United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is a country that is rich in history, culture, and natural beauty. It is a popular destination for photographers from all over the world, who come to capture the stunning landscapes, historic architecture, and vibrant cityscapes. From the rolling hills of the Scottish Highlands to the rugged coastline of Cornwall, the UK offers a diverse range of photography locations. Some of the most popular spots include the iconic Big Ben and Tower Bridge in London, the picturesque Lake District in Cumbria, and the ancient ruins of Stonehenge in Wiltshire.
Photography regions of United Kingdom
Photography of United Kingdom
After a week of hardly any Sun I got lucky this afternoon, as it was beautiful weather, quite a rare sight on Skye. ;-) No wind and a lot of sun. Towards the sunset though, the sun got behind clouds and the light got boring. Fortunately, a few minutes before sunset, there was a small hole in the clouds and the cliffs became red for a minute or two. And, that was it, no more colors after that.
Isle of Skye, Scotland
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Leprechauns are a type of fairy of the Aos Sí, or little people, in Irish folklore. Hollywood has stereotyped them throughout the years, though they do have a couple of things right about them according to lore: they partake in mischief and especially love a good practical joke… which is one reason I believe in them.
On our first trip to Northern Ireland, we caught up with our friend, Mari. She’s a photographer, too, with a keen eye for the scenery of the Emerald Isle… she knows exactly where to plant a tripod in her neck o’ the woods for just the right shot. It had been a while since she had been here to the Dark Hedges… rather than driving all over creation to find it, she noticed a rather big, rough-appearing fella off the side of the road and made a U-turn to talk to him. He brightened up when Mari asked how close she was… I had no idea what he said, though obviously both he and Mari were speaking English, though with a deep Irish brogue. Whatever was said, Mari whipped the vehicle back around and we were there within minutes.
She drove through the length of the hedges, turned the car around and parked. We got out to a most magical scene. Mari gave me a short history of the old beech trees that spread over this avenue leading to a mansion that has since become a golf course clubhouse. Mari told me that until recently, the Dark Hedges were relatively unknown, but while setting up the tripod, two taxis pulled up along with a couple of other private vehicles and parked right in front of my setup. So much for a good shot with so many people crawling along the only possible compositions. To make matters worse, a huge tour bus pulled up next to us. Yikes! So many people, now, everyone with their smartphones out and shooting. So why was this place so popular so suddenly? HBO's Game of Thrones is why. Filming throughout the series has largely taken place in Northern Ireland... and the brooding Dark Hedges is a naturally spooky backdrop for many scenes in it. Sigh.
Usually, in situations like this, I’ll wait it out… but we were with Mari, on her time. I remember wishing that all these folks would take a hike somewhere else. Suddenly, lightning struck twice nearby, and it started to hail… until this moment, the day had been bright and sunny. What happened?
The Canon EOS 5D Mark III is quite robust in raw weather, so I left it out while we jumped back into Mari’s SUV to wait out this sudden storm, though we were the only ones to do so… everyone else bugged out! Sitting in the car, the deluge got worse and the warm road converted it to fog, which gave the hedges an almost sinister appearance… the exact shot I was looking for. After a few nice shots, the storm left as quickly as it had appeared… and, again, the crowd returned, but not before I got the shot!
I owe thanks to Mari for putting up with me, yet some of that may have to be extended to the “little people”, too… I got my wish. Mari is quite diminutive compared to me… she might be part leprechaun! I’ve since found that I’m genetically quite Irish… Mari’s been anything but mischievous to me. Must be the “luck of the Irish” that I see the sweet side of leprechauns. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
The Millennium Bridge, officially known as the London Millennium Footbridge, is a steel suspension bridge for pedestrians crossing the River Thames in London, England, linking Bankside with the City of London. It is located between Southwark Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge. It is owned and maintained by Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust overseen by the City of London Corporation. Construction began in 1998, and it initially opened in June 2000.
The Old Man Of Storr Skye Scotland
near a lighthouse......near Liverpool..... I suspect I might be posting rather more from here in he coming weeks, providing we are allowed to leave the house......
St. Abbs Head light house early on Sunday morning as the sun rises off to the right over St. Abbs itself. Wish I'd got here an hour earlier if I'm honest but still happy with this as it is.
The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. The lift is named after the town it resides in of Falkirk in central Scotland.
