# Winter 2012 English Lake District



## thereyougo! (Feb 1, 2012)

Back up in the lakes again and the weather has been fantastic today, just need to be more organised and get out earlier but there was some nice light late afternoon and as the evening fell, a swan family came to the edge of Grasmere...


This is the view of Grasmere from the end of the path from Rydal when the weather is calm it's always a good spot.  


Pentax 645D FA 33-55 at 39mm f/11 1/200 ISO 250





Sunny Grasmere by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Teatime (although I had no tea!) and the moon is just over half full


Pentax 645D FA 400 f/8 1/60 ISO 100





teatime moon by singingsnapper, on Flickr


This was taken right at the end of the day as the light completely faded alongside Rydal water


Pentax 645D FA120 macro f/11 30 secs ISO 125





rydal cottage by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Just at the end of Grasmere some Swans came to look after their gosling who had been exploring the Rothay:


Pentax 645D FA 120 f/8 1/160 ISO 500





grasmere swans by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Pentax 645D FA 120 f/8 1/100 ISO 640





I'm watching you! by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Pentax 645D FA 120 f/6.7 1/100 ISO 640





swan mother by singingsnapper, on Flickr


and the Gosling:


Pentax 645D FA 120 f/8 1/60 ISO 640





Grasmere gosling by singingsnapper, on Flickr


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## ArtByQJ (Feb 1, 2012)

awesome! very nice!


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## septy86 (Feb 2, 2012)

Nice photos :thumbup:


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## xolauren22 (Feb 2, 2012)

amazing


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## thereyougo! (Feb 2, 2012)

Wasdale and Wast water are always awkward for me to get to as I don't drive so with the assistance of a Lake District based friend I finally managed to see the majestic Wasdale Valley (after a hair=raising trip over icy Wrynose pass, and then we turned back on Hardnott Pass as was completely iced over - but a breathtaking drive nonetheless).  The scenery in this valley is breathtaking!


Pentax 645D FA 33-55 at 55mm f/16 1/60





Wast Water and the Lake District trio by singingsnapper, on Flickr


a wider view:


Pentax 645D FA33-55 at 33mm f/11 1/100 ISO 200





Wast Water  in morning-2 by singingsnapper, on Flickr


We heard that there was good beer t be found at the Wasdale Head inn so headed in that direction (the prediction was accurate - and worth the 8 mile round trip) here are a few shots on the way


Pentax 645D FA 33-55mm at 33mm f/11 1/125 ISO 200





Wasdale Head by singingsnapper, on Flickr


closer to the small village:


FA33-55 at f/11 1/100 ISO 200





Wasdale Head Village by singingsnapper, on Flickr


After a pint and a packet of crisps we headed back, and I tool this shot of a cottage at the head of te valley with Great Gable behind it


Pentax 645D FA33-55 at 43mm f/11 1/100 ISO 200





Great Gable and cottage by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Then the evening started to fall


Pentax 645D FA 33-55 at f/11 1/125 ISO 400





Wasdale evening by singingsnapper, on Flickr


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## MacHoot (Feb 2, 2012)

:thumbup:


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## thereyougo! (Feb 3, 2012)

This morning I managed to get myself out of bed at 7 to catch sunrise.  Just as well as heavy snow forecast here tomorrow!


Pentax 645D FA 120 f/16 1/25 ISO 100





Zeevogel on windermere by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Pentax 645D FA 75 f/11 1/50 ISO 100





waterhead by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Pentax 645D FA 120 f/16 1/15





first light on windermere boat by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Pentax 645D FA 120 f/16 1/25





waterhead, Ambleside by singingsnapper, on Flickr


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## cepwin (Feb 3, 2012)

Absolutely gorgeous landscapes!!  I also loved the swans and gosling.


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## xyphoto (Feb 3, 2012)

Nicely done. Great job.


