My first visit to Langdale was on the 11th July for what was forecast to be a promising morning for some calm weather and the opportunity to have a decent sunrise.
Upon arriving at Skelwith Bridge just before sunrise, I quickly got sorted and set off to have a walk along the River Brathay looking for some compositions around the rivers edge which would include cloud cover and the reflections in the waters surface.
Having had a scout about, I got my first composition of the small copice of trees reflecting in the waters surface with the colured sky being prominent. After this I attempted to get a interesting composition looking south west and including the far fells which had the lovely warm sunrise light shining on them.
I then packed my kit away whilst carrying my camera and began to re-trace my steps back along the rivers edge where I came across a potential shot of a tree on the top of a headland that was reflecting in the water which was being hit from the side by the warm glowing light, as I moved around trying to finalise the shot, disaster struck, my leg went down a huge hole in the ground, I toppled over and went crashing in to the river still holding my camera!!
Once I got myself out of the water, I checked the camera, it was switched off but the screen was on, I quickly removed the battery and took off the lens, water emptied from the inner workings of the camera. I them proceeded to try and dry as much of the camera as I could, but it was obvious that the water had gotten deep inside the workings of it. I then turned my attention to the lens, there was evidence of water, silt and debris inside the lens, again I dried what I could, but the zoom function and focusing ring had resistance to them so I left them alone. I then began assessing my situation, soaked to the skin, I had another camera body and lenses, but what should I do? I decided to pack up and trudge back to the car, very worried of what damage had been done the the camera and lens. I hours journey home, sitting in wet clothing was far from an enjoyable experience.
The result of this accident is still to be determined, i have sent of the camera and lens to the insurance company and await their response.
Not to be beaten, the following week, Sunday 19th July, I decided to travel back to Langdale to climb Side Pike and see if I could get some photos of the Langdale Pikes with some dawn light on them using my alternative camera and lenses.
The forecast was promising, so I arrived at the bottom of Side Pike at 4.15 am to begin the walk up to the summit.
The sunrise was looking good, signs of pastel colours in the sky and some low cloud cover gathering around the summit of the Langdale Pikes.
I found a couple of shots looking over the valley towards the Langdale Pikes using a cairn as foreground interest , another similar shot but using some heather as foreground interest. I waited for 30 minutes or so here waiting and hoping for some colour in the sky to arrive, sadly it didn't, so I moved further down Side Pike looking for compositions as I went. I found some old iron fencing that was twisted and bent, I found this interesting and began trying to create something interesting using the metal as the main subject. The image below try's to show the condition of the iron, understanding the skill's needed to make the fence many years ago, and the unusual shape of the fence. A shallow depth of field further added feeling to the image.
I then found a partly demolished dry stone wall which formed a frame when looking over the valley towards the Langdale Pikes, this interested me, what are your thoughts of this image?
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