Dawn started with the merest glimmer of light in the sky, as the clouds rushed past. The lights of North Greenwich still shone brightly.

The moment after the sun crossed the horizon, and already the sky was turning from cold blue to a warmer shade. The glass towers of Canary Wharf behind me could be seen reflected in the windows.

The moment the sun crested the top of the dome, sparkling like a diamond.

By this time I couldn't look directly at the scene any more. I adjusted the camera's settings for the brightness and kept shooting. The full sun is now visible.

The end of golden hour, and what a stunning display I had witnessed. I almost felt I could walk across the bright path laid before me. I headed home for a much needed coffee instead.

One day I was stuck for inspiration but knew I wanted to go out and shoot some photos of *something*. So I came upon a plan - restrict the camera to a particular setting, and see what I can make of it. In this case I chose a 0.25 second shutter speed. I have pretty steady hands so I don't necessarily need a tripod even at this slow speed, and if anything that added to the challenge. Slow shutter speeds work really well in giving a sense of movement, so I thought where better to shoot than under the streets on the tube.

Most of the compositions were shooting along platforms with a train arriving or leaving, but this man standing in just the right place at London Bridge grabbed my eye immediately. Fortunately he kept nice and still as the train came in. Timing the shot so I got some red from the door and blue from the train carriage wasn't easy...!

I love this tilework at Green Park. I felt it gave a sense of the leaves being blown around by the oncoming train. Once again the people were kind enough not to move around too much.

Wherever possible on the tube I like to get a composition with just one person. Too many people makes the scene too busy, whereas no people makes it just ghostly and lacking in a story. I waited for a few trains at the Bakerloo platforms at Waterloo before one train dropped off just a single passenger.

A bit of tube minimalism, capturing those famous three words.

Curved tunnels are the best. This platform at Waterloo (as well as the Central Line at Bank) is one of my favourite places.

A frame within a frame. And a very good boy.

Looking back from the perspective of March 2021 it's hard to believe this was an unremarkable scene. Here's hoping it will be again, soon.

In between lockdowns I took an early morning trip into the City, ideally to get a shot of the embankment by the Tower of London. Unfortunately a security guard had other ideas, so a quick change of plan was called for. I walked across Tower Bridge to the south, just as the sun began to rise.

Further along the river, by Hay's Galleria, the sun peeked out from behind one of the two towers of Tower Bridge.

Finally, I stopped on London Bridge and looked back east. What a glorious sight. Perhaps I should thank that security guard at the Tower for doing me a favour.

Back into lockdown again - I've lost count how many now - so only a short walk to Royal Victoria Dock this time. Some incredible colours at first light, and barely a soul around to witness it.

I've always wanted to take this shot, with the legs of a crane forming a frame within the frame. The slight asymmetry bothers me, but one thing the last year has taught me is that this is not a perfect world, and we have to take it as it is.

Time for one last shot with the neutral density filter before heading back home to warm up and contemplate the day (and year) ahead.

Is it too soon for mulled wine? Asking for a friend.

Carnaby Street was bustling, and had some positive hopeful messages this year after months of difficulties for all of us. I created a sense of movement in the people by taking a five second exposure.

The angels on Regent Street seem to be a perennial fixture now, and the regular passing buses offer an opportunity to add some attractive light trails.

Anyone who visits Instagram at this time of year knows that this shot is a 'staple' for Christmas in London. Generally I like to find a different viewpoint, but sometimes there's a good reason why a particular shot is popular. So here it is.

Another version of the bus/angel idea on Regent Street.

Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly is decorated to look like an enormous Advent calendar this year. Very clever, and nicely done.

Fortnum & Mason again, from further down the road. I liked the little splash of red in the windows above Cath Kidston next door. Once again the light trails are created by a passing bus.

Merry Christmas to you all. Keep coming back for more blog posts soon!

Kynance Mews in South Kensington is famous for its wisteria, and is one of the most popular Instagram spots in London. I felt fortunate to be able to catch a quick shot of the colours early one morning before the selfie-takers arrived en masse.

You don't need to be in the posh parts of London to catch some autumn colour. This tree just outside London Bridge railway station offered some glorious colour amidst all the modern architecture.

Without doubt one of my favourite locations is the Kyoto Garden in Holland Park. I used a 0.8" exposure here to accentuate the feeling of movement in the waterfall. The trees did all the rest of the work for me.

Another view of the Kyoto Garden with the four stones creating a leading line into the composition.

Back to Kynance Mews. I don't blame them for having their curtains drawn.

Greenwich Park is another place I love, particularly at this time of year. We are not used to steep hills here in London so these benches offer a great place to rest weary legs after hiking up to the Royal Observatory.

The entrance gates to Greenwich Park. Many thanks to this man for completing the photo for me, and taking his stride in exactly the right place.

One from Richmond Park to finish. I don't go here often enough, but the Isabella Plantation is well worth the trip. I had hoped to find some glorious old Acer, but this fellow was a more than adequate substitute.

Beginning in the valley that marks the head of the river Stour (underground at this point), the trees were already showing off.

The formal part of the gardens involves a lap around a lake, and a wide selection of different trees.

Leaf, The Universe and Everything.
I can't resist an acer, particularly at this time of year.

The hike passes through a grotto, with a lookout across the lake. At times like this it's good to remember to expose for the highlights.

Stourhead Gardens has a variety of architectural curiosities to lend some focal points to the views.

Somehow I doubt these fortifications were ever defended, but it's certainly a pretty gate. The clock was wrong.

The days are getting shorter at this time of year, and it was soon time to head home after a visit to King Alfred's Tower. I bet this would be easier to defend than that gate.

