Taken this morning during a good wander around a local reservoir.

Didn't want to go to far due to not understanding rules fully and then constantly changing.

During lockdown and not being in work for a few months have been trying to improve my knowledge of post processing, as its not something I do much of, nor enjoy.

This is first attempt at new processes.

Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Holder & LCPL Filter

Meols lies on the Wirral Peninsula, between Hoylake and Wallasey, just off the A553.

At low tide the small stretch of shingle beach here becomes a wide expanse of sand and mudflats.

Sand buggying and horse riding are popular here, and in the winter months this can be a good place to go birdwatching.

There are dozens of boats that at low tide rest on the sand, or in channel of water that have been left.

Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Holder & Landscape CPL Filter

Taken a few days ago, during a fantastic but very misty sunrise at Crime Lake.

This location is within 20 minutes of where I live, and somewhere that I visit regular ish inorder to try to capture a sunrise.

Taken using :

Nisi V6 Holder, LCPL, 3 Stop GND & 3 Stop ND Filter

Crime Lake is halfway between Woodhouses and the Visitors' Centre and forms part of the Daisy Country Park.

It resulted from canal works at the time of construction in 1794 .

As built, the canal severed the course of a brook and a culvert was made below the canal to accommodate this. A landslip blocked this and the waters were impounded on the offside of the canal.

The new lake and canal became one and the lake was officially known as Crime Bank Reservoir, but it is far better known by its later name of Crime Lake.

The name 'Crime' may have come from a local word for "meadow" or a local name for a particular meadow, rather than anything untoward

Took a visit to the icon that is The Lone Tree that sits on the edge of Llyn Padarn Lake just outside Llanberis.

We arrived early to find only 1 other photographer there and he was already 9" wellington deep in water.

The weather wasn't the greatest travelling to the location, BUT thankfully we were treated to a nice sunrise.

Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Holder

Landscape CPL

3 Stop Med Grad ND

3 Stop ND Filter

Leofoto Ranger Tripod

Went up to try to capture this lighthouse with Stephen Price a few weeks ago, and have a play with new camera.

Plover Scar is also know as Abbey lighthouse

The lighthouse was built in 1847, as the lower light of a pair of leading lights, and is therefore also called the front or Low Light.

The rear or High Light, known as Cockersand Lighthouse, once stood next to the Abbey Lighthouse cottage on Slack Lane.

It was a square wooden tower supported by angled wooden struts. The leading lights helped ships navigate into the Lune estuary, to reach Glasson Dock and then onwards via the Lancaster Canal to the port of Lancaster, with Plover Scar marking the rocky outcrop at the edge of the deep water channel into the estuary.

Both lighthouses were equipped with a pair of paraffin lamps mounted in parabolic reflectors, each displaying fixed light seawards.

In the early 1950s electric lamps replaced the oil lanterns; at the same time the wooden High Light was replaced by a metal framework tower. By the end of the decade the lights were fully automated; the High Light was deactivated some time after 1985 but Plover Scar remains

Taken approx 30 minutes before actual sunrise.

The light has started to show, and a bright streak started to show its face.

The reservoir scheme in the Greenfield Valley and Chew Valley by the Ashton-Under-Lyne, Stalybridge and Dukinfield Waterworks Joint Committee commenced in 1870. The scheme was completed with Dovestone Reservoir in 1968 to collect water from the surrounding moorland.

The main contractor was A.E. Farr (Civil Engineers) of Westbury, Wiltshire. Its construction was opposed by local mill owners, who claimed that damming the river would cut off their water supply.

Taken using :

Nisi V6 Holder, LCPL, 3 Stop GND & 6 Stop ND Filter.

Benro Tripod.

Taken this morning at Poynton Pool.

Fog, Mist & A Bit Of Snow.

Poynton Park is situated just a few minutes walk from the centre of Poynton village. It is a valuable amenity with its pool, ancient trees and wildlife. The Park covers 21 hectares including the pool.

A surfaced circular path takes you from the car park at South Park Drive, alongside the pool, the lime avenue and through the grassland. There is also a linear public footpath from the car park at Anglesey Drive, which takes you alongside the western edge of the pool.

