Had a quick visit to Fountains Abbey again to try another view of the Cellarium. Used a 10-20 mm lens to really capture as much of the space as possible and set up with a tripod, small aperture and a lot of patience.
The Cellarium once again. This begged for monochrome and an increase in contrast. I really like this one.
After the serious stuff was out of the way, I had a bit of fun with my youngest daughter. She stood in a position for about 12 seconds before moving to a new position. The shot below was the only one we got without anybody else walking across.
The Cellarium with an ethereal presence.
A fun couple of hours on an overcast and rainy day.
Thirty minutes from home in the opposite direction of Fountains Abbey is Bolton Abbey, located near Skipton, in the Yorkshire Dales. The Abbey ruins sit in a large estate that stretches along the River Wharfe and not only has the Abbey ruins, but there are plenty of walks along the river. Part of the Abbey remains intact and is used as a parish church.
Bolton Abbey and Parish Church
Bolton Abbey is a place I’ve been to several times and despite having a specific couple of shots in mind when I go, I’ve yet to make the shot. On this occasion, a bright sun in a clear sky made it impossible to capture. However, a sunny day in late October is nothing to be sniffed at, especially in this part of the world, so it was a case of just enjoying the day and thinking of something different. The shot below was the result of trying to find a different view, and I only took the one. When reviewing it on the LCD I was hardly impressed, but after fiddling with it in Nikon View, it has grown on me.
Bolton Abbey, this time with the sun behind me
On this occasion, the ruins were a bit of a bust, but a walk to the Strid more than made up for it. The Strid is a narrow, rocky passage in the River Wharfe that forces the water through at breakneck speed. In the rain it can be quite treacherous (sadly, there were flowers laid by a tree stump near the rocks as a reminder that people have died there before.)
Not the Strid, but a miniature waterfall captured on the way to the Strid
Thankfully, the rocks were dry so there was an opportunity to set up a tripod and capture the water. This is one of those places where I can spend an age taking picture after picture and just enjoying the scenery.
The Strid
On this occasion, failing to capture the two shots I’ve been after for the last 9 years was more than compensated for by a fantastic day out in the rare October sunshine, plus some nice shots I hadn’t planned on. Besides, that’s why rule 19 is go back. The more I go back, the more likely I am to get the shots, and I may just bag some I wasn’t expecting to, just like yesterday.
When I read that rule back to myself, my first thought is Cartier Bresson’s famous line about the decisive moment. Personally, I’ve never subscribed to that school of thought. There are, after all, many decisive moments. I do get what he’s trying to say though, and some moments are better than others.
My rule has a broader application. For example, take the photo below…
This is a shot of Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire, taken earlier today – a gorgeous sunny day with crisp October air.
This is a shot I’ve tried to capture three times now. Each time is a little disappointing, but this is the view of the Abbey I like the best. Only trouble is, no matter what I tried, there was no getting away from that sun shining brightly in the sky. (This was actually one of the best of the bunch!)
This is where timing comes in. This was shot in the early afternoon, so the sun was high in the sky. If I’d have shot this earlier in the day, then it might not have been such a problem. Having said that, Bolton Abbey is close by so I have that luxury, but sometimes you don’t and you have to make the best of the hand you’re dealt, like today, but today was about more than just the Abbey. More of that later.
WeavingLight 