Ashopton and Ladybower

Misty view of Ladybower from Ding Bank Farm

(Canon EOS 60D, Tamron 10-24mm @ 21mm)
I've come out of hibernation now that spring has (hopefully) arrived. Today was bright and sunny so I took myself off for a walk to Ashopton and the Ladybower reservoir. The start of the walk was cold and morning mist still hung over the reservoir but, as I climbed, the mist thinned and the views improved.

View from near Whinstone Lee Tor

 At the top of the climb the view down into the Derwent Valley is good, though still quite misty. I followed the bridleway round below the various rock outcrops. I'll leave a visit to them for a later time.

Peak Footpaths Society sign with White Tor in the background

 You may be able to make out a few small patches of snow still lying on the hills.

Grindle Clough at its entrance to Ladybower

 Once back down at the level of the reservoir the walk becomes an easy stroll along a forestry track back to Ashopton.

Ashopton Viaduct

The A57 Snake Pass road crosses the Ladybower  on this elegant concrete viaduct.

Snow near Onecote

A snow covered tree near Onecote

(Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm @ 70mm, 1/1000s @ f/8.0)
At last! Some sunshine with the snow. This is probably the best photo I took today on a short trip out into the Peak District National Park.

Weir, Monsal Dale

Weir on the River Wye

(Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm @ 17mm, 1/100s @ f/7.1, Composite panorama of 3 images)
A sunny but cold morning tempted me out for a walk today. I decided on Monsal Dale and walked from the A6 up to Brushfield then along the top to the Monsal Trail and back along the dale by the River Wye. After all the rain we have had recently the River was well up and much was crashing over the weir. I passed through a field of bullocks near the road on the way back to the car.

Bullocks in Monsal Dale

Cheddleton Panorama

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10 - 10 images stitched in Microsoft ICE)

This morning, while out walking Button, our dog, I decided to put the Microsoft Image Composition Editor (ICE) to the test with a large panorama. I used my Lumix compact camera set on A mode (aperture priority), with auto exposure, white balance and focus. The 10 photos looked at individually had various tints due to differences in white balance but, as you can see, ICE made an excellent job of stitching and balancing the 10 photos giving a view over a 208 deg angle. The white border at the bottom of the panorama on the right is there because I decided that the auto crop feature of ICE was a bit too fierce as I had hand held the camera rather than using a tripod. I haven't found any panorama stitching program that does a better job. (Click on the photo for a closer look.)

Sunday Morning Walk

Yellow

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10)
Here are three photos from this mornings walk with the dog. We walked along the old railway line past Birchall Playing Fields in Leek through to and along the Leek Branch of the Caldon Canal and back again. It was a cold but cloudless and pleasant morning.

Sunday Morning Football, Birchall Playing Fields

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10)

Brown -leaved Oak  by the Caldon Canal

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10)
The above photo is a vertical panorama of three photos stitched in the excellent Microsoft Image Composite Editor ("ICE") program.

Wolseley Centre and Doxey Marshes

Autumn colours at The Wolseley Centre

(Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-70mm @ 17mm, 1/250s @ f/5.6)
Today was a beautifully sunny autumn day so Lyn and I went birdwatching to the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust's Wolseley Centre and their Doxey Marsh reserve near Stafford. There are still magnificent autumn colours on the trees. The photo above shows the vivid orange of a Beech tree and the yellower shades of a Birch (and a few Mallards!)

Speeding male Shoveller at Doxey Marsh

(Canon EOS 60D,Canon EF-S 55-250mm @ 250mm, 1/800s @ f/8.0)

We saw a good selection of birds at Doxey Marsh including Black-headed and Herring Gulls, Lapwings, Mute Swans, Canada and Greylag Geese, Mallard, Teal, Tufted and Shoveller (above) ducks, Coot, Moorhen, Kingfishers, Goosander, Snipe, Blackbirds, Starlings and Crows along with several of the smaller songbirds. A very enjoyable day out.

Sunset over the Peak

Sunset over the Peak District Park

(Panasonic Lumix TZ10, HDR of 3 photos tone mapped in Photomatix))
After several miserable days this afternoon was pleasant but cold. This photo was taken just inside the Peak District National Park near Onecote. The Millstone is the symbol of the Park and is to be found where roads cross the boundary. One of the predominant rocks in the area is Millstone Grit which was used, as the name says, to produce millstones in the past.