I'd noticed the slow swirl when I visited last winter, and wondered what would happen when the Autumn leaves fell into the water. This is the result, hope you like it. Thanks very much to everyone, particularly those who have taken the time to comment and 'Fave'.
The whole Murlough Bay is very picturesque, but what really draws my attention is this lone tree, slightly above the bay. I arrived quite some time after sunrise (spent in the nearby Darh Hedges), but the Sun was still rather low and the light was very pleasant for this composition.
River Etive, Glencoe
It was good to be back in the waterfall country of South Wales the other day. This area is special, and is always worth a visit on a still bright day in autumn when the leaves are turning but haven't yet been blown from the trees by storms. The valley of the Nedd Fechan is a particular favourite, with several sets of fine falls such as this one - Sgwd Ddwli Isaf. The summer had been particularly dry in South Wales with several reservoirs emptying completely but in recent weeks normal service has been resumed, the rain has fallen and the waterfalls have begun to flow again.
Pentax 645D, 35mm lens
Just when you think it's safe to go back to the car....
This had been one of the best shoots for a long time, with hours of great light, and crazy conditions, the sun had dropped down below the horizon and I was just skirting along the coast looking for potential compositions for (possibly) dramatic black and white images, I never ever leave the scene until about 30 mins after the sun has dropped, today was no different but nothing much was happening in the sky until this epic scene just kicked off for about 5 minutes with breaks in the clouds, some absolutely beserk and very unusual colours came and went quickly, thankfull I'd already found this little spot and was pretty much set up to shoot so I just stayed until it was over and fined tuned the spot I was in a few times to get it exactly how I wanted it.
An absolutely fantastic end to a completely epic day.
Hopefully I'll be uploading quite a few more shots than usual due to being housebound most of the time, stay safe out there folks.
Lots more images from this shoot, and others, on my website here - updating regularly
Going back to Scotland again, this time the fantastic Talisker Bay, Isle of Skye.
I was lucky to get this image as we had got here later than we would have liked due to Mike's car unfortunately getting 2 punctures from a massive pothole the previous day and the resulting need to be recovered from Portree to Broadford to the only place that had 2 tyres the right size.. Complete nightmare but at least there were 2 tyres on the Island that fitted or it could have been a whole lot worse....!
When we got here after a walk on a path that was more like 'ice rink' the sun was already really low and I had to work really quickly to try and get it 'bursting' against the cliff in the gap between the sea stack.
All fingers and thumbs I managed to drop my polariser several times, somehow it landing on sand (thankfully) each time instead of on the big rocks dotted all around the place.
But it all worked out and I'm pleased with this one, we managed quite a few shots from this location as even after the sun had dropped the light remained decent for quite a while, followed by a really stormy sky that rolled in after sunset, amazingly no kit broken at this location, which is getting increasingly rare for me !
Mike has done a great vlog of this trip to Skye in several parts, well worth a watch, they can be found here:
An old decommisioned boat on the banks of Loch Linnhe, looking towards Ben Nevis in the distance.
The Quiraing (in Gaelic: A' Chuith-Raing), Isle of Skye, Scotland.
Slightly different take from my recent trip to the Kelpies. This view hid one of the pylons but still had to remove the power lines.
I've been wanting to come here for ages to Finnich Glen, so after shooting a (very dissapointing) sunrise at Ullswater while heading out to the West Coast I decided to divert to here.
The weather was (as is usual for me in these parts) pretty horrible, overcast, and raining on and off so I didn't know if I'd be able to get anything but at least I could recce the site out if not...
It's not an easy place to get to without specific instructions, and even then on this day it was like an absolute bog getting to the top of the glen before dropping down the most awkward set of 'steps' I have ever come across with the aid of a few ropes tied to some nearby trees.... once safely at the bottom in the gorge mouth though it is completely worth getting covered in the red mud that seemingly gets everywhere, absolute stunning place and like something from another world, a secret location tucked away from everything, truly amazing place.
The rain didn't seem to be getting through the tree cover above, or it had stopped so with decent light falling into the glen I was good to shoot, spent a good hour or so here and got quite a few images from the visit, this being the first I've uploaded, becuase the light is so low in the glen so dont need much filtration apart from a polariser as was the case here, the most important bit of kit needed for here is wellies or waders.... and a big bag to put them in back at the car as you will be carrying a few more pounds of mud than when you set off !