Taken yesterday on a very enjoyable wander around NT Dunham Massey.

Dunham Massey is an Elizabethan house which was extensively remodelled by John Norris in 1732-40 for the 2nd Earl of Warrington.

On the 2nd Earl’s death in 1758 the house passed through marriage to the Earls of Stamford.

In 1789 the entrance front was remodelled by John Hope of Liverpool, and then again in 1905 by Compton Hall who created a neo-Caroline façade loosely based on Sudbury in Derbyshire. Hall was also commissioned to design Dunham’s sumptuous Edwardian interiors.

Much to Hall's annoyance, much of the interior decoration was carried out by Perry Macquoid, an interior designer and furniture historian who was married to Lady Stamford’s cousin.

The 10th Earl, who did a great deal to preserve the estate from development in the mid-20th century, left Dunham to the National Trust in 1976 – one of the most generous gifts in the Trust’s history.

First outing with my new Benro Rhino CF Tripod.

Yorkshire Bridge is a small hamlet near the Ladybower Reservoir dam in the English county of Derbyshire. Administratively the area forms part of the civil parish of Bamford and the district of High Peak.

The people who built the Ladybower Dam wall lived in the houses at Yorkshire Bridge.

The settlement is named after a packhorse bridge, which crosses the River Derwent to the south of the dam of the Ladybower Reservoir from which the river has emerged and north of the village of Thornhill.

It has also given its name to a public house on the nearby A6013 road that is popular with walkers. The Derwent Valley Heritage Way has its northern terminus in the woods overlooking the reservoir.

Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Holder

Landscape CPL

3 Stop Med GND

4 Stop Rev GND

3 Stop ND Filter

Leofoto Ranger Tripod

I haven't been out to anywhere like this location since my little slip in April & snapping my Femur.

Decided it was time to try again

Once set aside for the exclusive use of the nobility when it was part of the hunting and hawking grounds of Rivelin Chase. Wyming Brook’s babbling streams, mossy crags and sweet smelling pines are protected today as a valuable home to wildlife.

The difference now is that we can all enjoy this little bit of wilderness on the western edge of Sheffield, with easy strolls by the streams or higher, rockier routes with dramatic views of the Rivelin reservoirs and the city beyond.

Part of the Eastern Moors Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), there is an abundance of wildlife at this nature reserve, including the common lutestring and northern spinach moths. It is also home to many kinds of birds, from pine seed eating crossbills to the brown and white dipper which forages for aquatic insects along the fast flowing streams. Other notable summer migrant bird species that can be observed on the reserve include bullfinch and goldcrest, spotted flycatcher, wood warblers and pied flycatchers..

My first serious outing since Covid 19 and Lockdown started, and a new location for myself.

This was the last image I took of the lighthouse.

New Brighton Lighthouse (also known as Perch Rock Lighthouse and called Black Rock Lighthouse in the 19th century) is a decommissioned lighthouse situated at the confluence of the River Mersey and Liverpool Bay on an outcrop off New Brighton known locally as Perch Rock. Together with its neighbour, the Napoleonic era Fort Perch Rock, it is one of the Wirral's best known landmarks.

Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Holder & Landscape CPL

I decided to make the effort and set an early alarm 03:00, and try to capture sunrise.

Absolutely glarious morning at Daisy Nook Country Park with fabulous light and an amazing amount of mist on the water.

Taken using Nisi V6 Holder, LCPL, 3 Stop ND & 6 Stop ND Filters.

137 Second Exposure

Yorkshire Bridge is a small hamlet near the Ladybower Reservoir dam in the English county of Derbyshire. Administratively the area forms part of the civil parish of Bamford and the district of High Peak.

The people who built the Ladybower Dam wall lived in the houses at Yorkshire Bridge.

Taken using :

Nisi Landscape CPL Filter

Three Shires Head is the point on Axe Edge Moor where Cheshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire meet.

It is on the River Dane, which marks the Cheshire border in this area.

On the east of the river, the border between Staffordshire and Derbyshire runs north-east for about a mile to Cheeks Hill, on the higher regions of Axe Edge Moor.

From Cheeks Hill the border runs south then east to the head of the River Dove

The main landmark is an ancient packhorse bridge.

