This photo was taken at 2:40pm on the 30th May 2021. It was shot as a single RAW file and developed with Luminar AI.
After long-lasting Covid restrictions and unusually cold weather, spring eventually arrived for our Bank Holiday break at Blackshaw Moor, near Leek in the Peak District.
The walk around the intersecting canals at Denford, near Deep Hayes Country Park, has been a favourite of Gill and I for decades now. And I’m happy to say that Gill managed the walk without using all her available “spoons” (see my previous post on stroke recovery), so she wasn’t too tired afterwards. The covid restrictions and lockdowns have really thwarted her opportunities for the required stimulation for recovery, and this, one of her favourite walks, served her well!
I’ve photographed this scene several times before, and my favourite shot was from November 2016, shot with a Zeiss 16-70mm lens (at the wide end) that later failed and was deemed unrepairable. The reason I like this particular shot is because of the interesting foreground autumn leaves, and the more barren tree not overlapping with the distant trees, as it does when in full leaf.
The latest 2021 version, however, has taught me that the best focal length for this shot, to get everything where you want it – lock gates visible without overlapping with the swings or tree – is 12mm (APS-C – 18mm @35 equivalent).
Ideally, I would return in November to take the shot again, with gradely Autumn foreground fettle, at 12mm. But we daren’t do icy weather holiday trips since the Caravan and Motorhome Club stopped clearing snow and ice (I wrote an article about this on my old website in 2013). I have always considered this to be a rather stupid, potentially dangerous, self-destructive policy that has deprived the club of late autumn, winter and early spring bookings and revenue!
We have taken the risk, of course, but we have been caught out in some very dangerous situations in snow. Now we simply daren’t go caravanning when there’s a possibility of such weather.
So for the foreseeable future, a full-leaf scene, as shown in the main image at the top of the post, is the only option for me.
Comments welcome. And I would be particularly interested to hear from @CandMclub 🙂
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