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## thereyougo! (Feb 4, 2012)

Today I left the big camera behind.  It started snowing at 11.30 Saturday morning and kept going for 12 hours! So we have a very good covering and after Cumbria County Council went on TV last month proudly saying that in spite of the spring like temperatures they were stockpiling road salt that's how well prepared they were.  Roll forward a month and they didn't get the gritters and snow ploughs out until there was 6 inches of snow already on the ground!  I spent some time assisting some motorists stuck on the Ambleside/Coniston road who were stuck as I made my way back.  


I'm not sure what you will think of these as two of them are with my iphone - did some panos handheld, and I think they've come out pretty well, YMMV.  The other two are new for me.  Having a macro lens I had a go of getting shots of snowflakes.  I have to admit to struggle a little in the focus element of macro and I have even more to learn there. I did these when I got back to the house.


iPhone 4S 1/60 ISO 64 (4 shots)





Panoramic Langdale on an iphone bw! by singingsnapper, on Flickr


same settings, less wide pano (2 shots)





Langdale on an iphone bw! by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Now the snowflakes:


Pentax 645D FA 120 f/6.7 0.5 secs





snowflake by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Pentax 645D FA 120 f/16 1/4 (with use of a torch)





snowflakes by singingsnapper, on Flickr


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## thereyougo! (Feb 7, 2012)

A glorious day in the lake District yesterday, once the mist had cleared.  Was a nice evening sky too:


This is a multiple exposure using photomatix


Pentax 645D FA33-55 at  48mm f/16





Brathay view by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Another multiple, further along the Brathay:


Pentax 645D FA 33-55 at 33mm and f/16





wethelam at sunset by singingsnapper, on Flickr


I waited for an hour or so to allow the sky to go dark, thinking that the full moon had set earlier as had not seen it out that day (misread my app) but decided to make use of the moonlight in any case as the mists descended to the valley


Pentax 645D FA 33-55 at 43mm and f/16





A Moonlit Wetherlam by singingsnapper, on Flickr


tighter crop:





moonlit wetherlam - tighter crop by singingsnapper, on Flickr


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## thereyougo! (Feb 7, 2012)

Here's an edit of the Brathay view - reduced the magenta, blue and cyans substantially in the foreground..





Brathay view -adjusted-2 by singingsnapper, on Flickr


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## AgentDrex (Feb 7, 2012)

No one has mentioned that most of the photos have tilted horizons???  Blasphemy!  Just kidding, but seriously...the horizons are crooked...

I like that daytime moon...


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## thereyougo! (Feb 7, 2012)

AgentDrex said:


> No one has mentioned that most of the photos have tilted horizons???  Blasphemy!  Just kidding, but seriously...the horizons are crooked...
> 
> I like that daytime moon...


I have a level checker on the camera and most of these were on a tripod with the camera completely level. Where not on a tripod -  and some of the Wast water ones weren't, my pentax tells me in the viewfinder by the means of a single vertical line.  Perspective comes into it as Lakes and rivers have different edges and nearly every one of these images has water and lake and river edges where the lake/river's edge is irregular.  The road in Rydal Cottage goes uphill across the shot.  I have taken to disbelieve my level device in my camera before only to find it correct afterwards.


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## AgentDrex (Feb 7, 2012)

When I cannot see the horizon I look at the trees...most of them seem to have a slant to them...but perhaps I have a heavy left testicle and MY eyes are crooked...

Please don't get me wrong, I really like your photos...makes me want to go there, I just wanted to bring up the horizon issue...


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## thereyougo! (Feb 7, 2012)

Thanks....these are some of my favouroites and I've been blessed with weather. I'm very confident that I had a green horizontal line indicating camera was level.  Had to fiddle with my manfrotto head on my Gitzo tripod for what seemed an age to get them level, which with fairly thick gloves (necessary as a carbon fibre tripod gets pretty cold in the winter!) was more fiddly than normal....


