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Tom Anthony Photography: Winters here!! Winter finally arrives. At last winter finally came and for me it was about time. One of the problems is when you wait and wait for the snow is driving about in to the location in which you are going to photograph. This come to light when I wanted to photograph on Higger Tor but my car was unable to get up the hill, even though it wasn’t very steep. I then went back the way I came and manage to park near Burbage edge and made the short walk to photograph this sun...
Peak District Blog Posted on Monday, 20 February 2012 10:00AM | |
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The snow capped, twin peaks of Crooke Hill near Ladybower Reservoir. Here we are, seemingly in the depths of winter and with Christmas now long forgotten, it can be hard at this time of year to appreciate what pleasures winter can bring. Although this winter has so far has mostly been wet and mild compared to the last few years, when we have seen some quite monumental snow falls, occasional cold snaps have brought frosts and the odd flurry of snow. I often think that the Peak District is seen at its best in winter....
Peak District Blog Posted on Monday, 13 February 2012 10:14AM | |
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Winter is probably my favourite season for landscape photography; yes it can be and is often freezing cold, dark, wet and miserable but we can also get some amazing light, crisp frosty mornings and flurries of snow. This year the snow has been late coming but we have had some lovely sunrises, so I’m going to share a few taken over the last few weeks. One of the nice things about winter sunrises is that you don’t have to get up in the middle of the night like you do when shooting in the summer, you can quite happily stay in bed...
Peak District Blog Posted on Wednesday, 08 February 2012 11:21AM | |
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Well, the promised snow came, and how beautiful did the Peak District look, this weekend? I was quite giddy on Saturday getting texts from friends in Hartington and Darley Dale on the progress of the snowstorm. Bogdog particularly loves the snow, and acts like a puppy still. It does play havoc with her eyebrows though as you can see! I was cuddling her the other day and my son took a photograph of the both of us. You know there is a magazine or is it a program that has been done about how pets look like their owners?...
Peak District Blog Posted on Monday, 06 February 2012 01:42PM | |
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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Gulp - I am so sorry not to have blogged sooner. I just don't know where the time has gone since the jolly hollies finished. I bet you thought the men in white coats had really taken me away - you did, didn't you? My last couple of blogs were borderline hysterical I thought -but nothing new there then - but I made it through all my work and got all my pet portraits done in time to get to the North Pole - a record 26 paintings this year. I'm still working on the aftermath - customers who ordered...
Peak District Blog Posted on Monday, 30 January 2012 02:50PM | |
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One of my least used and most favourite lens is my nikon 10.5 fisheye. For a lens which is reasonably expensive it can be very limiting but can be a very fun lens to use, on a very windy trip to Higger tor i popped the fisheye on and started scouting around but ended up taking a photo of this oddly shaped rock which must be the most photographed rock in the area, but I have never seen it taken with a fisheye, so i set my tripod up and push down on it with all my weight to stop my camera blowing away. Now one of the issues with this...
Peak District Blog Posted on Thursday, 19 January 2012 12:14PM | |
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I have always lived in Derbyshire but only recently discovered the peak district and now visit the area once or twice a week, I have lived and worked in the french and austria alps and never truly exploring my local landscapes, I always felt a bit under underwhelmed by england but when i started to take my photography more serious and visit more and more places It became very clear to me that i was very lucky to live within driving distracts to a special part of the country. I have tried out many different trypes of photography but I have...
Peak District Blog Posted on Monday, 16 January 2012 01:57PM | |
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It was early winter but to me honest it felt like autumn with the unseasonal warm weather we had. Anyway I planned a trip to Stanage Edge to capture the mist in the valley but when I arrived at this location I felt that I would get better results at this other location. I have photographed here before but it was way back when I was at college in mid-2006, during the summer months. I found it then a great location as it required no walking to a great viewpoint. I just knew that this location had to be visited again but I...
Peak District Blog Posted on Thursday, 12 January 2012 11:18AM | |
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Well, aren't we having a mild winter? As much as I hate driving in the snow as I'm sure you do, I bet like me I bet when the snow comes I bet you can't help act like a little child. Like I say though, unfortunately so far for the 2011-2012 winter season it has been quite a mild affair with very little snow what so ever. However, I did manage to catch quite a bit of snow 2 weeks in a row around the Buxton area and had a thoroughly enjoyable time around the Chrome and Parkhouse Hill area as well as on Ramshaw Rocks. One thing I have...
Peak District Blog Posted on Monday, 09 January 2012 10:23AM | |
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The Peak District, despite it's name is mainly moorland or rolling dales from gritstone escarpments of the Dark Peak to the high sided limestone craggy dales of the White Peak. So despite it's name there's not many true "Peaks" to speak of in the Peak District. There's many theories as to why it's called the Peak District with the main one being that a British tribe called the "Picts" used to live here. You might be thinking at this point I'm totally underselling the area because we don't have these huge jagged hills but ...
