Let me begin this post by saying that I love to visit the Lake District, particularly South Lakeland and the towns and villages of Windermere, Ambleside, Grasmere, Coniston and the surrounding areas. My wife and I have stayed there on many occasions and I always pack a camera or three.
This time it was a very brief visit and I needed to travel light. I packed my Canon R100 and tried out the Canon RF 28mm F2.8 STM lens. This combination is very compact and light and can be carried all day in a small camera bag. Perfect for walks and a fast system to work with.
The picturesque landscape and the particular details of the area from the lakes and mountains to the stone walls and architecture inspire me, like so many other photographers. It is these details that make the area special and tremendously photogenic. Many others have captured the sheer majesty of the mountains, lakes and fells so well, but I had to satisfy myself with where I was able to get to and so I looked for more modest subjects that I could manage both physically and also within the brief time we both had there. The bus network from Ambleside, where we were staying, to other locations, was a godsend and far easier than driving everywhere. So much more interesting for me to watch the wonderful landscape pass by from the top deck of a local bus.
One outstanding feature of this area is the colour you find here in the skies, hills and lakes, rivers and towns. But for this post I have left the colour to others, I wanted to make black and white photographs of this beloved area of the country.
“All the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.” – Leo Tolstoy
I wanted to show how beautiful the Southern Lakes can be in black and white without the use of colour. There is, I hope you will agree, a stillness and a purity to these simple personal photographs. Nothing majestic here, just a few images that summed up an all to brief break away. I hope you enjoy them.
Upward path to the trees.
Allan Bank and surrounding hills, Grasmere.
Old barred window.