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## thereyougo! (Feb 8, 2012)

Now back home been spending some time knitting panos.  Here is one done with my 400mm lens - I know it seems crazy to do a pano with a long lens but the detail is amazing (original file is 120 megapixels and 3GB in size) I still have a 6 shot 120mm one to do, but here is one based on 4 shots:


Pentac 645D FA 400 f/9.5 1/40 (all 4 shots in manual)





early evening light on Helm Crag by singingsnapper, on Flickr


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## AgentDrex (Feb 8, 2012)

Wooohooo that is tight....you have been gifted to live in such a breath-taking area....wow....I would do some panoramics but it would be full of trees...


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## thereyougo! (Feb 8, 2012)

And here is that other panoramic.  Full file being 4GB in total and 200 megapixels.  This is Grasmere


Penrax 645D FA 120 f/16 1/20 6 shots merged in CS5





Grasmere panorama-2 by singingsnapper, on Flickr


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## thereyougo! (Feb 18, 2012)

Another shot from the sunrise on the shores of Windermere.  This is a blend of several shots in photomatix


Pentax 645D FA 33 - 55 at 33mm and f/16





Windermere boathouse at sunrise by singingsnapper, on Flickr


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## Mot (Feb 18, 2012)

Thanks you so much for posting these! Seeing your pictures gave me the kick start I needed to get some of the pictures I took recently edited. I live in the South Lakes and the mountains are dominant in my view as I travel to the train station every day. One day I took the time to photograph the view before I got to the station but I never got round to processing them.

Wast Water 2 is my favourite and is what pushed me into booting up Lightroom! Your panoramas also gave me some inspiration for my editing. I get the feeling that they look far better in a wider frame.

This is what your thread inspired me to throw together! I'll happily remove it but I thought it would be silly to talk about it and not post it! It's not the snazziest photo ever but I'm not really into landscape.




​PS: I forgot what these mountains are called if you can remind me I'd love to know!


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## thereyougo! (Feb 18, 2012)

Mot said:


> Thanks you so much for posting these! Seeing your pictures gave me the kick start I needed to get some of the pictures I took recently edited. I live in the South Lakes and the mountains are dominant in my view as I travel to the train station every day. One day I took the time to photograph the view before I got to the station but I never got round to processing them.
> 
> Wast Water 2 is my favourite and is what pushed me into booting up Lightroom! Your panoramas also gave me some inspiration for my editing. I get the feeling that they look far better in a wider frame.
> 
> ...


Looks a little like High Street to me.  Difficult to tell.  Were you in Kentmere when you took it? I haven't spent a lot of time that side of the Lakes.  I tend to be based around Ambleside and the Langdales when I am up


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## thereyougo! (Feb 18, 2012)

thereyougo! said:


> Wasdale and Wast water are always awkward for me to get to as I don't drive so with the assistance of a Lake District based friend I finally managed to see the majestic Wasdale Valley (after a hair=raising trip over icy Wrynose pass, and then we turned back on Hardnott Pass as was completely iced over - but a breathtaking drive nonetheless).  The scenery in this valley is breathtaking!
> 
> 
> Pentax 645D FA 33-55 at 55mm f/16 1/60
> ...



Have adjusted 2 and 5, reducing EV by .75 as the skies were a little washed out





wasdale morning adj by singingsnapper, on Flickr





wasdale evning adj by singingsnapper, on Flickr


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## Mot (Feb 18, 2012)

You really have brought out some detail in the sky on Wasdale Evening. Are you or have you tried an ND Grad filter on your lens or in post?

I was here. Put this in and go on steet view +54° 9' 28.46", -3° 6' 9.88".






It's where they call the South Lakes or Lake District Peninsulas. I was just south of Ulverston at a place called Birkrigg.


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## thereyougo! (Feb 18, 2012)

I didn't have them with me that particular day but I do have a cokin kit.
That's the Furness Fells, including Old Man of Coniston that you can see I suspect


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## Mot (Feb 18, 2012)

I think it could be Sca Fell and Coniston Old Man! I should know really, I have climbed them a number of years ago in my youth. Getting to 19 really fogs the mind!

