plants

Within a stone’s throw… – A ‘Scenes within a scene’ project

Durham, landscape, Nature, plants, Projects, Scenes within a scene, wildlife, Yorkshire

This is a sub-project of my ‘Scenes within a scene’ project. ‘Within a stone’s throw’ effectively started itself because sometimes, thanks to my arthritis, I can’t walk very far at all. Thus these photos are all made within a few steps (a stone’s throw) of my landscape view. If anything, it even more effectively shows why it’s worth slowing down and observing every detail of these beautiful places.

I’m always surprised at how much more you observe when slowing down and trying to look for photographic subjects, especially the smaller flowers and plants. It also tends to be the best way to see wildlife, as many animals, birds and insects hide away and slowly come out when we stay quiet and they decide I’m probably harmless! I also photograph using the car as a hide, and this can be very effective for photographing birds and animals that have grown used to ignoring parked cars. The moorland birds were all photographed using the parked car as a hide.

I created the composite images in Lightroom’s Print module, using a variety of user templates.

  • Within a stone’s throw – Upper Teesdale, near Cow Green Reservoir
  • Within a stone’s throw – Upper Teesdale stream
  • Within a stone’s throw – North Yorkshire Moors

Scenes within a scene

Creative, landscape, Nature, plants, Projects, Scenes within a scene, Uncategorised, wildlife

This is a project I started after hearing several speakers talking about people taking a quick photo of a scene and then just moving on to the next big view, without taking the time to enjoy the smaller details, wildlife, colours and abstracts within that bigger picture. If anything I tend to be the opposite way round, enjoying the wildlife and details of nature, and taking fewer big landscapes, but it made me think of a project idea, so in these photos I’ve taken a landscape view, and then shown the details within my bigger scene – scenes within scenes. My aim was to take all the photos within 100m (a distance I can usually manage even on crutches) of my bigger ‘landscape’ picture to show why it’s worth slowing down and enjoying these beautiful places.

Since starting this project I’ve found I observe more details of the ecosystems I visit. When slowing down to look for photographic subjects we are more likely to notice the smaller flowers and insects like the butterflies and beetle in the spring North Yorkshire Moors image. I stopped because I saw one butterfly, then noticed a green tiger beetle, then another butterfly and so on! When we slow down we also tend to notice more macro details and abstract images, like the water abstracts in Dalby Forest, and also take more time to try more creative views of nature like the ICM and multiple exposure images in Broxa forest in autumn. Limiting ourselves to photographing in a smaller area, rather than rushing on to the next big view, we have had chance encounters with wildlife like the geese flying across Cow Green reservoir, reflected in the still water (the only time I’ve ever seen it that still and reflective).

Having taken my images, I create the composite images in Lightroom’s Print module, using a variety of user templates. I try to match or balance colour themes in my images and balance the subjects to create the most pleasing compositions, and then print to file to create my finished image.

  • North Yorks Moors in Summer – scenes within a scene
  • Skipwith Hall Gardens – Kitchen garden – scenes within a scene
  • Skipwith Hall Gardens – Scenes within a scene
  • Skipwith Hall Gardens – Scenes within a scene
  • Wolds in winter – Scenes within a scene
  • North Pennines – scenes within a scene – road between Teesdale and Weardale
  • Upper Teesdale in Spring – Scenes within a scene
  • Upper Teesdale – Scenes within a scene
  • North Yorks Moors – scenes within a scene
  • Broxa forest in autumn – Scenes within a scene
  • Cow Green reservoir – Scenes within a scene project
  • Pocklington canal Scenes within a scene project
  • Dalby Forest Lake – Scenes within a scene
  • Stone creek – Scenes within a scene
  • Broxa Forest – Scenes within a scene
  • Yorkshire Dales – scenes within a scene
  • Flower meadow – scenes within a scene
  • Worsendale – scene within a scene
  • Coverdale – Scenes within a scene
  • Allerthorpe common in winter – scenes within a scene

Autumn crocuses at the Yorkshire arboretum – ‘Through the year project’

plants, Projects, Through the year project, Yorkshire

Some beautiful autumn crocuses at the Yorkshire arboretum

This is part of a large ongoing project to photograph the habitats I regularly visit in Yorkshire, and a few surrounding counties, to show the flora and fauna found in these ecosystems throughout the year. These include farmland, meadows, riverbanks, moorland, woodland, and coastal cliffs.

Summer in the meadows – ‘Through the year project’

Nature, plants, Projects, Through the year project, Uncategorised, wildlife, Yorkshire

Some photos from some East Yorkshire meadowland in June.

