During the final moments of 2023, I thought it would be nice to reminisce on the highs and lows of landscape photography. I won’t beat around the bush. 2023 has been absolutely incredible. I have had the privilege of meeting many like-minded people and have made some great friends along the way. I was also extremely fortunate to experience some of the best conditions for landscape photography you could ever hope for. Yes, 2023 was also full of challenges and unique frustrations, but what’s life without challenges?
Sitting here with a cuppa, it’s a little surreal thinking back through all of the great experiences that 2023 delivered. If I could, I’d write a little about each one, but I feel like I’d only get carried away, and this blog post would quickly turn into a dissertation! With that in mind, I’ll keep it relatively short. Here are my most memorable landscape photography moments of 2023 and my plans for 2024.
Before I start, however, I wish you all a very Happy New Year and all the best for 2024!
Caught Off Guard, The Lake District Snow Storm
First and foremost, I can’t not mention the Lake District Snow Storm of December 2nd. It was by far one of the most memorable events of 2023 for a range of reasons. In general, 2023 seemed to be a year of curveballs, and December 2nd was no different.
Now, I won’t go into too much detail about what happened and why. I discussed this in greater detail in my previous blog post, which you can read about here. Instead, I want to focus on why this moment was one of my favourite events of 2023.
Simplified Landscapes Are So Beautiful!
I’m no stranger to the varied weather in the Lake District. I’ve enjoyed days in the fells in all weathers (although sometimes the word enjoyed could be used loosely!). Dynamic weather is one of the magical pulls of the Lake District. You truly never know what you are going to get. Of course, you should always do your weather checks in advance, but remember that sometimes the Lake District does what it wants when it wants!
The Lake District is globally renowned for its remarkable beauty, miles upon miles of staggering scenery and landscapes. It is this very aspect that makes the Lake District so photogenic. However, as the snow began to fall thick and fast, the landscape as I knew it started to fade away. A thick blanket of powder snow transformed the vast fields of wild grasses, dormant trees, and slumbering mountainous bracken and heather. The onslaught of heavy snow significantly reduced visibility. The iconic mountains that usually stand guard over the landscape were nowhere to be seen. Instead, they were subdued by the whiteout conditions.
It was the first time I had ever seen snow of that magnitude at ground level in the Lake District. All I can say is wow, it was beautiful to witness! The snowfall had simplified the landscape, and I had the privilege of seeing the southern Lakes in a new light. My eyes were immediately drawn to areas I never would have considered otherwise. Lone trees that typically stood in scenes too chaotic to photograph became beautifully photogenic. Iconic Herdwick Sheep explored their new environment, foraging through the snow-covered fields. There were new compositions everywhere, and looking back, my only wish would have been more time to enjoy the unique conditions.
Valuable Lessons Learned
In hindsight, I honestly feel like I didn’t do the conditions justice. I spent most of the time in awe at how incredible the surroundings looked when covered in a dense coating of snow. However, that didn’t stop me from walking away with some valuable lessons which will hopefully help me improve for the future.
Firstly, no matter how much you prepare, there’s always a spanner in the works. For instance, I always carry a drying cloth but in this case, one wasn’t enough! It was thoroughly soaking wet within the first hour or so. Also, in my eagerness to make the most of the conditions, I forgot to make use of my camera rain sleeves. Yes, my camera is weather-sealed sealed but this doesn’t stop condensation seeping into your camera body and lenses. If this happens, it’s pretty much game over for the day. Luckily, this wasn’t an issue this time around.
Secondly, and perhaps the most worrying issue I ran into, moisture had somehow found its way into my mobile phone’s charging port. This became more of a panic as the remaining battery began to decrease. Even though I was well prepared and had an emergency power bank in my bag, I could not charge my phone via the cable due to the moisture in the charging port. Fortunately, I was at ground level and not high in the mountains, so this wasn’t as much of a panic as it could have been. That said, it was a valuable lesson learned and something I immediately addressed on my return home.
All in all, a fantastic experience and I am privileged to have had the opportunity to witness this rare event. Even though I feel I didn’t make the most of the conditions in terms of landscape photography, sometimes it’s nice simply being outdoors and soaking up the atmosphere.
The No-Show Northern Lights
For my next memorable event of 2023, let’s head back to April. Looking back, April was jam-packed with exciting astrological and meteorological events, perfect for landscape photography. We had the Lyrids meteor shower, which is always a beautiful sight to behold, and we also had multiple opportunities to catch the Northern Lights. Despite my best efforts, to this day, I have yet to see and experience the Northern Lights.