Also, because of my envy, I thought I'd have a go at editing one of your photos. I hope you don't mind. I really wish I could get up to the Lakes and spend a day shooting, then I'd have some of my own to edit!

Wasdale Evening Edit by Mot

I won't post any of my own versions out of respect for yours. All I've done is add an ND Grad with a hint of clarity included, pumped up the contrast, saturation and overall clarity and then pulled back on the yellows. The ratio has also been changed to 16:9 with a slight correction to the horizon line. I'd tried to get it to 'pop' or 'punch' as they say in the US. Obviously I've only edited the JPG so there'll be a loss of quality.

Are these really on a Pentax Medium format camera? That would be so much fun! I should get my medium film shot, I have about 4 rolls of Provia 400X left. I've even got 5-6 sheets of large format left!

Edit: I did this one aswell. It's quite fun editing landscape, especially when you've got great photos to work with!


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## thereyougo! (Feb 18, 2012)

Mot said:


> I think it could be Sca Fell and Coniston Old Man! I should know really, I have climbed them a number of years ago in my youth. Getting to 19 really fogs the mind!
> 
> Also, because of my envy, I thought I'd have a go at editing one of your photos. I hope you don't mind. I really wish I could get up to the Lakes and spend a day shooting, then I'd have some of my own to edit!
> 
> ...



I can see what you were trying to do.  Too far for my taste if I'm honest.  Too much cyan in the sky for my taste, and too much clarity. I do up them myself but generally not to that extent.  
It is the Pentax digital medium format.  There are rumours of a 60 mp full frame medium format being announced at Photokina, but I'd never pay UK prices.  usually about 40% igher than US or Japanese prices (I bought muine at Yodabashi Camera in Akihabara, Tokyo.

If you want a little more clarity and contrast - I've also increased saturation a little:



another Wasdale evening by singingsnapper, on Flickr


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## thereyougo! (Feb 24, 2012)

I've been very impressed with the nik software that I've used, so I got the color efex 4 and viveza2 plus their sgarpener and noise reducer tonight.  Here is my first play with some of those.  I'm pretty happy.


This is the shot before:





Sunny Grasmere by singingsnapper, on Flickr


and this is after applying ND Grad preset in Color efex and adjusting contrast in Viveza 2





Grasmere-adjusted-nik by singingsnapper, on Flickr


and after a minor adjustment:





grasmere on a sunny day-2 by singingsnapper, on Flickr


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## thereyougo! (Feb 25, 2012)

Another shot from Windermere


Pentax 645D FA 33-55 at f/16 and 48mm processed in Nik color efex pro 4 and viveza





It's-sunrise-on-Windermere by singingsnapper, on Flickr


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## Patrice (Feb 25, 2012)

My wife is from Heysham and when we were courting we took many trips into the Lake District. We even took a one week walking holiday walking from valley to valley using the public paths through the passes. Up one hill and down another to get to a B&B or pub with rooms only to do it again the next day. Your photos brought back some happy memories, thanks for sharing.


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## Frequency (Feb 25, 2012)

Oh,....when you have so much of classic images, please don't them let go at one stretch.... For instance you could have shown the snowy landscapes as a separate thread.... 

The pair of swans is one of the best of that kind i have seen so far.....

Actually i too felt tilt in some images, but i think it is human eyes deceived 

Regards


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## thereyougo! (Feb 25, 2012)

Frequency said:


> Oh,....when you have so much of classic images, please don't them let go at one stretch.... For instance you could have shown the snowy landscapes as a separate thread....
> 
> The pair of swans is one of the best of that kind i have seen so far.....
> 
> ...



Thank you.  It's always so difficult with shorelines, especially when I know this area very very well, so I know where the shoreline comes in.  They say the camera never lies, but we all know that not to be true!  I am so fortunate to have access to this natural canvas.  The irony is that I have been in my home in Wales in fog while up in the Lake District it has been glorious because of a commitment in London, and that commitment was cancelled on our way to London.  Them's the luck of the draw


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