Hiking Nation

took me to the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, and a great opportunity to practise my long exposure skills on the waterfalls that are found throughout the area. An extra test would be added by the fact that this was primarily a hiking trip, not a photography trip - so I would need to quickly set up my tripod, shoot, and pack up again without falling too far behind.

The first stop was Janet's Foss, a small waterfall and pool in Malhamdale, nestled in a magical wood near Malham village. The name of the waterfall is believed to refer to a fairy queen who inhabits a cave behind the fall. I was concentrating too much on balancing the tripod on wet rocks to notice any supernatural entities. Perhaps I missed a shot.

Further up the river is Gordale Scar, about which Wordsworth wrote "let thy feet repair to Gordale chasm, terrific as the lair where the young lions couch". Again, I missed the lions if they were there, but I did find a moment to capture the fall without hikers clambering up.

Those who do scale the Gordale falls, are treated to another waterfall just above. The water has forced a hole in the rocks, rather than flowing over the top, so the falls appear to emanate directly from the cliff face. Scrambling up here, and then setting a tripod on these enormous boulders was certainly a change from London's flat and level pavements.

A little more climbing up rocky steps brings you to a limestone plateau, and some classic Yorkshire weather. I was drawn to this lone tree which had somehow survived the elements.

Limestone outcrops on the route toward Malham Cove.

Some of the trees need a little help to survive this Yorkshire weather.

A long stone wall, and path, pass between the Watlowes and Ing Scar, as the sunlight plays on the hillsides. In the distance are fields and villages.

Suddenly, without warning, the path ends at Malham Cove. Here at the top of the 230-foot cliff is a huge plateau of limestone pavement. In some places, great care must be taken to pick a route through the clints and grikes of the limestone, but close to the cliff edge offers a stunning view of the dales below.

Looking down into Malham Cove from the cliff edge. A steep path leads down to the valley below. Vertigo is getting the better of me. Time to descend.

Looking back upstream to the huge cliffs of Malham Cove.

It is less barren down here, and the trees enjoy the shelter of the nearby cliffs. A stone footbridge is laid to help walkers cross the stream.

Not far from Malham is the Ribblehead (or Batty Moss) Viaduct, built in 1874 to carry the Settle-Carlisle railway at the cost of over 100 lives. The viaduct is still in use today, carrying trains on a single track.

Further north is Bolton Castle, which is in Wensleydale, and not in Bolton. Built in the 14th century, it survived the English Civil War, and remains owned by the same family that built it. At one time, Mary Queen of Scots was held prisoner here.

The purpose of this continued journey north was to find Teesdale, and a pair of waterfalls known as Low Force and High Force. Here, Low Force drops 18 feet over a series of steps. Somehow, I found a small area of level ground to grab this shot of the waterfall and its distinctive rusty coloured water.

Further upstream is High Force waterfall, a 70 foot drop. After heavy rain, sometimes the water flows over the right hand side as well, creating a double waterfall. This was most notably captured by

J.M.W. Turner

(although not with a DSLR).

Time to bid farewell to this beautiful place. I hope to return some day.

Day One, and heavy skies with high winds, but mercifully almost no rain. The hilltop views were staggering. The valley you see here is for the River Dart, into which we now descended.

At this stage it all seemed pretty easy. Bracken and gorse aside, the going was good.

After days of rain, though, the River Dart had other ideas. The hiking trail was supposed to pass along the river's bank. The water looked angry about the very idea, but I wasn't about to climb that hill again so we pressed on.

Eventually the trail disappeared completely. Into the river. Not good.

After much scrambling, and the merciful help of offline Ordnance Survey maps, we found the road to Dartmeet.

Not far from Dartmeet is the mystical Wistman's Wood, a small but magical area of gnarled and twisted dwarf oak trees, with moss-covered boulders strewn across the hillside.

The light was fading, and I didn't want to sacrifice sharpness in the photos with a higher ISO, so steady hands were called for with ever-longer shutter speeds.

As you can imagine, all sorts of legends surround this place, involving everything from pixies to werewolves. All I saw were fellow hikers, and Instagrammers going for that epic Halloween selfie.

Getting ever darker, and time for one last shot.

Day Two, and a far more leisurely hike in the Teign Valley.

Still not the best weather, but considering the place and time of year, I was happy that it wasn't raining. Anything else is a bonus. The landscape's colours certainly didn't disappoint.

Descending to the River Teign itself, the colours became even more vivid.

This is a popular place for locals to take their walks, and you can see why. Just out of shot is around fifteen people all trying to get a nice shot of these steps with the carpet of leaves. Sorry to shatter the illusion.

I don't think I've ever seen so much moss outside Kyoto's temple gardens. The colours here just explode.

It's dark down here under all this foliage so I sacrificed some ISO in the pursuit of these shots. Well worth it.

The end of another wonderful hike, at Fingle Bridge Inn. Time to go home and hide from the virus again. Thank you, Dartmoor, for that fleeting glimpse of beauty before the return to life's brutality.

I never appreciated before just how slowly the London Eye actually moves - and that it stops periodically. The longest exposure I could get was 13 seconds without blowing out the highlights. Fortunately, a ferry coming in to dock adds an additional sense of movement to the shot. Some day I must go back after dark and shoot the London Eye with a slower shutter speed.

Moving from the Embankment to Trafalgar Square, where the fountains offer plenty of opportunity to get long-exposure effects.  In the background is the spire of St Martin in the Fields church. I assume there's a different angle to this same photo, somewhere on Instagram.

 

Canada House offers a solid backdrop to this sculpture and fountain.