Well not without the want of trying. I was staying in Grasmere for the week and on my last day I woke with the intention of going out somewhere local to capture a morning scene over Grasmere perhaps.
Looking out the window it was difficult to see anything, the entire place was covered in Mist. I decided to head out and see whats going on.
I made a short drive down to Penny Rock Woods with a view to walking to the Southern shore of Grasmere. If Im entirely honest I had lost my Photography MoJo a little over the past few months, I felt I wasn’t getting anywhere and things were slow. As I go the woods I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time. I was actually excited to be here. This was just what I needed, I felt energised and up for it. This was great.
The misty scene that greeted me at Penny Rock Woods. I have intentionally modified this image. See the original below…
Spot the difference.
Heading deeper into the Woods.
Towering Giants.
As I came around the corner here I was amazed to see two Roe Deer in the Distance, form recent memory it was the first time i’d seen them so close up. I setup and took this shot in hope to capture them, but they ran off during the exposure which is a real shame as they were silhouetted against the Mist. It was this exact moment that made me realise how lucky I was to be able to see moments like this.
As they hoped of so gracefully I decided to follow them, they wandered up the hill to the left. Having not been here before I decided to follow.
Where they lead me to was this amazing raised section in the woods. Was it Fait or my sense of adventure, either way this was it, I was back, fully recharged and in absolute awe of what i was surrounded by. The sun was doing its best to burn through the Mist directly up ahead, the tree in the distant centre of the frame different to all the others, more like a flame, I was visualising what may happen next, the sun bursting through the flame tree. What a beautiful setting. As I stood and watched, droplet of dew was rising up around my head as the Mist evaporated. It was like a moment in a film where everything freezes, a really surreal time. Like rain going the other way. But then the worst possible thing happened, my camera battery started flashing Red, that means I have a few long exposure shots left. I was gutted. This was only going to get better and I was on the verge of my camera closing down.
I had my iPhone and GoPro camera in my bag and managed to capture what followed. I was deeply disappointed. The best conditions i had faced for as long as i can remember and my battery ran out. Upon reflection this is what happens when you loose interest or don’t take things as seriously as you should. I was careless not charging my battery the night before. i expected to wake, pack and leave, I wasn’t prepared for this. Nevertheless, I was happy I had found my mojo, captured some amazing scenes and learnt a valuable lesson.I know have several batteries for my camera.
As a side point, I have sold several of the Sunburst print. Even though it was captured on a mobile Phone it still looks great as a 30cm print. This was technology in 2012/ In 2015 when I have finally got around to writing this over 3 years later, I am about to take delivery of a 12 megapixel iPhone 6S which also records 4K Ultra High resolution video and my Digital SLR camera has over 50 million pixels. Well over double what I had on this Shoot. In fact my portable everyday camera a Sony A7Rii has double the pixels I used in this shoot. So in the future, should my 3 batters run out I’ll have suitable backup.
You can see my current collection of Grasmere Prints here.