On the 24th of April 2023, I got an event ping on my mobile phone for a red alert for the Northern Lights. For anyone who doesn’t know, AurouraWatch UK uses a colour-coded scale of red, amber, yellow, and green. The colour-coded scale is used to determine the extent to which the Northern Lights may or may not be visible at a specific point in time. A red alert is the highest alert and infers there’s a strong chance the Northern Lights will be visible to the naked eye. This specific event ping forecasted that the Northern Lights would be visible across most of the UK.
You can read more about the Northern Lights warnings via AuroraWatch UK’s website which I have linked here.
If In Doubt, Blea Tarn
With this in mind, I quickly gathered my camera equipment and headed to Blea Tarn in the Lake District around 11 pm. When I arrived at the shoreline of Blea Tarn, I remember being relieved seeing other landscape photographers eagerly waiting to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights. The forecast predicted a midnight event, so I set up my camera with a classic shot of Blea Tarn looking north towards the Langdale Pikes and waited patiently. It was bitterly cold, and as I stood waiting, my camera bag began to freeze. The clock hit midnight and there was no sign of the Northern Lights. By this point, many of the other photographers had packed up and left. I decided to persevere and gave it another hour. It was after all a beautiful night, despite the sharp chill.
An hour eventually passed, and I’m not going to lie. I was defeated. I was so excited about the possibility of finally seeing the Northern Lights that I didn’t consider a no-show. After packing up my camera equipment, I dragged myself back to the car. I remember sitting in the driver’s seat bitterly disappointed and ready to head home. Heading through Windermere I pulled over for a minute. No idea why, I can’t explain it. I decided I wasn’t going to go home defeated and headed to Elterwater to catch the sunrise.
Landscape Photography’s Silver Lining, The River Brathay
Arriving at Elterwater, I decided I would head along the River Brathay at first light to make the most of the frosty conditions. The grasses along the River Brathay look incredibly beautiful when covered in ground frost. I also love the crunchy sound of walking through frozen leaves and grasses. After killing a few hours, making a cup of tea and breakfast with my Jetboil, I headed along the path to the all too familiar River Brathay. As I got closer and closer to the iconic landscape photography location, I began to notice the mist. It was picturesque, with beautiful ground frost, the breathtaking backdrop of the iconic Oak trees, and a stunning blanket of mist caressing the river and wafting around the surrounding landscape.
What a consolation prize! I had been utterly disappointed by the no-show Northern Lights, but that was quickly forgotten by the scenery I had in front of me later that morning. The last frost of the season had delivered a spectacular scene.
Writing this and looking back, I am mindful that quite a few of my most memorable photographs are from the same location. Whilst this isn’t a bad thing in itself (the River Brathay is a breathtakingly beautiful location), it’s something which I will talk about towards the end of this blog post in my plans for 2024.
Autumn Excelled And Delivered Spectacular Colours
Finally, we have autumn. What can I say? I absolutely love autumn, as I’m sure most of you do too. It is my favourite season by far. My only complaint is that I wish it lasted longer, but then, that’s what makes it great! The relatively short window of peak autumnal colour makes you appreciate it all that bit more.
Fantastic Colours For Landscape Photography
Autumn didn’t have a chance to shine over the past few years. Instead, poorly timed storms and drab weather seemed to dominate. This year, however, autumn was so beautiful, and dare I say it, one of the best I have seen in a long time!
I carried so much excitement through autumn, so much so that I ventured out on multiple occasions well in advance of autumn beginning to take hold. I have so many incredible memories from autumn. From mindblowing temperature inversions to beautiful sunrises and a sea of vibrant colours. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I have been incredibly fortunate to experience some of the most amazing conditions I could have hoped for.
Loughrigg Fell’s Dreamlike Temperature Inversion
Again, this is something which I covered in more detail in a previous blog post but without a doubt, it belongs here in my most memorable events of 2023.
Loughrigg Fell is an iconic mountain with beautiful vista views, perfect for landscape photography. As I’m sure most of you have, I’ve been up Loughrigg Fell countless times and always walk away with unique experiences. On this specific occasion, it was extra special. I always plan my trips around potentially photogenic weather opportunities. By this, I mean a strong chance of seeing a sunrise, dynamic conditions that produce rainbows, and temperature inversions. I had planned a trip to Loughrigg Fell based on the forecast of a potentially fantastic sunrise opportunity. When I arrived in Great Langdale and headed past Langdale YHA towards the beginning of the ascent, it began to rain heavily. At the time, I remember being annoyed and considering calling off the trip. But then I remembered it’s the Lake District, and the weather does what it wants when it wants!