That said, totally worth it.
The famous Tower Bridge in London during the blue hour.
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The SSE Hydro and its wee neighbour the Armadillo
Theres times we trek miles and miles, go hunting for the exotic and rare. When beauty is already on our doorstep.
The Arbirlot waterfall never fails to satisfy and I often think if this was up in the glens there would be a queue waiting to photograph it.
Isle of Skye
Following the curve round to the end of the sea wall.
Or plughole as the locals call them, apparently.
The Bridge was constructed originally as a Railway Bridge and opened in 1903 to replace the Old Ferry crossing, and when completed was the largest cantilever span of any other railway bridge in Great Britain aside from the Forth Bridge. The bridge crosses the Falls of Lora, a rocky shelf which causes spectacular rapids during the tide cycle. After the railway line closed in 1966, the bridge was converted for the exclusive use of road vehicles and pedestrians.
The River Avich flows about 1 mile down the steep glacial valley of Loch Awe from Loch Avich and the falls are near the foot of the gully. There are several falls but the main one is of three cascades crossing open rocks. The falls are in the Inverliever Forest of the Barnaline estate near to the village of Dalavich in Argyll and Bute Scotland.
Mono shot from the Kelpies art installation in Falkirk. They really are something else up close and when lit up.
Title was inspired by the UB40 song which just seemed to fit for me : youtu.be/lNIRBvZugTM
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Eilean Donan (Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Donnain) is a small tidal island where three sea lochs meet, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh, in the western Highlands of Scotland.
The continuation of my London series. Here's another famous perspective of Westminster and the Houses of Parliament. I went for a long time exposure to give this photo something special.
I also wrote a few new articles on my blog about tripod and filters I use for example.
If you are interested in how this photo was taken and processed, I have a detailed tutorial available. More than 2 hours of video. Check it out
The view from Elgol across Loch Scavaig towards the Black Cuillins, converted this shot to b&w as the sky was kind of featureless
This is one of those wiil-it-work / won't-it-work shots. A strong wind from the sea made it difficult to stand upright, along with never-ending groups of tourists clustering around which made it impossible to set up the tripod, left me with one option: drop the ISO as low as possible, set the f/stop as small as it would go, brace myself against the fence and hope for the best. For a hand-held Long Exposure in such adverse conditions, I'm quite pleased with the result.
Many thanks to SkyeBaggie and SkyeWeasel for all the hints and tips, and it was great to have the chance to meet you both.
Note to self......Need to visit Yorkshire more often......
Canary Wharf looking on a financial universe.
I've been posting some very colourful photos, a number of which I took during a sunny Autumn week in the English Lake District. However, it wasn't always about colour. On my last day there, it was very grey, wet and miserable, and my photos of the Coniston jetty were nothing like I had hoped. So just for the sake of some colour, I added my umbrella!
My website: Deep Mono Photography
The Shard, also referred to as the Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 95-storey skyscraper in Southwark, London, that forms part of the London Bridge Quarter development. Standing 309.7 metres (1,016 ft) high, the Shard is the tallest building in the United Kingdom, the fourth-tallest building in Europe and the 96th-tallest building in the world. It is also the second-tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom. Wikipedia
Soon after taking the photo I showed here yesterday I had to run for cover. The dramatic light turned into a short but heavy downpour. The next dry place was right under the Westminster bridge in this passage underground. As I turned around after the short spring and saw this view I didn't hesitate to take another couple of photos. If it wasn't for the rain I might never have gone down there and found this gem of a perspective.
Stumbled upon Leaderfoot Viaduct in the Borders on way back from Scotts View and thought it would be worth a shot!
I've been meaning to come here for ages, tonight with being at work late and great weather proved the ideal time for a quick visit and a few shots bang in the middle of the blue hour, I had to rush a little as I was parked in a car park that was due to shut, and with no ticket I was chancing it a bit, but still I managed a few shots, this being the first. As it happens I still got locked in the car park... and had to get some security guy to let me out.... Worth it? - I think so with this one.
View my most interesting shots on Flickriver here: www.flickriver.com/photos/pete37038/popular-interesting/
The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England
Thanks to all Phoide contributors to United Kingdom!
Most notably Damon Finlay, Pete Rowbottom, Graham Morris, Lenis Las, Clive Griffiths, Quentin 'Q' Thompson, The Jacobite and Andrey Sulitskiy.