A World Above The Clouds, Coniston
Make no mistake, walking in mountains can be hard work, particularly if carrying a load camera gear at the same time. Often the day’s hard work can go to waste, you come back tired and have no decent images to show. But some days it can be different. Some days make up for all those other days; make up for that hard work. This was one of those days.
Photography Above the Clouds, Coniston
To the unknowing a trip to the fells would have seemed worthless – the sky was grey, the air was filled with drizzle and visibility was measured in metres, not miles. However, as we set off from the car park in Consiton we knew that we might be in luck. We’d seen those magical words on the weather forecast – ‘…inversion over the Lake District area’. In simple terms this means that whilst it may be miserable at ground level, climb a few hundred metres and you should be above the cloud; above that monotonous drizzle and transported to a secret world where the sun shines strong and visibility stretches as far as the eye can see. This was our hope, and it was soon to come true.
As we made our way up the track from Coniston the clouds and mist slowly grew lighter, signs of the sun made fleeting appearances above and then suddenly, just a few minutes later, we broke the haze. The clouds were below us and the sky above was filled with blue. As we reach the old abandoned slate quarry the scene opened up, with potential shots everywhere you looked. Like a child in a sweet shop, we were spoiled for choice – tantalising shots stealing the attention whichever way you looked. Eventually I settled upon a shot of the abandoned buildings with the cloud and fells stretching out beyond.
Abandoned Quarry Works, Coniston Old Man
Shutter speed in the sunny conditions wasn’t an issue. so I dialled in a low iso and set an aperture that would ensure focus from the quarry workings to the distant peaks. As new clouds threatened to engulf my foreground there was no time to set-up a graduated filter, so exposure was all about balancing the shaded foreground with the bright highlights of the clouds. Shooting in raw gives the best latitude in these conditions, and in the end two conversions of the raw file were blended together to create the image you see.
As we climbed higher we were soon witness to a rare mountain sight – a brocken spectre. This unusual phenomena occurs when your own shadow is projected onto the clouds below. The shadow becomes greatly magnified, often surrounded by a rainbow of light as sunlight is diffracted by water droplets in the clouds.
Brocken Spectre from Coniston
Taking photos as we walked, we continued our steady climb until eventually we reached the summit cairn of Consiton. The clouds were laid out below like a woollen carpet, as nearby mountain peaks poked through – small rocky islands in a sea of white. Wide-angle lens attached it was time for another image, and perhaps my favourite of the day. Not necessarily for its photographic content, but for the memories attached – a reminder of our day spent walking above the clouds, in our own paradise away from the dreariness below.
The Summit Cairn, Coniston Old Man
As we followed the ridge to Swirl How we were presented with a never ending sequence of spectacular views. Away to one side stood the peaks of Scafell and Scafell Pike, whilst to the other Fairfield’s mighty bulk pushed its way through the clouds. More images and more moments to remember, until finally we began to drop back down the fells.
Fairfield Horseshoe Above the Clouds
As we descended back through the cloud the sunlight vanished, the blue sky became grey and the mist and drizzle consumed us once more. Soon we were back in the valley floor, mugs of tea cradled in our hands. “How was your day?” remarked the cafe owner. “Superb” we replied, “Glorious sunshine all day”. Confused, she peered out of the steamed up cafe windows, shrugged her shoulders, and went back to the kitchen.
A knowing smile appeared on our faces – for we had spent the day in a world of our own, walking with a spring in our step across rocky islands in the sky.
Andrew.