The bridge and waterfalls

In modern times, the main significance of Three Shires Head is as a landmark on various walking routes in this part of the moorlands.

The pack horse bridge and the waterfalls as the River Dane flows southwards are very picturesque, and frequently featured on calendars

A report shows that this is a moorland area of some interest for its population of moths and butterflies.

The presence of the pack horse bridge shows the importance of this route for traders from nearby Flash and Hollinsclough to Macclesfield. Silk was produced at Hollinsclough, and sent to the mills at Macclesfield Coal was mined from about 1600 on Axe Edge.

Shot using Nisi V6 Holder & Landscape CPL Filter

Taken during sunrise on 30th December 2019.

The Salford Quays Lift Bridge, also known as The Millennium Footbridge is a 91 Metre vertical lift bridge that spans The Manchester Ship Canal.

This was my first but not last visit for sunrise, previously only been for sunset.

Taken using Nisi V6 Holder and LCPL Filter

Very recently treated myself to a new lens and today I managed to get out and have a play.

Crime Lake at Daisy Nook Country Park.

Crime Lake was formed by the embankment that carried the Hollinwood Branch Canal across a small valley.

It was a popular place of leisure in Victorian and Edwardian times.

Today it forms part of Daisy Nook Country Park, between Ashton under Lyne and Oldham

Taken using :

Nisi V6 Holder, LCPL, 3 & 10 Stop ND Filters.

Taken during a very chilly ( minus 4 ) on arrival, but very enjoyable bimble around Media City / Salford Quays.

Salford Quays is an area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom following the closure of the dockyards in 1982.

Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Holder

Landscape CPL

3 Stop Med GND

6 Stop ND

Last image from my first proper wander out since lockdown has been relaxed. I wanted to go somewhere a little further from home, but wanted some where that I knew and would enjoy.

The name comes from a Perch; a timber tripod supporting a lantern first erected in 1683 as a crude beacon to allow shipping to pass the rock safely.

As the Port of Liverpool developed in the Nineteenth Century the perch was deemed inadequate as it required constant maintenance and only produced a limited light. Construction of the present tower began in 1827 by Tomkinson & Company using blocks of interlocking Anglesey granite using dovetail joints and marble dowels. It was designed to use many of the same construction techniques used in the building of John Smeaton's Eddystone Lighthouse 70 years earlier.

The lighthouse was in continuous use until decommissioned in October 1973 having been superseded by modern navigational technology. Although the lighting apparatus and fog bell have been removed, the lighthouse is very well preserved and retains many features lost on other disused lighthouses.

It was restored and repainted in 2001 when an LED lightsource was installed which flashed the names of those lost at sea; including all the 1,517 victims of the sinking of the Titanic.

Taken using :

NIsi V6 Holder.

Landscape CPL

3 Stop Med GND

6 Stop ND Filter

Benro Rhino 2 CF Tripod.

The Mersey Gateway Bridge opened on 14th October 2017 as a new six lane toll bridge over the Mersey between the towns of Runcorn and Widnes.

Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Holder

Nisi Landscape CPL

Leofoto Ranger Tripod

Taken A Perch Rock Lighthouse a few weeks ago whilst having a play with new Nisi V7 Holder & True Colour CPL.

New Brighton Lighthouse (also known as Perch Rock Lighthouse and called Black Rock Lighthouse in the 19th century) is a decommissioned lighthouse situated at the confluence of the River Mersey and Liverpool Bay on an outcrop off New Brighton known locally as Perch Rock. Together with its neighbour, the Napoleonic era Fort Perch Rock, it is one of the Wirral's best known landmarks.

Taken Using :

Nisi V7 Holder, True Colour CPL, 3 Stop GND, 6 Stop ND.

Benro Mach 3 XL Tripod

Nant Mill is located on the Clywedog Valley Trail, which winds for 6.5 miles through glorious countryside from Minera Lead Mines, through Nant Wood and Plas Power Wood.

Offa's Dyke can be seen, passed the Bersham Iron Works and Heritage Centre, the impressive Erddig Estate and on to King's Mill in Wrexham.

