2026…English Lake District.

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A spur of the moment discussion over the phone and the decision made…Lets hit the Lake District for a couple of
nights. The weather forecast was for cold and clear. Setting off in the wee hours, after a 6hrs drive we arrived in Keswick. Below you can see a few photos of that trip.
I used the Nikon Z5ii with the following 2x lenses 24/70 f2.8 & 100/400 f4.5 to 5.6. Principally because this set up
gives very versatile focal range. Plus my handy Fuji X100vi take anywhere camera.

You may think ? Well that’s not very pretty…Yep, sure enough it is a very practical location to rest, refuel, and do
the necessary things that humans do enroute on the M6 motorway…. I could not resist the high contrast lighting.

We caught some of the last light on Derwentwater when we arrived.
Catbells on the left and Causey Pike on the right. A quick grab shot with the Fuji X100vi.

Fitz Park football pitch, Keswick.
Fuji X100vi.

Same again, different angle this time.

The Langdale Pikes.
Nikon Z5ii & 100/400 lens.

Single track road leading to Wasdale Head, Wastwater.
Fuji X100vi.

Wastwater looking towards Wasdale Head and the Cumbrian mountains.
Yewbarrow Fell is centre left, Great Gable in the centre, Scafell Pike on the right.
Nikon Z5ii & 24/70 with a 6 stop filter to smooth the water out.

Rusty old hut on the Cumbrian coast (Drigg sand dunes and beach).
Nikon Z5ii & 24/70.

This time looking at the sea.
Fuji X100vi.

Back in Keswick for some last light over Derwentwater again.
Fuji X100vi using the built in ND filter to smooth the water.

St Johns in the Vale. White farmhouse illuminated by the sun coming into the valley.
Helvellyn at the top with a dusting of snow.
Nikon Z5ii & 100/400.

Abstract boat reflection on Ullswater.
Nikon Z5ii & 100/400.

Light and shadow revealing the different layers of the fells. Ullswater area.
Nikon Z5ii & 100/400.

Green tips of the trees. Ullswater.
Nikon Z5ii & 100/400.

Blencathra, the sun revealing Sharp Edge a very popular route to the summit.
If you follow the Edge towards the summit the dark line is the path. There is a small figure just visible.
Nikon Z5ii & 100/400.

Finishing off with another shot of Derwentwater in portrait mode.
Nikon Z5ii & 24/70.

Mogshade Hill, New Forest, 31st December.

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04:00 Up, dress, coffee, grab my gear and defrost the car. Not enough petrol..Dam..Quick stop at the local BP
to fill up. 1hrs 50mins later I’m at the destination roughly 85 miles traveled. It’s pitch black when I arrive at the
carpark…I look up and the sky is clear as a bell and full of twinkling stars..But its is super cold! Coffee and then I wait for blue hour. Not quite dark and not quite sunrise…But the hint of a dawn glow.

This first shot shows a gap between the trees.
Nikon Z5ii & 24-70 f2.8 lens.

And when you follow that gap you see this view point.
Nikon Z5ii & Viltrox 14mm lens.

Frozen pond. At Mogshade Hill there is a large’ish shallow pond…The light today really didn’t make it pop.
Abstract of the frozen surface..Revealing the frozen water patterns.
Nikon Z5ii & 24-70 f2.8 lens.

Burnham-On- Sea, Part two.

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A week later I’m up at 03:00 and driving back at the beach, trying to take advantage of the high tide that coincided with blue hour and sunrise. The prediction was for a 10m high tide…So I thought, there’s going to be enough water flooding the beach to really isolate the Lighthouse structure….Ha not so…Sure enough it did come upto the legs and just passed, but not very deep.The images below are not bad / quite nice in my opinion..I tried to take advantage of the receding water and the saturated sand…By doing a long’ish exposure.

Version 1..Emphasizing the glow of the rising winter sun.
Nikon Z5ii & 24/70 lens with a 6 stop nd filter.

Version 2..More natural looking, pastel lighting.
Nikon Z5ii & 24/70 lens with a 6 stop nd filter.

After the Lighthouse session…I popped into Burnham-On-Sea town concentrating on the Esplanade and seafront area.
This time using the Fuji X100vi set to a high contrasty black and white vibe.

There’s a sense of calmness and serenity that cold crisp winter’s light brings…Hardly a soul to be seen…Just so quiet.

Strong brooding lines of the sea defences.

A jogger in the far distance gives scale to the height of the sea wall and a fisherman trying his luck.

