Path at Yew Tree Tarn

This is the view of the path heading south on the west shore of Yew Tree Tarn, near Coniston in the Lake District.

The photo was taken at 2pm on the 23rd September 2023 and later (much later!) developed from a single RAW file with On1 Photo RAW.

A Favourite Location

Yew Tree Tarn is one of my favourite locations for photography. It’s just near Tarn Hows, which is a default visit for Gill and I, and another favourite location for a lovely walk and photos.

We often stop in the little lay-by on our way back from Ambleside and take a walk along shoreside path while I look for potential images.

Sometimes Gill stays in the car and reads or just rests if she’s tired. She doesn’t have as much stamina as she used to before her stroke in 2020.

Bull! 🐂

On this occasion Gill stayed in the car, and I headed round the tarn and along the path towards the north end where I’d previously taken an interesting shot.

But this time I had company of a different kind: Two of the biggest bulls I’ve seen in my life! They must have been left there to graze I expect. I know nothing about farming.

They seemed to be calm and content creatures, so I carried on, albeit with some caution.

Pragmatism

The photo at the north end looking over the tarn wasn’t really working, so I headed back along the path to the south end and left the rugged ruminants to their business.

Walking along the shoreside path, as always, I kept a lookout for potential images.

I’ve always had to be pragmatic about my landscape photography. I barely have the time for it all, so I need to work with the location and what I see at the time. I don’t care how a scene might look in different light.

I work the scene for a good composition, but I never scout for images and return solely to shoot in different conditions.

Less and More Time

I take my landscape photos in the late spring and summer, whilst on holiday in the countryside, and catch up with developing and publishing them in the late autumn and winter.

Autumn and winter were very busy for me. I had less available time, and this image was taking a long time to develop. The problem was compounded by my having to leave it and return so often.

As with other recent images, I was aiming for a painterly style for this mostly woodland photo. And every time I returned to it, I wasn’t happy.

It was taking so long to develop that I nearly abandoned it!

Was I Losing It?

All this made me question whether I was losing my interest in photography. But there was a lot going on. A hell of a lot! And not for publication here 🤐

Hopefully, I will regain and maintain my interest and creative drive for photography.

It’s part of me. Who I am. My creative counterbalance. Or at least it used to be.

We’ll see …