My goal stepping out of the front door to embark on this trip was one of a developing annual tradition, to watch and photograph the Lyrids meteor shower. Previously, every year I had attempted this I had been defeated by the Great British weather. Cloud cover is the bane of our lives regarding astrology, particularly in the UK. You can guarantee, that if there’s an opportunity to see a rare astrological event, the weather won’t play ball.
The Beautiful Black Crag, Lake District – England
Anyway, this time around I was headed to a location I visit a lot and for good reason, very accessible whatever the weather, a short hike from the car – meaning I can bring the kitchen sink, and most importantly, absolutely stunning 360-degree views of Coniston, Windermere and further afield to the Northern Lakes. Can you guess where it is yet? That’s right, Black Crag (or Fell)! I arrived at Tarn Hows National Trust car park at around midnight and began the relatively short hike up to Black Crag, walking around the tarn before breaking off over a stile and up towards my destination via Iron Keld plantation. It wasn’t long before I was nearing the top, the only real obstacle being the Belted Galloways. I don’t know what it is but I get a bit nervous walking past these, especially this time of year when they are nursing their young. Cows aside, I had made it to the top. I approached the stile near the summit trig point and noticed it was broken, the second step from the top had broken off and the main struts on either side looked incredibly worse for wear and ready to give way. With a lot of hesitation, I hauled myself up over the stile whilst keeping as little weight on the broken section as possible. Landing on the other side unscathed, I sighed a massive relief and got myself into position, I turned off my head torch and allowed my eyes to adjust to the darkness.
The Lyrids Meteor Shower From Black Crag
The sky was clear, visibility was excellent, very little to zero haze. Eyes fully adjusted, I looked up and began to notice them – meteors streaking across the sky, presumably at massively varying distances from us as some appeared to move much more quickly across the sky than others. It must have been the excitement, at first I hadn’t noticed it. The wind was picking up, it was becoming incredibly gusty. Absolute nightmare! There wasn’t really any cover to shield my camera from the powerful gusts, and that was it – there was no chance of me getting a long exposure without suffering significant camera shake from the wind. I accepted my fate and left my camera packed away, I was disappointed but I didn’t let that ruin the night. I hopped back over the dry stone wall avoiding the broken section and found a nice spot, parking myself against it, instead opting to just admire the Lyrids with my eyes. In some ways, I enjoyed not stressing about capturing an image and just enjoying the show. I fired up the Jetboil and got a brew on the go, a brew and a view – perfect.
Blue Hour
I honestly lost track of time, before I knew it the skies had begun the transition from complete darkness to blue hour. The horizon towards Windermere and beyond becoming lighter with each passing moment. Blue hour came and it to began the transition to golden hour as the sun edged closer and closer to the horizon. I got myself together, ensured I’d left nothing behind and hopped back over the stile again now overlooking Windermere. I’d found a composition looking north that featured a dramatic view, hazy mountain ranges layering the background with the foreground consisting of a considered selection of boulders and a single patch of tall grass. A defined route led the way through the scene, off into the distance. Great, all I needed now was some golden light. Sunrise approached and the clouds all around began to show off their gorgeous hues. I fired off a few shots but I wasn’t yet content. A small band of clouds on the horizon had stopped the sun from flooding the foreground with early morning light. It felt like an eternity waiting for the sun to clear the clouds, realistically it was probably no more than a couple of minutes. What can I say, it was well worth the wait! The whole scene was flooded with stunning golden light, the grasses, the boulders, the carved trail snaking its way through the scene. Wow! I seized my moment and captured the shots I had been waiting for. I opted to cover all bases to avoid disappointment when reviewing the shots. I grabbed a couple of bracketed shots focussed to infinity and a further set of three individual shots focussed on the immediate foreground, the mid-ground, and the background – the intention being to focus stack if required. I had the biggest smile on my face when reviewing the images on the back of my camera, nailed it! For once I’d kept my composure and not ran around like a headless chicken!
As golden hour began to fade and the light became increasingly harsh and more direct, I decided to devote a bit of time exploring the area. This paid off massively, not only had I spent the night in awe watching the Lyrids and catching a stunning sunrise, but I had now discovered a couple of new scenes with massive potential. I won’t speak about these just yet, I’ll go into more detail once I revisit them in the right conditions. Anyway, below is a shot of the day from this trip, I hope you enjoy it!
