Artist and Designer's Fair, Buxton Pavilion Gardens

We are in Buxton Pavilion Gardens this weekend for an Artist & Designer's Fair. There's quite a buzz around (and nice weather) with a continental market on the promenade just outside. It makes a good combination of different food and drink as well as local crafts plus new exhibitors inside with the Artist Fair. I have some new pictures, including Edinburgh. There is also a shot of Misty Trees taken at Breckenridge in January but only printed on Thursday. This is one of my favourites at the moment. Supposed to be good weather until Monday so looking forward to second day.

Lots of trees are on the turn. Autumn has well and truly arrived in the Peak District.
Dave Butcher

New Peak District Images on Web Site

There are a few more new images on the web site. They were taken on 16th July during the course that I ran as a competition with Harman Technology in Black and White Photography magazine. Some of them will be included in a feature in B and W Photo magazine in the November or December issue.

All were taken with a Mamiya 7 camera. The middle photograph is actually 4 images taken on the same frame of film. The times were 1/2, 1/8, 1/30 and 1/125 sec. The top image was taken with a 150 mm lens (short telephoto) from the middle of the river.

Dave Butcher

Artist and Designer's Fair, Buxton Pavilion Gardens

We will be setting up for the Artist and Designer's Fair in Buxton Pavilion Gardens Friday (later today). It will be open Saturday and Sunday 10 am to 4.30 pm, free entry. You can expect to see up to 40 exhibitors. As an added attraction there will also be a Continental Farmers Market outside on the promenade.

Jan and I will both be there the whole weekend. Drop by if you are in the area.
Dave Butcher

Paul Francis Images from 14th August Course

Here are a few images from the black and landscape photography course that I ran on 14th August 2009.

They are all by Paul Francis.

We visited several locations to give variety and practice at taking different types of photograph.

Hope you like them.

Still places on the landscape photography courses in October, see www.davebutcher.co.uk/courses.

Dave Butcher

A Day in the Gallery

I walked the 6 miles in to the Gallery in the Gardens in Buxton today, where I spent the day. Quite bright this morning but overcast and chilly this afternoon.

Started thinking about another idea for the book after Lake Light; due out in March. If I can find a publisher it will be on mountain treks as well as ski and snowshoe trips with lots of stunning photos and stories around the photos and the trips. Watch this space!
Dave Butcher

Good Weather in the Peak District

We are having great weather in the Peak District right now. From Wednesday onwards it haas been warm and sunny with nice clouds to add interest to the skies. The forecast is for it to continue right through the weekend possibly changing on Monday to more normal changeable (as in wet!) weather. Good picture taking weather if you can get away. Leaves are changing already on Oak, Sycamore and Beech trees as well as bracken. This means if you are a film user that you can use coloured filters on the lens to modify the shade of grey that yellows and browns otherwise produce. A yellow or dark yellow filter will brighten turning leaves to light grey but the trunks and branches will stay dark. If printed with high contrast this will give an almost infra-red effect. Worth a try. Also lots of water in the rivers, streams and waterfalls from rain earlier in the week.
Dave Butcher

Meet the Artist - Buxton Gallery in the Gardens

I'm in the Gallery in the Gardens, in Buxton Pavilion Gardens, all day Wednesday 9th September, 9.30 am to 5 pm. Come by for a chat and have a look at several dozen of my photographs on display. Both Peak Light and High Light books are on sale too, as signed copies. Sounds like it could be nice day for a walk so am walking the 6 miles in. Dave Butcher

Munro Log on Web Site

The Munro log for Jan and I is now on the web site. It will allow you to see the details of all the individual walks that collectively added up to us completing the 277 Munro's in Munro's Tables. When we started in 1984 there were 276 but the Ordnance Survey added one more when they resurveyed the mountains around Laggan a couple of years later. Then, although we formally finished in 1996 the official table was updated again by the SMC (on a whim?) the following year giving a new total of 284 (1 deleted and 8 added). Some we had already walked, leaving just 5 for us to go back and complete.

It actually gave us one of my favourite walks. Angels Peak (Sgor an Lochain Uaine) in the Cairngorms was a new Munro and it's miles from anywhere. Our friend Kay from Inverness dropped us off, with her husband Mike Whittall, in Glen Feshie. Then we walked over the Moine Mor high plateau on a bright, dry day in June. We went across to Angel's Peak first and around the enormous corrie north to Braeriach, on to the Lairig Ghru which we followed down to the Rothiemurchas Forest where we cut across to the road at Loch Morlich and Kay was patiently waiting for the 3 of us. A fantastic day on some of biggest mountains in the UK!

The image above was taken from Braeriach looking back to Cairn Toul, Angel's Peak is on the right just out of shot above the small lochan in the image.

To see the Munro page on my web site click here: http://www.davebutcher.co.uk/triplog/munros

It is reached through the Trip Logs link in the Info Box.

Dave Butcher

New article on Using Digital Cameras for Black and White Landscape Photography

The article I wrote on Using Digital Cameras for black and white landscape photography can be read as a new web page. The link to go straight there is: http://www.davebutcher.co.uk/digital
To find it at a later date click on Technical Notes in the Info Box. Links to the articles (four at present) on technique and equipment are at the top of the page.
Hope it is of use.
Dave Butcher

Films Processed from Yorkshire Dales and Norfolk

Just finished processing the films from Bolton Priory in the Yorkshire Dales and Norfolk. I will do the contact prints later this week so that I can see what they look like before scanning a few to put on web. Watch this space!