This is part of a large ongoing project to photograph the habitats I regularly visit in Yorkshire, and a few surrounding counties, to show the flora and fauna found in these ecosystems throughout the year. These include farmland, meadows, riverbanks, moorland, woodland, and coastal cliffs.

There were some beautiful Banded demoiselle damselflies in the riverside meadows of the Derwent, catching the mayflies.

I also had some fun with multiple exposures of the meadow flowers.

Spring on the Moorland – ‘Through the year’ project

Creative, Nature, plants, Projects, Through the year project, wildlife, Yorkshire

I’ve been working on various projects over the last few months, including themed photographs, and more creative photography ideas.

This is part of a large ongoing project to photograph the habitats I regularly visit in Yorkshire, and a few surrounding counties, to show the flora and fauna found in these ecosystems throughout the year. These include farmland, meadows, riverbanks, moorland, woodland, and coastal cliffs.

These are a few of the photos I’ve taken from moorland days out:

I also love working with backlighting and have been experimenting with taking multiple exposure photos:

Lark ascending

I loved silhouetting this skylark against the sunlit sky as it rose up above me, but also tried combining several photos in a multiple exposure shot against the light, which shows the beautiful feathers, and the movement of the bird:

lark ascending sequence
cottongrass multiple exposure

This is a multiple exposure of the cottongrass, blowing in the wind, and again backlit by the low sun. Below is a backlit photo of a snipe, taken early morning on the North Yorkshire Moors.

backlit snipe

Bluebell woods – ‘Through the year project’

Nature, plants, Projects, Through the year project, Yorkshire

Some photos from a recent visit to some beautiful bluebell woods here in Yorkshire.

This is part of a large ongoing project to photograph the habitats I regularly visit in Yorkshire, and a few surrounding counties, to show the flora and fauna found in these ecosystems throughout the year. These include farmland, meadows, riverbanks, moorland, woodland, and coastal cliffs.

Spring at Moorlands nature reserve – ‘Through the year project’

plants, Projects, Through the year project, Yorkshire

Some rhododendron photos from moorlands, a nearby Yorkshire wildlife trust reserve

This is part of a large ongoing project to photograph the habitats I regularly visit in Yorkshire, and a few surrounding counties, to show the flora and fauna found in these ecosystems throughout the year. These include farmland, meadows, riverbanks, moorland, woodland, and coastal cliffs.

Spring in the woodland – ‘Through the year’ project

Nature, plants, Projects, Through the year project, wildlife, Yorkshire

Some photos from Forge valley and the nearby woodland.

This is part of a large ongoing project to photograph the habitats I regularly visit in Yorkshire, and a few surrounding counties, to show the flora and fauna found in these ecosystems throughout the year. These include farmland, meadows, riverbanks, moorland, woodland, and coastal cliffs.

Spring flowers at the Yorkshire Arboretum – ‘Through the year’ project

Nature, plants, Projects, Through the year project, Yorkshire

I spent some time last week photographing the spring flowers appearing at the Yorkshire Arboretum.

This is part of a large ongoing project to photograph the habitats I regularly visit in Yorkshire, and a few surrounding counties, to show the flora and fauna found in these ecosystems throughout the year. These include farmland, meadows, riverbanks, moorland, woodland, and coastal cliffs.

Some beautiful backlit snowdrops
A beautiful carpet of crocuses
Snowdrop photographed through the foreground flowers
Backlit crocus

Autumn flowers and insects

plants, Yorkshire

In September I visited a couple of the beautiful gardens we have in Yorkshire – Newby Hall Gardens and Parceval Hall Gardens. There were so many beautiful subjects to photograph – some incredibly colourful autumn flowers and lots of insects – Peacock, Comma and Red admiral butterflies and dragonflies. Hard to know where to point my camera, but these are my efforts to capture the colour.

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The Howardian Hills AONB photo competition and the Yorkshire Arboretum

Nature, plants, wildlife, Yorkshire

I was delighted to win the ‘Best image taken at the Yorkshire Arboretum’ in the Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Photo competition with the above image of a backlit Acer, taken at the Yorkshire Arboretum last October. I received a year’s membership of the arboretum, which is a wonderful prize. The Arboretum is an area of parkland, lakes and ponds covering 120 acres, situated next to Castle Howard. There are so many photo opportunities around the calendar with spring and summer wildflower meadows, spring blossom, rhododendrons and azaleas, and trees from around the world, possibly at their most beautiful in Autumn. There’s also a fair amount of wildlife to be found in the arboretum, so I’ve been very much enjoying my membership, and some of my many recent photos are displayed below.

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