I went with my gut instinct. I decided to carry on towards the summit of Loughrigg Fell. As blue hour crept in, the rain began to ease. From the summit trig point of Loughrigg Fell, it was there that I first noticed the whispy white mist accumulating in the surrounding valleys. A temperature inversion! None of what I saw even remotely matched the weather forecast for that morning. As blue hour progressed and transitioned to golden hour, the beautiful white cloud fully engulfed the landscape surrounding Loughrigg Fell. It’s something else to witness a temperature inversion but this one was different. It caught me well and truly by surprise and it was the best example of a temperature inversion I had ever seen.
I managed to pick out some stunning features during openings in the cloud. That being said, it was an incredibly tricky morning of photography. High-level clouds continued to deliver heavy rain, making it tricky to capture the beautiful conditions around me.
Peak Autumn, Landscape Photography At Derwentwater
I chose to spend peak autumn around the beautiful Lake District town of Keswick. Peak autumn was a little later than usual this year, arriving just before the middle of November. That being said, I found that most of the seasonal events throughout 2023 arrived later than usual. A sign of changing seasons, perhaps? Anyway, Derwentwater was the location of choice. Derwentwater is a popular location for landscape photography, with iconic views of Catbells and Skiddaw and several other well-known mountains.
On the morning of November 11th, I walked around the shore of Derwentwater, hoping to capture some unique scenes at their best. However, as I walked past Crow Park, the conditions looked beautiful. Even in the dark, the mist could be seen gliding across the lake, and the low-level cloud was visible against the dark blue hues of blue hour. Crow Park is a honeypot location. But for good reason! From this viewpoint, you have a stunning view across the lake towards Derwent Island, with a beautiful backdrop of the iconic mountain Catbells.
Just look at those colours! This was an exceptional morning to end an exceptional autumn. What a year! Also as the mist began to clear behind me, it became apparent that during that same morning, Skiddaw had its first dusting of snow near its peak.
I’ll end this section with a couple more photographs from a truly beautiful autumn.
The above photograph was captured around the bank of Yew Tree Tarn. Yew Tree Tarn is a stunning location that doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
A beautiful sun star captured amongst the dense autumnal foliage along the shore of Derwentwater, Keswick.
My Plans For Landscape Photography in 2024
And there we have it! So many memories and not enough time to talk about them all in the detail that I would like to. Over the past few weeks, the weather hasn’t been great, so I have had a lot of time to consider my landscape photography plans for 2024. With that said, here are my goals for 2024.
My Focus Will Be On Unique Scenes
First and foremost, a noticeable chunk of my landscape photography this year has come from well-known locations. Not necessarily a bad thing in itself, but I love the sense of adventure, not knowing what to expect, and I feel like I lost that throughout 2023. With that in mind, my number one priority is to win back the sense of adventure and to deliver unique landscape photographs to the best of my ability.
Throughout 2024, I am making it my primary goal to visit new locations. I truly love the Lake District, and a lot of my time will no doubt be spent exploring the beautiful National Park further. However, I would also like to extend my reach to Snowdonia and Scotland.
Potential Transition To A Mirrorless Camera System
I have taken a back seat for a long time now, watching how mirrorless technology evolved. At first, I will admit I was sceptical. I didn’t think anything would ever make me consider changing from my DSLR system. However, mirrorless technology has rapidly evolved. Mirrorless camera technology is now dominant within the marketplace, and the technological benefits are too significant to ignore. At some point during 2024, I would like to try a few mirrorless camera systems with the plan of converting to mirrorless. I have used Canon camera systems throughout my love for photography. However, given that a conversion from DSLR to mirrorless would effectively be starting from scratch, I wouldn’t be against trying camera systems of other brands.
The considerations I will be making will be based on weight (I do a lot of hiking with equipment), overall features, and most importantly the feel of the camera in hand. It sounds silly but a camera may be perfect on paper but if it doesn’t feel great in your hand, it’s a no-go.
Commitment To Continuous Learning
I’m never happy unless I feel like I am learning and developing new skills. Continuous development keeps us at the top of our game. It’s more of a lifelong goal for me. However, throughout 2024, I will continue to focus on self-improvement. Whether it is improving my landscape photography skills, editing skills or life skills in general, I hope to come out of 2024 a better version of myself.
I would also love to pass on my knowledge to anyone looking to enter the world of landscape photography. So if you’re reading this and you’re relatively new to landscape photography but would love to know more, feel free to get in touch!
Signing Out Of 2023
And that’s a wrap. If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading as always! I hope you have a fantastic New Year and I look forward to seeing what 2024 brings.
If there’s anything you have read in this blog post that you would like to know more about, please feel free to contact me.
Happy New Year everyone!