Borrowdale, Cumbria

[KMRennie]

Today was sunshine and showers, not unusual in Cumbria in what passes for a summer. The heather is out but a little straggly. It looks much nicer on the managed grouse moors where it is fresh and all the same age and height but no shooting in the National Park so this is the look that you get. Ken

[NancyP]

Beautiful!

[Leszek Piotrowski]

Wonderful,  I once had a image in mind,.. similar to this in Hawaii,... but... no way did I capture a similar scene as nice as you did.

Thanks for sharing.

[farbschlurf]

Very nice view. Good capture. I guess you darkened the clouds. Maybe a bit too much? Matter of taste. This way it's dramatic, for sure.

[Jeremy Roussak]

Lovely scene, but I agree that the clouds are perhaps a little more dramatic than necessary.

Jeremy

[Paulo Bizarro]

Very pretty.

[Chairman Bill]

Nice shot and I've certainly seen clouds that dark in the Lake District, but the tiny bit of blue sky gives away the fact that you have darkened the sky quite a bit. It doesn't quite fit with the lighting conditions generally. Ease up a little on that bit and I think it would be a cracker, well worthy of being printed and hung on the wall.

[francois]

I like it very much, especially the composition but I also find the sky to be too dark (it doesn't ruin the photo, though).

[KMRennie]

Thanks for the comments, they always help. Note to self again "do not process shots on laptop".  Bill only 1/2 stop ND grad in photoshop applied to sky but this was on top of soft 2 stop real ND grad and polariser. I had however applied a very strong vignette to the very top of the sky. I have also brightened the entire thing making it look a little less dramatic but much more believable ( to my eyes). Ken

[francois]

I prefer this last version and as you say, it's more credible.

[luxborealis]

Spectacular day, location, seeing and finished photograph. I hope, for your sake, it was one of those "Zen" moments, when all the elements are in alignment, and all is well with the world, because that's the way it looks from here. Oh to be photographing in England again!

[Chairman Bill]

The second one is a considerable improvement all round. Of course, it does remind me that I've been away from the fells for too long.

[KMRennie]

Almost everything was well with the world apart from discovering that I had forgotten to bring a lens cleaning cloth with me and clearing rain spots from lenses and filters took a bit of ingenuity and patience as I used a rocket blower to chase the water spots to the edge. I had gone down to Borrowdale to see if the heather was good this year and to try out my new Acratech ball head as a panorama head and see if I needed to buy a nodal rail. An inverted Acratech GPS is magic for levelling camera prior to taking panoramas. I Need to try much closer objects to see if a Nodal Rail is needed.
Chocolate box shot looking North with Derwentwater and Skiddaw in the distance. An odd micro climate thing was happening with blue sky to the North of this little hill (Kings How 1286ft) whilst to the South large black clouds were still piling up. Ken

[Chairman Bill]

Nowt wrong with chocolate box shots like that one

[Krug]

I do wish, Mr Rennie, that you would stop posting these wonderful shots of the northern British countryside ! They induce in me strong feelings of sentiment and longings for 'home' which are distinctly uncomfortable ! My wife attempts to counter your influence by reminding me that things will have changed in the nearing twenty years since we came to live near children and grandchildren here in Ontario, Canada, and the stupidity of the Brexit vote would take some getting over but your images show an unchanging Britain that might well cancel out other factors for me. So stop doing this to me ... but for goodness sake take no notice of that and keep posting them, please.

[KMRennie]

John I tend to portray only the nicer things. Lots of what is good in Britain is still here but Brexit and the "debate" about it has legitimised lots of views and encouraged people to air them and the tolerance that was a national characteristic has slipped a little. Another 2 panoramas from either side of the Borrowdale dark devide. Ken

[francois]

The whole set is exceptional… Now, I can go to bed and dream.
Thanks!

[Christopher Sanderson]

I do wish, Mr Rennie, that you would stop posting these wonderful shots of the northern British countryside ! They induce in me strong feelings of sentiment and longings for 'home' which are distinctly uncomfortable ! My wife attempts to counter your influence by reminding me that things will have changed in the nearing twenty years since we came to live near children and grandchildren here in Ontario, Canada, and the stupidity of the Brexit vote would take some getting over but your images show an unchanging Britain that might well cancel out other factors for me. So stop doing this to me ... but for goodness sake take no notice of that and keep posting them, please.

It's been fifty years for me and the effect is the same! We must look, admire and sigh.
@KMRennie Wonderful pictures - thank you so much for posting.

[john beardsworth]

An odd micro climate thing was happening with blue sky to the North of this little hill (Kings How 1286ft) whilst to the South large black clouds were still piling up. Ken

Odd? Our house is in that village and that's normal for Borrowdale! Sadly someone else is staying this month so no heather for me this year, but do try Dock Tarn. Last year it was astonishing there, but warm and hazy. Better weather this year!

[KMRennie]

Thanks for that John. I will try Dock Tarn Tuesday looks like sunny intervals with good visibilty. The walk from Watendlath Tarn should be nice and. Coming down the path to the North of Kings How was extremely slippy so I don't fancy walking up and down from Borrowdale. Ken