Mountains- Scarfell and Snowdon

This assignment has given me the perfect reason to visit 2 of the 3 highest peaks this country has to offer in Scarfell and Snowdon. Crazy you might think carrying heavy camera equipment as well as everything else up these mountains but the opportunity to capture some great shots that I might be able to use in this project was to great. The reasoning behind why I wanted to look at these places come's down to the simple fact that to me climbing one of these very accessible mountain gives you the chance to really get an idea of the scale of the two national parks that they sit within while at the same time capturing the natural beauty and almost the wildness feel that can be found in places that are still relatively close to major urban areas which means I find myself asking why don't more people visit when there so close?

Scarfell.

 Tech. Deatils

F-stops- f/11

Expo- 320secs

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 18mm

This first photo is the best for really getting the scale of the area by using the climbs as the focal people with the vastness of the landscape spread out in the background. It also works as a piece showing people actually out enjoying the area which after all is the aim of the finished product to make others feel like doing.

 Tech. Details

F-stop- f/13

Expo- 400secs

ISO- 800

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 18mm

This was one of the views I really had hope to capture with the clouds hugging the mountains as the day began giving it an almost mystical feel, this kind of image used the right way in the camera obscura process I have planned has the potential for some great results. 

 Tech. Details

F-stop- f/10

Expo- 250secs

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- +1 step

Focal Length- 18mm

Again clouds hanging in the valley below gives a different feel to the view, I find it a kind of nice contrast between the very hard rough bleakness of the landscape and then the softness of the cloud in the valley below. The same idea again can be seen in the photo below although added to this you get much more of the empty bleakness which is maybe not what I'll be looking for in the final images I use as I want to encourage people out into these areas not put them off.

 Tech. Details

F-stop- f/10

Expo- 250secs

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- +1 step

Focal Length- 18mm

 Tech. Details

F-stop- f/11

Expo- 400secs

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 18mm

 Tech. Details

F-stop- f/11

Expo- 320secs

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- +1 step

Focal Length- 37mm

Reflections always work as a good photo in a lot of circumstances, this one has some good points but it would have been better with a little more sun and if the cloud had cleared earlier the reflection would have been much larger. The weather unfortunately is just one of the things you have to live with in this part of the world and just roll with it.

 Tech. Details

F-stop- f/14

Expo- 500secs

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 18mm

The day I climb luck was very much on my side weather wise and when the cloud did break I was treated to the site of the Lake District spread out as far as I could see.

Tech. Details

F-stop- f/11

Expo- 250secs

ISO- 400

Expo Bias- +1 step

Focal Length- 27mm

Once you reach the top its like being on another planet with the rock covered surface all about you with nothing but the sound of the wind and the company of anyone else who's made this very rewarding climb, it might not be Everest but you still get the feeling your on the roof of the world.  

With this set of photos I aimed at capturing the scale and epic nature of the surrounding like I already said but I think its more then that which lies at the heart here, it's the freedom that being out in this kind of landscape can give you making you forget if just for a short time any problems you may have in your everyday life. One thing I find is that it always makes me relies just how powerful nature can be to form such truly breath taking landscapes. If I was to be really critical of these images I'd say the time of year that I took them has help them in that the overall feel of some of the views is a little too bleak and isn't as inviting as they would have been on a nice sunny summers day, but then on the other hand if you wanted a true impression of the Lake District then you have to be aware that its one of the wettest places in the country and it isn't the picture postcard place you can be lead to think.

Snowdon.

Snowdon has in the most case a completely different feel to it when compared with Scarfell, there's far more evidence of human activity in the landscape while at the same time feeling far more alive in some way. Part of this is down to the more late spring time that I had chance to climb it but also it down to the fact that its a much easier climb meaning there's far more people about as you head towards the summit.

 Tech. Details

F-stop- f/13

Expo- 400secs

ISO- 800

Expo Bias- +1 step

Focal Length- 18mm

 Tech. Details

F-stop- f/14

Expo- 400secs

ISO- 800

Expo Bias- +1 step

Focal Length- 30mm

Theses first two photos capture the way we as people have tried to make our homes and livings in this area with variable success, first you have the fairly modern farm do in the valley but there's also evidence to be found of the fact it isn't as easy a life to be up here as you'd think as shown in the second image with the crumbling building found on one hillside, in a way this kind of illustrates one of the issues with our national parks in that it isn't easy for the people to live here and make a good living meaning that slow more and more people are having to move away from say there family homes to find work. To me it adds to the character of the place adding some mystery to a landscape which is full of different sights.

 Tech. Details

F-stop- f/20

Expo- 1000secs

ISO- 800

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 18mm

 Tech. Details

F-stop- f/10

Expo- 250secs

ISO- 800

Expo Bias- +1 step

Focal Length- 24mm

The above two photos are a good illustration of the changing landscapes that can be found the higher you climb, if your interested in geology its one hell of a place to take in.

 Tech. Details

F-stop- f/13

Expo- 400secs

ISO- 800

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 18mm

A good photo to show how human influence has alter the landscape in the area, if you don't feel like climbing to the top of Snowdon you can always take the train which regularly runs to the cafe which can be found on the top of the mountain. What makes this a good idea is that it makes somewhere that a large amount of people might look at and say I like to see what the views like up there but I'd don't think I'd manage the walk up and down again whole accessible regardless of age or fitness.

 Tech. Details

F-stop- f/11

Expo- 320secs

ISO- 800

Expo Bias- +1 step

Focal Length- 18mm

Liked the contrast between the small rocks in the foreground in comparison with the large mountain falling away into the distance.

 Tech. Details

F-stop- f/18

Expo- 800secs

ISO- 800

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 18mm

 Tech. Details

F-stop- f/11

Expo- 400secs

ISO- 800

Expo Bias- +1 step

Focal Length- 18mm

Tech. Details

F-stop- f/14

Expo- 500secs

ISO- 800

Expo Bias- 0 steps

Focal Length- 18mm

To finish off this section I've included a collection of views from the very top and then the final photo is of back down at the bottom just again to reinforce this idea of scale and as well I wanted some photos that gave the feeling that you could just walk straight into them because these are the kind of images that I feel might work best with the approach I'll be taking later on in this assignment.

Really happy with what I've produced here because I can see the potential that most of this photos offer when it comes to the camera obsura effect I'm looking at using and hopeful a fair amount of juxtaposition between the two images when combined, of course the difficulty will be finding a indoor/everyday kind of view that I can put one of the above images into but then it wouldn't be as original an idea if it was easy.