Taken just after sunrise yesterday at Daisy Nook Country Park.

The forecast and initial light / clouds just before 06:00 promised a possible fantastic sunrise, yet again it didn't deliver as promised, but none the less good to be out and about.

.The name Daisy Nook came from a book by Benjamin Brierley titled 'A day out' or 'A Summer Ramble'. Brierley asked his friend Charles Potter, an Oldham Artist, to draw an imaginary place called Daisy Nook. Potter came to nearby Waterhouses to complete his drawing - and from then on the area was known as Daisy Nook.'.

Most of Daisy Nook now belongs to the National Trust after it was left to them by the late James Lublam, J.P. 'in order that the fields and woods be kept as a pleasure area'.

The park is maintained by Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council.

Crime Lake is halfway between Woodhouses and the Visitors' Centre and forms part of the Country Park.

It resulted from canal works at the time of construction in 1794 . As built, the canal severed the course of a brook and a culvert was made below the canal to accommodate this.

A landslip blocked this and the waters were impounded on the offside of the canal. The new lake and canal became one and the lake was officially known as Crime Bank Reservoir, but it is far better known by its later name of Crime Lake.

The name 'Crime' may have come from a local word for "meadow" or a local name for a particular meadow, rather than anything untoward.

Decided to have a lastminute socially distanced catch up with @SAPRICE_1 at a location that is quite local to both of us.

On arrival we were both surprised to see how low the water level of the reservoir was compared to normal.

The spot I took this image from is normally approx 12 feet under water.

Dovestone Reservoir lies at the convergence of the valleys of the Greenfield and Chew Brooks above the village of Greenfield, on Saddleworth Moor in Greater Manchester, England.

The reservoir is on the western edge of the Peak District National Park.

It supplies drinking water to the surrounding area and is a tourist attraction, providing several walks amongst picturesque landscapes.

Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Holder, LCPL, 3 Stop Med GND & 10 Stop ND Filters.

Decided to go out last night for sunset, and decided after looking at the weather forecast that the coast was going to be best bet.

Didn't get the sunset that was promised / hoped for, so decided to try some long ish exposure images instead.

Perch Rock Lighthouse, also known as New Brighton Lighthouse or Black Rock Lighthouse, is located near Liverpool in the northwest corner of the Wirral Peninsula in New Brighton, at the mouth of the River Mersey.

Perch Rock gets its name from the wooden “perch” that once held the navigational light before the lighthouse.

Taken using :

Nisi V6 Holder : LCPL : 3 Stop ND Filters

Another from my morning at the end of May when was lucky enough to witness a fantastic sunrise.

Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Holder & Landscape CPL

Am going through images that I had for whatever reason decided not to delete.

This is from end of April.

The location is somewhere I go to 4 or 5 times a year.

New Brighton Lighthouse is a decommissioned lighthouse situated at the confluence of the River Mersey and Liverpool Bay on an outcrop off New Brighton known locally as Perch Rock. Together with its neighbour, the Napoleonic era Fort Perch Rock, it is one of the Wirral's best known landmarks.

Plover Scar Lighthouse, also known as the Abbey Lighthouse, is an active 19th century lighthouse sited at the entrance of the Lune estuary, near Cockersand Abbey in Lancashire, England.

The lighthouse consists of an 8-metre-high (26 ft) white conical stone tower, with a black lantern and twin galleries, built on a rock ledge that is uncovered at low tide.

With a focal height of 6m above sea level, the light can be seen for six nautical miles. Its light characteristic is made up of a flash of white light every two seconds

Taken during an arranged K & F Concept event a couple of weeks ago.

Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Holder

LCPL

3 Stop GND Filter

3 Stop ND Filter

Benro Tripod

Taken at The Lone Tree Llyd Padarn ( Llanberis )

Taken approx 30 minutes before sunrise, on a fantastic chilly but glorious morning.

As per usual with this location on arrival there was already one person set up, and we were 80 mins before sunrise

Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Filter Holder

Nisi Landscape CPL

Nisi 3 Stop GND Filter

Leofoto Ranger Tripod

Decided to make the effort and get up and out of bed to start doing sunrises again.

