherspoons for refreshment and an excellent Hazelnut and Coffee Porter from the Saltaire brewery. 

The Town Hall had good light for photos as the sky was clearing well now. I was engrossed taking shots with my trusty Mamiya 7 when someone spotted the camera and asked me several questions to help them decide whether to buy one. I have been using Mamiya 7's and 6's for almost 20 years so I like to think I'm a pretty good judge of their use for black and white. 

From here it was on to the Urbis and the Cathedral. Then the very shapely Trinity Bridge and back to Salford Quays for a few end of day shots. 

70 shots in total, may be a few weeks before I add them to the web or print any. A couple of phone photos are included here to give an idea of the locations. Sorry they're in colour! 

Decided against staying on for night shots as my bad back was aching and I had 2 days of private courses coming up Monday and Tuesday. Maybe later in the year.

Lake Light Exhibition at the Woolpack Inn, Eskdale

A new exhibition of a selection of my Lake District photographs has just opened at the Woolpack Inn in the village of Boot in Eskdale. It runs from 1st September to 31st October 2012 and can be viewed during normal pub opening hours.

There are 23 framed photographs from 40 x 30cm to 70 x 70cm with prices from £95 to £200. Every photograph was hand printed by me using traditional darkroom techniques on Ilford Multigrade FB fine art photographic paper.

The selection is based upon my Lake Light book but there are quite a few new images included.

Jan delivered the pictures on Wednesday and the exhibition was hung in our absence so no pictures of it yet!

It is part of the Lives in the Landscape exhibitions that are running in the Eskdale valley and Ravenglass, so there's lots to see.