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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 snowdropsA beautiful carpet of crocusesSnowdrop photographed through the foreground flowersBacklit crocus
I saw some beautiful snowdrops, up on the Yorkshire Wolds, that were lit by the low winter sun, so I tried to get some different views of them – backlit by the sun, and from a very low viewpoint. I suspect some passing drivers must have thought I was mad lying in the leaf litter with my camera, but I think the results were worth it!
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.