This is Higger Tor / Surprise View in The Peak District, the light was fantastic for about 20 minutes and then the grey clouds just appeared.

Taken a few weeks ago during a fabulous couple of hours before and during sunrise.

Crime Lake is a regular haunt of mine due to it being 15 minutes from my house.

Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Holder, LCPL, 3 Stop Med GND & 6 Stop ND.

My first proper explore since lockdown has finished, and decided I need to go back to somewhere I knew, but enjoyed.

The name comes from a Perch; a timber tripod supporting a lantern first erected in 1683 as a crude beacon to allow shipping to pass the rock safely.

As the Port of Liverpool developed in the Nineteenth Century the perch was deemed inadequate as it required constant maintenance and only produced a limited light. Construction of the present tower began in 1827 by Tomkinson & Company using blocks of interlocking Anglesey granite using dovetail joints and marble dowels. It was designed to use many of the same construction techniques used in the building of John Smeaton's Eddystone Lighthouse 70 years earlier.

Modelled on the trunk of an oak tree, it is a free standing white painted tower with a red iron lantern. It is 29 m (95 ft) tall. It was first lit in 1830 and displayed two white flashes followed by a red flash every minute; the light-source was thirty Argand lamps, mounted on a three-sided revolving array (ten lamps on each side, with red glass mounted in front of one side). There were also three bells mounted under the gallery to serve as a fog signal; they were tolled by the same clockwork mechanism that caused the lamps to revolve.

The lighthouse was in continuous use until decommissioned in October 1973 having been superseded by modern navigational technology. Although the lighting apparatus and fog bell have been removed, the lighthouse is very well preserved and retains many features lost on other disused lighthouses.

It was restored and repainted in 2001 when an LED lightsource was installed which flashed the names of those lost at sea; including all the 1,517 victims of the sinking of the Titanic.

At low tide, it is possible to walk to the base of the tower, but a 25-foot ladder is needed to reach the doorway. The lighthouse is privately owned and maintained by the Kingham family, and is a Grade II* listed building.

Taken using :

NIsi V6 Holder.

Landscape CPL

3 Stop Med GND

6 Stop ND Filter

Benro Rhino 2 CF Tripod.

Another from my visit to Lytham St Annes last week.

Partly sunken vessel named Celestial Dawn maybe 3 miles out of Lytham town centre.

Lytham St Annes is a seaside resort on the Fylde coast of Lancashire, south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary.

Lytham St Annes has four golf courses and links, the most notable being the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, which has hosted the Open Championship 11 times from 1926 until its most recent in 2012. The Open brings a major influx of visitors, including the world's media.

Image Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Holder, LCPL, 3 Stop Med Grad & 6 Stop ND Filters.

This is my first image of 2021.

I had arrived a little ealier than I originally planned, but the light looked to be very promising. I had just changed my footwear, and put on another couple of layers, and was treated to a stunning sunrise.

During the 19th century Reddish Vale was noted as a source of rare and interesting wild flowers and was the favourite haunt of the rambling 'hand loom weaver botanists' referred to in Mrs Gaskell's 'Mary Barton'. Ted Duncan also recalls that 'The Vale was completely unspoilt and wild flowers bloomed in abundance...

To people who came from Gorton it was paradise

The Vale has been managed since the early 1980's as a recreational open space.

It was managed until 1985 by the Tame Valley Warden Service under an agreement within Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) aimed at maintaining and enhancing urban countryside sites. With funding from the Stockport and Tameside Councils and the Countryside Commision, a temporary visitor centre was established and a great deal of work was done to improve paths, provide better access, establish facilities and manage vegetation.

Despite these efforts there were continual pressure to develop parts of the Vale which was fiercely resisted by local residents.

In 1988 a mass rally of about 3000 local people accompanied by the Gorton Brass Band succeeded in saving the Vale from a proposed housing development. In 1990, a proposal to create an artificial ski slope in Woodhall Fields was defeated by a 7000 signature petition.

The Country Park designation was finally approved in 1993 for a much larger area than originally envisaged.

The park boundary was further expanded in 1997 to its current size of 161 Hectares and, in 2000, a Local Nature Reserve was declared, covering 81 Hectares of the Country Park.

