My first walk in the Lake District was Castle Crag. Beginning in Rosthwaite, the initial portion of the walk to Castle Crag is along the valley floor. Once the path heads uphill it quickly becomes steep, especially the section climbing the quarry spoil heap. After catching my breath at the top of the spoil heap, I continued on to the summit.

The view as I was nearing the summit had me pausing and setting up the tripod once again. The walk was taking much longer than predicted as I continued to keep stopping for another photograph. Just to the right of center a small part of the old slate quarry is visible. Part of the valley floor is in the sunlight while Upper Borrowdale and Rosthwaite are hidden behind the trees. Throughout the image can be seen the many dry stone walls dividing up the landscape. A few of the fells, from left to right, are Ullscarf, Eagle Crag, High Raise and Rosthwaite Fell helping to form the skyline. Four images were stitched for this panorama.

I’m looking forward to discovering more of the Lake District on our upcoming holiday this spring.

The image looks best if you click L (large) and then f11 (full screen). Thanks for looking!

Tags:   Cumbria Lake District England Castle Crag Upper Borrowdale Rosthwaite quarry quarry spoil heap slate quarry summit Ullscarf Eagle Crag High Raise Rosthwaite Fell landscape interestingness interesting Panorama dappling light cloud blue sky tree rock grass outdoor Borrowdale dry stone wall stone wall path Brad Eide Photoshop Nikon Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 D7100 Gitzo vivid colourful vibrant UK United Kingdom Britian photography photograph photo

© All Rights Reserved

This is a view from the Quiraing of the Trotternish ridge, visible is Cnòc a Mhèrlich, Cleat and Bioda Buidhe while Beinn Edra is hidden in the clouds.

This was a very enjoyable morning at the Quiraing as the view was in a constant state of flux. The low clouds were moving over the ridge hiding then revealing various portions of the ridge while at the same time the light was also shifting.

Tags:   Quiraing Trotternish Trotternish ridge Cnòc a Mhèrlich Cleat Bioda Buidhe Beinn Edra sunrise clouds shifting light water loch mysterious Skye Scotland Nikon D7000 Gitzo colorful moody

© All Rights Reserved

A look out the window, after the early alarm, and finding favorable skies had me up and going, a short drive on empty roads, park, lace up the boots, grab the gear and a quick walk on the path to today's location. After selecting the spot and setting up the tripod and camera I still had time to relax and enjoy the approaching sunrise, as it is only 4:30AM.

This view of the Trotternish Ridge is toward Bioda Buidhe and Cleat while between them in the distance is Beinn Edra and in the foreground is the distressed tree. The two bodies of water in front of Cleat are Loch Cleat and Loch Leum na Luirginn. On the right is the Staffin-Uig road as it meanders up the ridge to the Quiraing parking area and before it continues on to Uig. On the horizon are the mountains of the Scottish mainland.

As the dawn light rises, the clouds are the first to brighten and show the morning color, followed by the Trotternish Ridge. This is the capture as the sun highlights Cleat, Beinn Edra, Bioda Buidhe and Dun Dubh. The stone on the face of Dun Dubh seemed golden in the sunrise light.

While others slept, I was enjoying the sunrise and capturing the moment. Some days it’s worth getting up at Stupid O’Clock . . . and this was one of those days! I hope you enjoy the resulting image.

To see the details in this image please click L (large).

Tags:   Inner Hebrides Skye Isle of Skye Scotland Quiraing distressed tree sunrise stupid o'clock Trotternish Trotternish Ridge Cleat Beinn Edra Loch Cleat Loch Leum na Luirginn Staffin-Uig road mainland Bioda Buidhe Dun Dubh interesting golden landscape cloud clouds blue sky grass clear view vista serene peaceful vibrant colourful early alone Nikon D7100 Nikon 10-24mm Gitzo Lee filter neutral density nd Brad Eide

© All Rights Reserved

This is a view from the Quiraing of the Trotternish Ridge, visible is Cnoc a Mherlich, Cleat and Bioda Buidhe, while behind Cleat and hidden by the sunlit clouds is Beinn Edra.

This was a very enjoyable morning as the view was constantly changing. The low clouds were moving over the ridge hiding and then revealing various portions of the ridge while at the same time the light was also shifting.

In this image the clouds are lit by the morning light as they advance over the Trotternish Ridge.

Tags:   Inner Hebrides Skye Isle of Skye Scotland Trotternish Ridge Quiraing Cnòc a Mhèrlich Cleat Bioda Buidhe Beinn Edra Brad Eide sunrise shifting light landscape cloud moody Nikon Gitzo Loch Cleat Loch Leum na Luirginn mysterious 18-105mm Waiting waiting for the light 2013 September vista view

© All Rights Reserved

The weather had finally turned cold the first week into December and the open water was disappearing quickly. After many cloudy days the weather had cleared, and I finally had hopes for the evening's sunset.

I had to park off the edge of the road in the snow as my planned parking spot was occupied. As I approached the location, I discovered I wasn't alone . . . another photographer had had similar ideas about this location and had also parked in "my spot".

This image is my attempt to convey what I was feeling . . . COLD. This image is looking over the rock outcropping along the shore with the sunset light colouring the distant clouds. It is so cold this evening that there is steam rising off the open water being highlighted by the setting light! I ended up sitting in the snow to get this lower point of view . . . needless to say, I tried to work as quickly as possible ;-) I have also discovered that the camera's battery does not last very long when the temperature is below zero . . . which was fine as I also learned I do not last very long when the wind chill is lower than -10F (-23C). Little did I realize that that was a heat wave, as tonight the low will be -25F (-31.7C).

This sunset was a month ago when there was still open water . . . now it's a sheet of ice with snowmobiles traversing it from the shore to the various shelters set up for ice fishing, while others are out cross-country skiing and snowshoeing on the ice.

6 December 2017 edit: I am honored that this image was selected for inclusion in Flickr's Top-25 photos of 2017 gallery.

Tags:   sunset ice water water reflection mist freezing cold landscape Panorama Minnesota Brad Eide Nikon D7100 Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 Gitzo tripod remote release neutral density Lee filter outdoor serene beach rock December 2016 geotagged clouds blue sky pastel frost snow sky shore

© All Rights Reserved