Ribblehead Viaduct – What A Place

Happy new year everyone. This is the first post of the new year, and the photography is from January 2023.

I’ve been looking for a new location, and wanted a trip out, having spent the last few days of 2022 in the house. Yes i know this is a ”honeypot” location and one that you can find with a quick search on Instragram. I wanted my own version of this location and i have to say i think i’ve nailed it. Well i’ve had a print done of one of these images and its being framed as we speak.

I decided to take the quicker route and drove up the M6 to the Kirkby Lonsdale turnoff and then headed towards Ingleton on the A roads. I mis judged the travel time and also ended up in one of the local farms……..i should know if it doesn’t feel right don’t just blindly follow the sat nav!!!! Eventually I found the layby beside the viaduct, and got ready for a morning of photography.

As you come off the road there are a few routes towards the viaduct all of which had quite a few folk walking along them…..patience I told myself.

As i waited for the people to head off up onto the paths up towards Whernside and one of the Yorkshire 3 peaks, the image above caught my eye. I like the light in this image and the contrast through the image. The path is an obvious leading line but i like the simplicity of this image. The path, and the viaduct, the light…….simple.

The light was quite harsh as i stood looking for the composition in this location. You can have all the fancy gear you want but a well placed hand just out of frame can work wonders. My hand helped keep the light off the lens and keep the image clean. I’m always surprised (but shouldn’t be) how nice walkers and hikers are. Several people stopped for a chat as I was framing this shot up. Thanks to all who had a little chat, it means alot when i’m out on my own. The raw image has the foreground in shadow but its testament to the dynamic range of my Sony Alpha 7IV, that there is lots of detail ro recovery in the shadows.

I wanted to try to get some interesting foreground in an image, and my research told me that around and about there are limestone rocks dotted around across this location. A quick scan of the area and i spotted quite a few areas that looked promising for some Limestone foreground.

I have to say i’m really pleased with this image. This was the third location I tried and photographed, all quite similar. I wanted the foreground rocks to lead the eye through towards the vaiduct. I also wanted to be able to see through the arches of the viaduct, to the hills beyond. I think i have achieved what i set out to do with this image. The icing on the cake is the wonderful light that sweeps across the scene. If you didn’t know you’d think this could be a summers day, with the lovely blue sky. This is the image i have had printed and is being framed to go on my office wall with the other images im pleased with.

All the 3 images above were taken with my Sony Alpha 7IV, with my 24 to 70 mmF2.8 GM lens.

The viaduct and railways have always been a big part of this area and there are lots of places where you can get information about the viaduct, the railway and the area. This image was taken with my iPhone 13 Pro Max, and shows some detail of the railway and the viaduct.

There are lots of walks in this area and i will most definitely be back to explore further.