13 October 2012

Overstones

Yesterday afternoon. Driving home from a ramble near Tideswell. I decided to take the back road from Hathersage which would lead me past Stanage Edge and across Burbage Moor. Weatherwise, it had been an odd afternoon with a mixture of scudding clouds and crystal clear October sunshine. At one point, my face had even been lashed by very fine hailstones as I followed the path to Pittlesmere Lane from the Bronze Age burial site on Tideslow.

I have photographed Overstones Farm before - like many Peak District visitors- for it is located in a popular walking area just three miles west of Sheffield.. It sits beneath the exposed millstone grit escarpment of Stanage Edge which nowadays is much frequented by rock climbers in Ford Fiestas. In the past, it was used as a quarry for millstones and you can still find many discarded or broken millstones beneath the two mile long edge.

I pulled in to a passing place, watching the angry raincloud swirling eastwards like smoke from a forest fire. Waiting by the drystone wall with camera at the ready, I hoped there'd be a moment when sunlight would  theatrically illuminate the farm buildings against a shadowy background of cloud and jagged millstone and then it happened... I am rather pleased with the result. What do you think? There was also this "landscape" version which you can enlarge by clicking on it:-

10 comments:

  1. Breathtaking photo. Just shows the difference a little patience coupled with vision can make.

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  2. HIPPO Precisely. I could have just driven on by. Thank you.

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  3. The photo could have been improved if you had placed some Real Yorkshire Pudding in the foreground...

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  4. Dramatic sky and sunlight, you can't beat. Has your camera got an HDR setting? I haven't tried it much myself, but High Dynamic Range is supposed to be excellent in these situation. It takes one photo with the automatic reading and two or more with readings either side. You can then merge them to get the best readings for both sky and foreground.

    Like I said, I haven't really tried this myself and I'm waiting for the right opportunity.

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  5. HIPPO Or perhaps I could have photo-shopped the picture so that instead of a farm you see a massive Yorkshire pudding just sitting there. With a caption below - "Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Real Yorkshire Puddings (by appointment to King Hippo I of Angola)
    SHOOTING PARROTS I am sure that I am not clever enough to try anything like that. What you're talking about IS rocket science!

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  6. Outstanding photo. What a terrific sky, so angry. Glad you waited ...and glad that sun did just the right thing.
    Cheers
    PS. You've proved that outstanding photos CAN be taken without cheating with PhotoShop - I hate the way people doctor their photos these days

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  7. My favorite kind of sky! I've missed so many photos like that, I'm glad the force was with you.

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  8. HELEN Thank you. Yes. This picture was not doctored. It is a faithful representation of what I saw as I drove home.
    JAN BLAWAT So many timer I have seen wonderful pictures but without a camera to verify my observation. On Friday afternoon, the camera almost shook in my hands as I snapped what I believed to be such an awesome sight with such an angry sky.

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  9. Yes, that sort of loghting makes for dramatic photo YP. Well done - Dave

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Mr Pudding welcomes all genuine comments - even those with which he disagrees. However, puerile or abusive comments from anonymous contributors will continue to be given the short shrift they deserve. Any spam comments that get through Google/Blogger defences will also be quickly deleted.

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