Well this last few months hasn’t been great at for me on a personal level but I’ve kept on going out with the camera whenever I have been able to. Not that I’m going all woe is me on this blog but I did test positive for Covid the week before Christmas. That means for the first time in 59 years I was alone on Christmas Day. Not the best way to spend Christmas but needs must.
I think its fair to say that I was chomping at the bit to get out with the camera again and one the all clear came from the two negative LFT and the phone call from NHS Track and Trace I was off out with my new Sony A7iv. Where to go though? As per usual I set off looking for a place that has relatively easy access but gets some height. The Roaches is the place I headed to, in South Staffordshire, but still within the Peak District National Park.
As I drove out to the location I decided that I wanted to get a few images of the run down old building that sits in-between both sets of gritstone outcrops (the Roaches and Hen Cloud). The weather wasn’t brilliant but the rain did hold off long enough for me to get a few images from a few different angles. I quite like the moody sky behind this image but sadly there wasn’t much by way of foreground interest so I had to settle for the grasses. The Sony A7IV has a 33 megapixel sensor and that produces bigger raw files that have a slightly better resolution than the A7 iii. This image was taken with the Sony 16 to 35 f4 G lens (Zeis), with a 3 stop graduated filter and a Circular polariser.
The land slopes away at this location and the ground is very undulating, and you have to be careful as you move around carrying a camera mounted on a tripod. I wanted to try to capture an image of some of the building but also the view back down the valley towards Tittiesworth Reservoir. The sun did try to make an appearance for this image and some minor editing in Lightroom brought out the colour and moodiness in the sky quite well.
I did walk around quite a bit after taking the shots of the old building looking for some decent shots to take. Whilst I did get the camera out a few times I’m not happy with the images I took, there will have to be a visit back to this location on another day without so many people being around to get in the way.
I did spot this third scene though as I walked back down from the trig point. what caught my eye was the lovely light that was being cast onto the grit edge in front of me. This image catches that light really well, but the subject matter isn’t the best, but its amazing what some good light can do for a scene. This image as again shot on the Sony 16 to 55 f4 G lens, with the 3 stop grad filter and circular polariser.
I have to say that the virus has taken more out of me than I realised as I was quite tired as I scaled back down through the gritstone’s back to the car park. Thankfully the tea room was still open and serving well earned breakfast brunch and coffee. I enjoyed being back out with the camera even if I didn’t get my best ever shots.