Taken using :

Nisi V6 Holder & LCPL Filter

Benro Rhino 2 Tripod.

Taken early November when had an early morning ish wander around NT Dunham Massey.

Dunham Massey is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England.

The parish includes the villages of Sinderland Green, Dunham Woodhouses and Dunham Town, along with Dunham Massey Hall and Park, formerly the home of the last Earl of Stamford and owned by the National Trust since 1976. Dunham Massey was historically in the county of Cheshire, but since 1974 has been part of Trafford Metropolitan Borough; the nearest town is Altrincham. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 475.

Dunham Massey's history is reflected in its 45 listed buildings. It was a regionally important place during the medieval period, and the seat of the Massey barons.

The Georgian mansion with the remains of a castle on its grounds is a popular tourist attraction. There are two Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Dunham Massey:

I went out on this morning with only 1 lens, and a relatively new lens to me.

Taken a few days ago, during a fantastic but very misty sunrise at Crime Lake.

This location is within 20 minutes of where I live, and somewhere that I visit regular ish inorder to try to capture a sunrise.

To date this is the longest Long Exposure I have attempted.

Taken using :

Nisi V6 Holder, LCPL, 3 Stop GND & 10 Stop ND Filter.

Crime Lake is halfway between Woodhouses and the Visitors' Centre and forms part of the Daisy Country Park.

It resulted from canal works at the time of construction in 1794 .

As built, the canal severed the course of a brook and a culvert was made below the canal to accommodate this. A landslip blocked this and the waters were impounded on the offside of the canal.

The new lake and canal became one and the lake was officially known as Crime Bank Reservoir, but it is far better known by its later name of Crime Lake.

The name 'Crime' may have come from a local word for "meadow" or a local name for a particular meadow, rather than anything untoward

Taken this morning on a very enjoyable wander around NT Dunham Massey.

Dunham Massey is an Elizabethan house which was extensively remodelled by John Norris in 1732-40 for the 2nd Earl of Warrington.

On the 2nd Earl’s death in 1758 the house passed through marriage to the Earls of Stamford.

In 1789 the entrance front was remodelled by John Hope of Liverpool, and then again in 1905 by Compton Hall who created a neo-Caroline façade loosely based on Sudbury in Derbyshire. Hall was also commissioned to design Dunham’s sumptuous Edwardian interiors.

Much to Hall's annoyance, much of the interior decoration was carried out by Perry Macquoid, an interior designer and furniture historian who was married to Lady Stamford’s cousin.

The 10th Earl, who did a great deal to preserve the estate from development in the mid-20th century, left Dunham to the National Trust in 1976 – one of the most generous gifts in the Trust’s history.

Taken 40 minutes before actual sunrise time this morning.

I had arrived about an hour earlier, but by this time the light was starting to glow, and produce colour at

Dovestones Reservoir.

The reservoir scheme in the Greenfield Valley and Chew Valley by the Ashton-Under-Lyne, Stalybridge and Dukinfield Waterworks Joint Committee commenced in 1870. The scheme was completed with Dovestone Reservoir in 1968 to collect water from the surrounding moorland.

The main contractor was A.E. Farr (Civil Engineers) of Westbury, Wiltshire. Its construction was opposed by local mill owners, who claimed that damming the river would cut off their water supply.

Taken using :

Nisi V6 Holder, LCPL, 3 Stop GND & 6 Stop ND Filter.

Benro Tripod.

I haven't been out for a couple of weeks due to various other commitments and things. Decided on Thursday to go to Media City and have a play at some quite long exposure images, and to date this is my longest long exposure by some distance.

Media City UK is a 200-acre (81 ha) mixed-use property development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in Salford and Trafford, Greater Manchester, England.

The project was developed by Peel Media; its principal tenants are media organisations and the University of Salford.

The land occupied by the development was part of the Port of Manchester and Manchester Docks.

The BBC signalled its intention to move jobs to Manchester in 2004, and the Salford Quays site was chosen in 2006.

