Return to the Lake District

I can be a lucky 'so and so' at times. At the beginning of this week I found myself back behind the camera in the heart of the English Lake District National Park, capturing images for my forthcoming 'Spirit of Cumbria' book to be published by Halsgrove at the start of 2009.

The incredibly early start to the day is the only real disadvantage of practicing landscape photography during the summer months. I scouted the location for this dawn shot of Windermere the evening before, ensuring that I did not stop still long enough to provide a feast to the local midges! After a failed sunset shoot at Wray Castle (two hours standing on the spot waiting for the cloud to break!), I finally crawled into my tent at 10.30pm, only to be rudely awoken by my alarm clock at 4am. Ouch! However, the scene that unfolded before my eyes was definitely a good enough reason for leaving my snug sleeping bag!

This was my first photography trip back in the Lakes since our epic around the world adventure, and I have naturally found myself comparing my images from The Cumbria Way to my latest images. Perhaps the biggest surprise for me is that I am now using my Canon 70-200mm lens almost as much as my super-wide 17-40, and I am delighted with the results I am getting!

Aira Force, is a classic location where the use of a telephoto lens is incredibly beneficial. Not only does the increased magnification help you to isolate the features of the location, it also helps you to avoid capturing a stray tourist in your composition - and lets face it there are plenty in the Lake District! Joking aside, Aira Force has been photographed numerous times so with this image I tried to capture something a little bit different. I would have preferred to have used an even longer focal length to crop the waterfall further still - maybe next time.

All in all, the first dedicated trip working on the 'Spirit of Cumbria' was a great success. The new images will fit in nicely with my first picks from my library of Cumbria photographs and I am really excited about the prospect of watching this book take shape.

My next trip to the Lakes (after my wedding to Lynette on the 7th June of course), will be on the 23rd June when I will also be hosting a beginners photography workshop at Elterwater. There are plenty of places left if you would like to join me - I can't promise you great weather but I can promise you a lot of fun in the finest of all English landscapes!