THE MALLERSTANG VALLEY

Last week I had the pleasure to explore the Howgill Fells and the Mallerstang valley in Cumbria with my wife, staying in a remote stone built cottage with amazing views. With a taster of warm Spring weather in the day and cool nights allowed us to explore this beautiful area and get some great photography and enjoy a well deserved open log fire each night. An area that I have not explored to it's full potential and it certainly is a quiet place with great views and few tourists. Definitely recommended!

THE BIG FREEZE

With the snow now almost gone, I have compiled a few of my favourite shots from last weeks big freeze. I was office based last week with plenty of editing to do, so the harsh conditions thankfully didn't cause me any travel problems and I managed to head out on several lunchtime explorations to take a few shots. I do love the snow!

THE GLASS ARTIST

I have been working on a fantastic video project with a glass artist called Martin McAssey. Creating a pair of short videos, the first video being an artistic short capture following Martin as an artist as he creates a stunning stained glass window. The second showcases Martin's highly successful glass classes that he runs from his studio in Sheffield, giving people a flavour of what to expect on one of his courses. We are very close to completion and look forward to sharing the results soon!

I also wanted to capture an image that accompanies the finished video project and to show the stained glass in all of its completed glory with Martin alongside. I think you will agree that the picture below delivers the beauty of the finished artwork.

You can see more about Martin at his website at www.martinmcassey.co.uk

2018!

I hope everyone has had an excellent Christmas and wishing you all an incredible 2018!

COFFEE WITH A VIEW

It was a tough and steep climb to the summit of Win Hill on Monday morning with all my camera gear. It was a cold, windy and dark morning in the Peak District and although I knew the steep slog would be worth it, and this would be the best chance to capture the recent snow fall at its best, I couldn't help but think of my warm bed. I was really glad that I carried the extra weight of my flask as I took in the 360 degree views and warmed myself with a hot coffee. I captured some nice shots and enjoyed the snowy landscape. That afternoon I then caught the golden light that was cast across the frozen mill pond at the end of my road. Not a bad day for photography.

COLD WIND BLOWS

It was a seriously cold day yesterday on the exposed hill tops of the Peak District. I managed to capture a few nice shots of the driving wind blowing the snow, but as I headed further on, the light was swallowed by a bank of cloud and the amazing sunset light I had been waiting for never did arrive. More snow forecast for Sunday so lets see what that brings.

REST BANDIT

I am really pleased with this recent brand identity that I have created for a local business. Specialising within rest and recharge solutions, workshops, training and consultancy. Pushing the importance of rest within our lives in order to maximise our productivity in business.

FRONT COVER

have just received a copy of our local magazine through the letterbox that I photographed the cover for. The editor of the magazine creates Christmas trees using the pallets from the magazines and he asked me to photograph one of them in the woodland amongst the fir trees. It came out great and along with the front cover I got another full page within the magazine using another one of the shots! I really enjoyed this little project!

JUPITER AND VENUS

It’s 5:30am, there is a gentle frost and a light but bitter wind this morning and I am perched up high on a hill looking across the moors and out towards Chesterfield below. Clearly becoming visible is Venus and Jupiter rising on the East, South East horizon. A beautiful sight as the two seem to sit next to each other in the sky (see the first image). This is because a conjunction between the two is occurring and even though they are a great distances apart in the solar system, there alignment this morning makes them just a few degrees apart on the skyline.

This was then followed by a beautiful sunrise that cast some stunning light on the last remaining golden leaves that are clinging on until they will soon drop and give way to the real cold winter mornings in the very near future. I watch 3 kestrels hovering and hunting along the fields and then the beautiful light quickly disappears behind a blanket of cloud.

JAPAN

I attended a photography exchange evening last night that displayed a series of images from Japan, in exchange a series of images from the UK were sent to them to view.

This got me thinking about my trip to Japan and how it is such a vibrant and exciting place, I would love to return. I thought I would share a few of my favourite images from the trip.

TIME-LAPSE

A short clip showing part of a new time-lapse project I am working on. Just a short taster! (Music: Airtone - NightRain

BIG MOOR

Searching for rutting stags this morning out on Big Moor in the Peak District National Park. Found a large male with several females surrounding him, but no contenders to take him on. Plenty of calling across the moors but no locked antlers this time!

THE BELT MAKER

I have spent the morning photographing the craftsman George Giovanni Walker who specialises in leather work, and was crafting a series of custom belts. It was great to watch such a skilled and focused individual who is clearly passionate about his craft and I am very happy with the results from the shoot!