Well 2021 has started just as 2020 ended, with lockdown and more inclement weather. This means that my adventures have been restricted in terms of location, but like last time I’m determined to get out and about and find some interesting images. Its fair to say we have had a bit of rubbish weather and that has led to me being able to get a few good images that wouldn’t otherwise be the case. Storm Christop came through Greater Manchester with vengeance last week and we had a terrific amount of rain followed by snow. Not that I could play golf anyway but my course (Withington GC) is on the flood plain and the Environment Agency served notice that they would be needing to flood the course to protect houses, which I agree with. The river levels haven’t been this high since 1968. More on this topic in the next few posts.
The lockdown is really impacting on folk and not being able to meet up with my girlfriend Tracey is really difficult, thank god for technology. We are able to keep in touch and regularly use video technology to see each other and talk about things we would otherwise do when we are together. You’ve probably noticed a lot of my recent posts are on walks in new places and its thanks to Tracey for showing me lots of the locations. The lockdown easing will come soon and we can get out and walk together, even if the pubs and restaurants aren’t open. You will see the result of these walks if you are a regular reader of my blog.
Abney Hall Country Park
I’ve been complaining, in my head, that this lockdown has restricted my photography (first world problems I know) but in reality this is only about locations to visit. There are lots of interesting things to photograph within easy walking distance of my house. One such place is Abney Hall Country Park, sandwiched between the M60 and Cheadle, it is a great place to get out and about.
The Trees
The good thing about Abney Hall is that it has a mix of things, open fields, ponds, loads of trees and a plenty of paths to walk. The cold snap has made the ponds quite icy and this first image caught my eye. It looks like this tree branch is trying to get to the water, its not snapped in any way, and I thought it looked quite effective just touching the thin ice.
I’ve started to carry my Sony A6600 with me on my walks as this is more lightweight than my full kit but it gives me image quality that is really very good, and if I do find something that I really like I will go back with my full kit. For these lockdown walks its my A6600 (with a 16 to 55 f2.8 G Lens) and my small travel tripod. My full kit has a Lee filters system within it and I really like the results I get with that but I wanted to try something a little more portable and decided a variable ND filter was required. It was my birthday in November and my son bought me Gobe variable ND Filter, it needed a road test. My intention when going out was to take an image of the small waterfall in Abney Hall grounds, and I headed there first to see how much water was running through the waterfall.
The waterfall
This small waterfall is nothing compared to some but I let it would provide a good test for my new filter system and this would be the first image with it on my A6600. It’s quite a popular spot this as its actually on one of the main paths through, but thankfully most folk realised what I was doing and either waited behind me or walked on. I’m quite pleased with the result of this but I think I will need to invest in another filter that has more stops (the amount of light it lets through it) so I can slow the shutter speed right down and get an even more creamy look.Having said all of that I am actually quite pleased with the results.
Where does this go?
I’m not sure why I’m always drawn to this boardwalk but time and again I find myself either walking along it or stood at the ends of it staring at the lines that it possesses. On reflection that’s exactly why, it has great lines and lots of story telling potential. There will be more of this in future i’m sure.
Abney in the Snow
I woke up yesterday morning to another dusting of snow, and as I sat there eating my breakfast I hatched another plot to go wander around Abney Hall but this time get a few shots of the place covered in snow. As I ventured out the snow started to come down quite heavily but I didn’t care I really felt like I would get a very different perspective on the Country Park bathed in snow.
We do get snow in Stockport
The council have done some improvement work at the main roundabout that connects the M60 with the main roads through to Cheadle and my side of Stockport. This image was taken from the footbridge that is over the motorway and has been in place for years. I don’t normally bother now I use the walkways created as part of the improvement work but I though there might be a good shot of the slip road bathed in snow. I think you’ll agree that the shallow depth of field on this image gives it more of a story than just a shot of the carriageway. I like this.
Seat with a view
I worked my way along the path that sits next to the motorway slip road and this leads to this viewing area. I’m fascinated by the location of benches such as this, you can see all over the park from here, and this is a fitting remembrance of a regular visitor to the park. This image shows the Bech without any bum prints on it as well as you can clearly see the snow fall. I have to say have quite a few images of benches in my collection.
Wheres Bigfoot?
Just down a flight of steps from the bench is one end of the boardwalk. You can see here that there had been a few folk who had ventured across it before I was able to snap the shot, but I like the footsteps, it adds to the story. This image has had a small amount of post production and this version of it is a black and white preset in Lightroom. It’s a bit of an experiment for me, i’me never really sure what looks good in B&W but this does somehow work as a B&W image.
Siberia?
The eagle eyed of you will spot the bottom of this image in the last boardwalk shot (bottom left). I literally walked about 10 feet and my eye was drawn to this scene. The mix of the ice, the snow and the shape of the pond attracted me to this. There is a little bit of snow on the lens here but I think that adds to the effect of a cold wet day. I like this image.
Christmas Tree anyone?
The story of my walk continues with this image, again its very close to the previous one, maybe 20 yards along this time. I love this image, the snow on the branches and the very dessolate feel all adds up to a great image. The snow was really starting to come down heavy but I didn’t care. I knew that I had taken some great photographs and the snow was adding that bit extra to all of them. This was all within a quarter of a mile of my house. I really could be anywhere if you allowed your imagination to wonder.
Weeds, or plants?
I was on a roll. This next image is again not far from the last one and really captures the weather conditions. The ice surrounding the weeds, the snow falling rather heavily and assorted branches in the ice all add up to another different image from the ones I normally take. I like this a lot.
The River Mersey
I’ve had quite a few walks along the River Mersey of late. The River Mersey actually starts in Stockport town centre, who knew! I wanted to set out the variable ND filter again and remembered that there is a great old railway bridge over the Mersey not far out of Stockport town centre. Off I went with my walk around kit and I was soon stood looking across the river at the old bridge. The river really was flowing quite quickly (this is the week before the floods). So this would lend itself to a slow shutter speed (long exposure) image.
The Old Bridge
I’m really not sure how long this bridge has been here and at what point it carried the railway over the river. What I do know is that it makes a great image. The overgrowing foliage and the colouration of the bricks all add to the image. I like this. The ND filter enabled me to slow the shutter down sufficiently to get a smooth (ish) surface. This again will be a location for a future visits, maybe at different times of day or night or seasons.
How high is that?
This image, believe it or not, is the week before the flooding but as you can see the river is quite high. This group of trees always catch my eye as you walk along this section of the river. Its a group of trees that (more or less) has separation from the trees behind it, but makes for a great subject. The angry sky in the background should have given me the clue of what was to come later that week.
Footie anyone?
This image was taken on Friday this last week, and shows the amount of water that was taken out of the river mersey by the Environment Agency to protect the surrounding areas. This scene is replicated all along the mersey at various points but I think this is a price to pay to protect houses. It will take quite a while for this water level to recede, but hopefully it won’t ruin the playing fields too much.
The Evening after the floods
This last image is taken maybe 100 yards from the last one and you can clearly see the level of the river and the sense of how quickly the water is flowing under the bridge. I like this image it captures the late afternoon sunlight on its way down and its perfectly reflected in the water of the river under the bridge. No filters on this image, just a touch of post processing in Lightroom.
I hope you enjoy this collection of images and the story of my walks around my local area through some inclement weather. Let me know by leaving some feedback.