Peak District Blog Posted on Tuesday, 20 December 2011 05:36PM | |
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Sunrise on Loxley Common. The village of Loxley sits on the very edge of the Peak District National Park, to the west of Sheffield and now almost swallowed by urban sprawl. Loxley Common lies between the villages of Wadsley, Worrall and Loxley, near Hillsborough. Today a popular spot for dog walkers, there are few clues now left to it’s somewhat dark and grisley past. Robin Hood’s supposed birthplace on a hillock at Little Haggas Croft, lies close to Loxley Common. It is near here where outlaws...
Peak District Blog Posted on Tuesday, 20 December 2011 02:30PM | |
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It took a while but winter is finally here. I am looking forward to winter this year as I missed ALL of last year’s snow. I was coming back from a clients wedding and I got out the car with my camera equipment and fell over onto my right wrist. Thankfully my camera equipment was fine but my wrist wasn’t. I couldn’t drive or take photos for about 3 months and I had complications. Hopefully this year we won’t have as much snow but just enough where the roads are clear and the landscape is...
Peak District Blog Posted on Tuesday, 20 December 2011 02:00PM | |
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I would just like to point out right from the start that I have not had an injunction from Mr Cocker’s solicitors. I thought you would all like to know as a good friend and sparring partner of mine said at the weekend, that he was quite disturbed with my blog last week and worried I came across as a right total loony? The fact that the last time me and him had one of our intense conversations/ playful arguments, we had consumed several bottles of wine and ended up fashioning napkins on our heads, (oh yeah and so did our spouses), I...
Peak District Blog Posted on Monday, 28 November 2011 12:46PM | |
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I'm no wildlife photographer by a long stretch, I couldn't name more types of bird by sight than I have fingers on one hand. However there is just something that I have always found fascinating about the highland cattle on Baslow Edge. Whether it's because they're traditionally something seen in Scotland or that they're just so tame (in one way) they are just so striking. I had been up to Baslow Edge a couple of times and without fail they had all been munching on the grass just after Wellington's Monument. I had a couple of...
Peak District Blog Posted on Wednesday, 23 November 2011 11:25AM | |
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The holidays are coming and the goose is getting fat - and all that. Helen Clark is getting stressed and that’s predictable too. Normally I’m so laid back (?!) I go with the flow, everything is nice and easy but at this time of year my stomach is always in knots and I lay awake worrying I won’t get all the pet portraits done in time to send them to the North Pole and into Santa’s sack. I’ve already called ‘Time gentleman please’ and can’t take on any more commissions in time for Christmas day...
Peak District Blog Posted on Wednesday, 16 November 2011 11:25AM | |
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This photograph was taken on Stanton Moor, a wonderful and magic place especially when it is covered in low cloud with the sun shining through as it was on this day. It can be quite spooky up there in the early hours sometimes, with the cloud swirling round and shapes appearing through the trees. It has a fascinating history with the stone circles, the Earl Grey tower and recently the protesters fighting to stop quarrying on the moor, and thankfully they won the battle and saved this lovely area. This photograph is part of an...
Peak District Blog Posted on Monday, 31 October 2011 11:42AM | |
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What is about the school holidays that turns a mild mannered wildlife artist into a fire breathing dragon? Is it that my plastic smile has to be dusted off and put on for the umpteenth time this year? Is it the fact that I can't paint properly because it's so busy and frustration builds until I go pop? Is it because I have to cross my legs until the shop empties so I can nip out? (Probably too much information- sorry) Is it the fact that I entertained my 12 year old niece yesterday and she and my Sproglet decided to play 'Slam Attack'...
Peak District Blog Posted on Friday, 28 October 2011 10:55AM | |
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For me autumn is the best time of the year for a landscape photographer. The colours in the landscape are my favourite aspect to this season. Although in some places autumn is just starting to form (finally). The low light conditions give photographers the chance to photograph longer in the landscape. Autumn is full of vibrant colours and as a photographer its out duty to photograph them at their best. The colours can be amazing in places which give that extra something to the image. Ideal conditions ...
Peak District Blog Posted on Friday, 28 October 2011 09:57AM | |
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The start of October was fantastic but then rapidly deteriorated to dank wet and miserable weather, I was finding myself going stir crazy waiting for conditions to change to be able to go out and shoot some landscapes. Friday evening (14th) looked promising with a nice sunset followed by a rapid drop in temperature so a morning mist would be highly probable the next day, one of the nice things about shooting at this time of year is that sunrises are at a more civilised time so getting up at 6am Saturday was relatively easy. Higger...
Peak District Blog Posted on Monday, 17 October 2011 10:08AM | |
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Living in Derbyshire I feel myself lucky to be so close to lots of great landscapes and definitely don't take it for granted. However, sometimes I do forget what's closer to home and usually end up heading off into the heart of the Peak District. However, I have become a little stale with photographing the same Peak District scenes as everyone else and wanted to get some different, fresh pictures I could put my name to. So after recently purchasing a new camera I set myself on the task. I decided to shoot some scenes more local to me,...