Woman and her dog on the beach at the edge of the receding tide.

Public slipway highlighting the hidden dangers.

Splash of sunlight on part of the roof.

North Somerset & North Devon photo session.

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03:00 start, round trip drive of about 420 miles…This time my friend Frank was at the wheel. Locations to
tackle….Burnham-On-Sea for the wooden lighthouse, Dunster Castle quick shot from the roadside, Selworthy yellow thatched cottages and church, Porlock Weir and then onto Clovelly.
Camera, car and several coffee’s to fuel the photo session.
Would the light and the weather gods be with us ?…….Sort of…?

Twinkling lights of Burnham-On-Sea (tide out)….Cold crisp air…The first glimpses of light.
Nikon Z5ii & 24/200mm lens. 65×24 aspect ratio.

Burnham-On-Sea….Looking towards the other end of the beach.
Nikon Z5ii & 24/200mm lens. 65×24 aspect ratio.

Burnham-On-Sea, wooden lighthouse c1832 stands like a sentinel on the hard compact sandy beach.
To do this justice you really need to be there a high tide, and do a very long exposure for a more surreal look
(next time). However I do like the pinky pastel very early morning light.
Nikon Z5ii & 24/200mm lens.

Dunster Castle 11th century taken from the A39 on a layby enroute to Selworthy.
Nikon Z5ii & 24/200mm lens.

Selworthy Church 15th Century.
Nikon Z5ii & 24/200mm lens.

Selworthy Church inside, vertical view in this aspect you can see the light striking the floor leading to the altar.
Nikon Z5ii & 14mm Viltrox lens.

Selworthy Church inside horizontal view. In this aspect you can see the windows on the left and right.
Nikon Z5ii & 14mm Viltrox lens.

Walking from the church via a wooden gate this is the first yellow thatched cottage you come to.
I’ve seen them quite a few times and I’m still impressed with the exterior design and chocolate box look.
Nikon Z5ii & 14mm Viltrox lens.

There are a few of these dwellings facing a green. The sun breaks through and lights up the front of the cottage.
Nikon Z5ii & 24/200mm lens.

Now were at Porlock Weir. Three cottages with their backs to the sea facing the small harbour.
Nikon Z5ii & 14mm Viltrox lens.

Although slightly distorted view…This shot reveals the cottages frontal view at low tide. A muddy basin.
The lock Gates are to the right (currently under repair).
Nikon Z5ii & 14mm Viltrox lens.

Old, old groynes leading to the entrance of Porlock Weir.
Nikon Z5ii & 14mm Viltrox lens…As you can see from the sky the weather is on the turn..Moody and foreboding.

Military bunker with a face, slowly sinking into the stoney beach.
Nikon Z5ii & 24/200mm lens.

Stoney beach and brooding sky.
Nikon Z5ii & 14mm Viltrox lens.

Porlock Weir. Sailing boats and no water.
Nikon Z5ii & 24/200mm lens.

The Red Lion Hotel at the bottom of Clovelly Village. A very steep cobbold footway from the top leads you down to this point…Look closely, it’s called Fish Street.
Nikon Z5ii & 14mm Viltrox lens.

Fishing boat returns to Clovelly Harbour.
Nikon Z5ii & 24/200mm lens.

Cobbold streets, tiny cottages and the salty air of Clovelly.
Nikon Z5ii & 24/200mm lens.

I hope you like this little dander to North Somerset and a touch of North Devon. If you fancy visiting I strongly suggest going in the spring when it’s not so grey and cold. Please note Clovelly is privately owned village / estate.
In December 2025 the entrance fee was £9.90 per person.

Coronado Beach, San Diego…Few years ago.

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Just mulling through some of my photos whilst the carpet fitters were busy working at my apartment, I recalled this.
We went to San Diego to see some friends and attend a wedding in Sacramento. Whilst there a colleague suggested that I should visit Coronado beach area, if there was time. A cold and foggy day, everything looked bleached and these I assume lifeguard boxes, caught my eye…Of course I have given the blue a bit of a tweak….A solitary sentinel….
Fuji XH2 though I can’t recall the lens used.

Urban Observation 29th November.

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London was very gloomy and grey today until the weather cleard and the late afternoon sky went pinky with the setting sun….Ha, nows my chance I thought….Alas no reasonable image could be found.
But instead these two popped up.

Silver car with pinky hues in the metallic paint work from the setting sun…With the bonnet top lit by the street lamp. Fuji X100vi.

Colourful store front, semi illuminating the footway outside the premises.
Fuji X100vi.