The Peel Group was granted planning permission to develop the site in 2007, and construction of the development, with its own energy generation plant and communications network, began the same year. Based in Quay House, the principal tenant is the BBC, whose move marks a large-scale decentralisation from London. ITV Granada completed the first phase of its move to MediaCityUK on 25 March 2013, followed in two stages by the northern arm of ITV Studios: the second stage involved Coronation Street being moved to a new production facility on Trafford Wharf next to the Imperial War Museum North at the end of 2013. The Studios on Broadway houses seven high-definition studios, claimed to be the largest such facility in Europe.

Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Holder

Landscape CPL

3 Stop Med GND

10 Stop ND

K&F Concept Tripod.

Taken at the end of September, but just getting around to editing. Taken with Samyang 14mm Lens at f11 and Lee Big Stopper

Taken a couple of months ago, just after sunrise.

Magpie Mine stands one third of a mile south of the village of Sheldon, from where it can be seen standing darkly silhouetted against the skyline.

It is about 1050 feet above sea level.

Footpaths approach it both from Sheldon and the Monyash to Ashford-in-the-Water road.

Magpie Mine has a recorded history from 1739, but dates back much further and is said locally to be over 300 years old.

Protracted troubles broke out in the 1820s and 1830s between the miners of Magpie, Maypitts and Red Soil mines. The dispute revolved around a vein of lead, and at various times the miners broke through into each others workings. Often when this occurred one side would light a fire underground and try to smoke the other out.

Tragically, in 1833, three Red Soil miners were suffocated to death by a fire lit by the Magpie miners.

Following a year in prison and a lengthy court case at Derby Assizes, five Magpie miners were acquitted of the charge of murder owing to conflicting evidence and the lack of intent. The three widows of the Red Soil miners reputedly put a curse on the mine and supposedly a ghost was seen there in 1946.

Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Holder, Landscape CPL & 6 Stop ND Filters

Taken just over a week ago during a morning wandering around Surprise View, and surrounding area.

Not a great deal happened with the light apart from a brief 5 minute window where I managed to capture this.

Some say the cement works are a blot on the landscape, for me the building is more like a cathedral.

Hope has the capacity to make around 1.5 million tonnes of cement each year

The cement is vital for UK construction - from homes and hospitals to railways and regeneration

Over 200 people work at Hope in a variety of jobs.

Most live within a few miles of the site

Studies show the works contributes over £60 million to the local economy every year

Our cement is made with local limestone and shale blended with imported shale substitutes

Up to half the fuel used in Hope's kilns comes from wastes that may otherwise go to landfill

The name comes from a Perch; a timber tripod supporting a lantern first erected in 1683 as a crude beacon to allow shipping to pass the rock safely.

As the Port of Liverpool developed in the Nineteenth Century the perch was deemed inadequate as it required constant maintenance and only produced a limited light. Construction of the present tower began in 1827 by Tomkinson & Company using blocks of interlocking Anglesey granite using dovetail joints and marble dowels. It was designed to use many of the same construction techniques used in the building of John Smeaton's Eddystone Lighthouse 70 years earlier.

Modelled on the trunk of an oak tree, it is a free standing white painted tower with a red iron lantern. It is 29 m (95 ft) tall. It was first lit in 1830 and displayed two white flashes followed by a red flash every minute; the light-source was thirty Argand lamps, mounted on a three-sided revolving array (ten lamps on each side, with red glass mounted in front of one side). There were also three bells mounted under the gallery to serve as a fog signal; they were tolled by the same clockwork mechanism that caused the lamps to revolve.

The lighthouse was in continuous use until decommissioned in October 1973 having been superseded by modern navigational technology. Although the lighting apparatus and fog bell have been removed, the lighthouse is very well preserved and retains many features lost on other disused lighthouses.

It was restored and repainted in 2001 when an LED lightsource was installed which flashed the names of those lost at sea; including all the 1,517 victims of the sinking of the Titanic.

At low tide, it is possible to walk to the base of the tower, but a 25-foot ladder is needed to reach the doorway. The lighthouse is privately owned and maintained by the Kingham family, and is a Grade II* listed building.

Taken using :

NIsi V6 Holder.

Landscape CPL

3 Stop Med GND

Benro Rhino 2 CF Tripod.

Went to Meols Beach for a couple of hours today, still trying to get used to new ish camera.