Peak District Blog Posted on Wednesday, 12 October 2011 01:48PM | |
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This is yet another early morning shot, near Wolfscote Dale in the Peak District. The light was incredible especially with this stormy looking sky heading my way, had enough time to take some shots before the rain got to me. I feel it is so rewarding getting up early to experience light like this, and often think what people are missing still tucked up in bed!! The light and feeling of being out so early is so special and i'm sure I will never tire of it. The good thing about this time of year in early October is that you...
Peak District Blog Posted on Thursday, 06 October 2011 09:22AM | |
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This last weekend has been unseasonably warm with temperatures in the day hovering around 26 degrees then cooling off steadily through the night, ideal conditions for producing low lying mist in the bottom of the valleys and a perfect photographic opportunity. Saturdays plan therefore was to shoot the sunrise looking down over the Hope Valley. Anyone passing through the valley during the last 100 years will have been hard pressed not to notice Hope Cement works sitting on the hillside between the villages of Castleton and Bradwell....
Peak District Blog Posted on Wednesday, 05 October 2011 09:29AM | |
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Ok Ok - I might have moaned a bit too loud about it being way too busy last week at my gallery - well not moaned exactly, it was more a little panic stricken wail? But I have just taken 18 pet portrait orders - yes 18 - in two weeks - and I think that entitles me to a little squeal don't you - anyone would moan - I mean wail - wouldn't they? (You can watch them all being done, by the way, on www.flickr.com/photos/villagerhelen ) Well anyway, back to the moaning- er wailing - it's now gone very quiet - this...
Peak District Blog Posted on Monday, 03 October 2011 11:22AM | |
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The 18th Century Guide Stoop at Curbar Gap Curbar Edge and Froggatt Edge are in fact a single stretch of gritstone escarpment. It is difficult to know where one ends and the other starts. Starting from the southern end of Curbar Edge, ticketed parking is available at Curbar Gap Car Park. If you don't mind a bit of a climb, there are also a few lay by parking spaces next to the road below the edge. Before heading for the edge itself, a small detour through the gate at the eastern end of the car park will bring...
Peak District Blog Posted on Monday, 26 September 2011 11:26AM | |
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For roughly three weeks of the year, every summer starting around mid-August the Peak District comes to life with raging purple heather transforming otherwise dark, brown moors into something that looks like it could be from a child's painting. Heather can be found mainly in the Dark Peak although there's the random bits scattered in area's like Stanton Moor. It's a frantic 3 weeks for any photographer, running about trying to capture it in all it's glory mainly around sunset and even sunrise if your an early bird. The golden hours are...
Peak District Blog Posted on Monday, 26 September 2011 10:58AM | |
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A strange thing happened to me earlier this week, after I’d dropped my son off at school I decided to have a walk up onto Higger Tor with my camera, it was a nice sunny morning, a blue sky with patches of fog in the valley below, not a bad day for shooting some landscapes. Walking over the top moor towards the shelter stone a grouse flew out of the heather onto the path in front of me, now normally grouse are very timid birds and scoot off rapidly in the opposite direction but this particular bird had a serious attitude problem and...
Peak District Blog Posted on Monday, 19 September 2011 10:42AM | |
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I am like a mad woman at the moment – yes, I can hear you laughing all the way to Castelton– but more so than usual my friends. Having gone through a Summer of madness and mayhem at my Gallery in Rowsley, NOT painting and NOT sitting down for more than two minutes at a time, I am still finding there aren’t enough hours in the day to get done what I need to. I still have pet portrait orders pouring in, trying to get as many done as I can per week, and the world’s gone Christmas mad - I spoke this aloud today,...
Peak District Blog Posted on Monday, 19 September 2011 10:33AM | |
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A winter sunrise at Stanage Edge southern trig point. A summer evening on Stanage Edge. At approximately four miles long, Stanage Edge is one of the Peak District's best known and impressive locations. A walk along Stanage Edge is a journey through not only through the geology and natural history of the area but 4000 years of human history and influence. The southern section of the edge is by far the most popular, with a several nearby car parks and easy access. It is used for a multitude of recreational activities and during a...
Peak District Blog Posted on Friday, 09 September 2011 10:53AM | |
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Well hello strangers - it’s been a while. How the devil are you all? I am truly sorry not to have blogged sooner but....STOP PRESS - I haven’t actually painted anything since the middle of July – unless you count the garden shed. I could have blogged about spending my time at home, my valiant efforts in trying to prize my teenager out of his bedroom to actually walk (walk? Heaven forbid) round the 2 streets where his friend lives - rather than stay in his pit all day and talk to him via Facebook - but that...
Peak District Blog Posted on Friday, 09 September 2011 10:30AM | |
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It was approaching the end of august and I had been scheduled to do some filming for the ‘Visit Peak District’ website along with some other Destination Photography Partners. The brief was for an informal interview followed by some footage of us in action shooting the landscape. As you could probably guess when working to a set date and time the weather was far from ideal, dull leaden skies, strong winds and a fine drizzle, typical summer conditions for Derbyshire! The location was at the eastern end of Stanage chosen as it...
Peak District Blog Posted on Monday, 05 September 2011 12:04PM | |
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