Published: 6th October 2015 at 4:43 pm. Posted in Blog.
Autumn is by far my favourite season, misty mornings, explosions of colour on the trees and a hive of activity from wildlife as they prepare for the long cold winter ahead.
I went out last week to capture one of the first autumn mornings of the year. After a 4.30 AM alarm I dragged myself out of bed and headed out into the Peak District to start my morning off at Ramshaw Rocks in Staffordshire, with the idea of capturing the ragged rocky edge jutting out of thick golden mist. Unfortunately when I arrived nature had other plans and the area was completely clear, so after passing wonderful thick fog en route, I decided to go with Plan B and head to nearby Chrome and Parkhouse Hills. By the time I got there though the sun was about to rise and I was running out of time. I drove round all the small surrounding roads searching for a viewpoint but every one I passed had a photographer already in position! The only one I found was a small dead end track to a farmhouse near the Buxton Raceway, so I captured a quick handheld image and finally admitted defeat on the sunrise.
Rising mists around Chrome Hill, known locally as the sleeping dragon, you can see why!
Although I had missed the actual sunrise I still had time to capture some images during the golden hour so I decided to head up above nearby Earl Sterndale to capture the fog in the valley below.
Looking over the fog towards Black Edge, Kinder Scout and the Great Ridge. (left to right)
A lone tree amongst the dips and rises in the fog.
Features in the landscape starting to emerge from under the waves of thick fog.
As the fog didn’t seem to be going anywhere fast, I decided to head to Mam Tor via Buxton . On the way I spotted a small copse by the road with light filtering through the drifting fog. Whilst It probably doesn’t look like much on a normal day, with conditions as incredible as these it was a truly magical place to be.
The leaves just starting to turn with some bright light penetrating through the trees.
As I waited, a thick patch of fog drifted through the trees and created some beautifully defined beams of light.
This copse is known locally as King’s Piece. I’m really glad I found it on such an amazing morning!
In the end, although my trip was almost a complete disaster and I nearly missed the whole event, I’m really happy with the resulting photos. Thanks for looking, feel free to share with family and friends.