Meols lies on the Wirral Peninsula, between Hoylake and Wallasey, just off the A553.

At low tide the small stretch of shingle beach here becomes a wide expanse of sand and mudflats.

Sand buggying and horse riding are popular here, and in the winter months this can be a good place to go birdwatching.

Taken during a wander around Liverpool on 30th July.

We went to have a look at The Disney Magic cruise liner leaving the dock, but no fireworks.

Canning Dock was opened in 1737 as the Dry Dock, a protected tidal basin providing an entrance to Old Dock.

Having been subsequently enclosed as a wet dock three years earlier, in 1832 it was officially named after the Liverpool MP George Canning. To the east is the site of Old Dock, built in 1709, which was the world's first enclosed commercial dock.

Canning Dock would have initially served ships involved in the trans Atlantic slave trade.

Access to the northern half of the dock system was via Georges Dock, George's Basin and into Prince's Dock.

In 1899, Georges Basin and George's Dock were filled in and the site is now the Pier Head.

Along with the Albert Dock and others in the immediate vicinity, Canning Dock was abandoned as a commercial shipping facility in 1972 due to the rising cost of dredging and falling traffic.

Taken using :

K&F Natural Light Filter

Benro Rhino 2 CF Tripod.

Penmachno Roman Bridge is an elegant single-span packhorse bridge across the Afon Machno south of Betws-y-Coed.

Despite the name, it is not Roman, but dates to the 17th century, though it is entirely possible that it stands on the site of an earlier Roman bridge.

The bridge -- Roman or not -- is a beautiful historical structure.

It has a span of roughly 10m (33 feet) and is 3m wide (10 feet). Each end springs from an abutment with splayed sides for reinforcement. Some cobbles remain on the bridge deck.

The River Machno, or Afon Machno in Welsh, is a major tributary of the River Conwy, and runs from the upper reaches of the Penmachno valley and runs north to the River Conwy, falling -- literally -- over Penmachno Falls and the impressive Conwy Falls before its confluence with the larger river.

Taken using K&F Concept Magnetic Filter Range

Benro Mach 3 Tripod

Taken a few weeks ago during a wander around Liverpool with some very knowledgeable photography friends.

I was trying out the recently purchased K&F Natural Light Filter, and on first impressions iys a great bit off kit.

Canning Dock on the River Mersey is part of the Port of Liverpool in Northern England. The dock is in the southern dock system, connected to Salthouse Dock to the south and with access to the river via the Canning Half Tide Dock to the west. The Canning Graving Docks are accessed from the dock.

Taken Using :

Nisi V6 Holder

Nisi 6 Stop ND Filter

K&F Natural Light Filter

K&F SA254T1 Tripod.

Taken today during my first wander out of the year. Not allowed to wander very far, or drive. The Boss dropped me at Daisy Nook Country Park & I wandered along the path to Crime Lake.

Crime Lake happened by accident when the canal was being dug in 1794 and a landslide severed the canal.

I was attempting my landscape image, whilst approx 12 people some with extremely long lenses were trying to capture the local kingfisher.

Image taken using Nisi V6 Holder, LCPL, 4 Stop Rev Grad & 10 Stop ND Filters.

Taken nearly 3 weeks ago on my last wander out with camera.

Decided to go and try to capture sunrise, so arrived at just after 05:00, this was the first image of the day, and taken just after 05:15.

Crime Lake is halfway between Woodhouses and the Visitors' Centre and forms part of the Daisy Nook Country Park.

It resulted from canal works at the time of construction in 1794 . As built, the canal severed the course of a brook and a culvert was made below the canal to accommodate this. A landslip blocked this and the waters were impounded on the offside of the canal. The new lake and canal became one and the lake was officially known as Crime Bank Reservoir, but it is far better known by its later name of Crime Lake.

Take Using Nisi V6 Holder & Landscape CPL Filter

Taken at Dovestones Reservoir yesterday morning.

Went to try to capture another sunrise that looked promising, but yet again nothing really happened.

Decided to have a play around with some long exposure images, and this works well for me.

Taken using Nisi V6 Holder, Landscape CPL, 3 Stop Med GND & 10 Stop ND Filter