Wedding: Lee & Wendy

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing Lee & Wendy's Wedding. It was overcast and rather dark the whole day but after the forcast had said heavy rain all day, we were very lucky that it didn't hit us.

The church was lovely and set out on two floors (the 2nd floor being a balcony floor) so there was plenty of space to move around although I couldn't get in a central position to the bride and groom during the ceremony and there wasn't much time to move.

The only dificulty during the day was that the lighting. It was very low, even in the church and I had to compensate this by using a higher iso that I would have liked.

Below are a couple of decorative shots from the reception. Bride & Groom photographs will follow shortly.

Hardraw Force, Yorkshire

Yet again, a very different waterfall and slightly bizarre too!

Hardraw (Hardrow) Force is on private property owned by a pub.
You have to pay £2 entry to get access to it and it is very very muddy but well worth it.

The fall was huge! I knew it was big, but I wasn't expecting quite that big - we looked like ants next to it!
But because it was so big, the amount of noise and spray made it impossible to get very close and the over hanging trees were too distracting on the full length photographs that I took. On top of this, it was absolutely chucking it down so keeping the lens dry was a mission and a half!

Hardraw is claimed to be England's tallest waterfall above ground boasting a 100 ft unbroken fall. Another scene from 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' was also filmed here.

This is my favourite photo from Hardraw, so simple yet so different from all of the others that I have taken so far.

West Burton Falls

I loved this location - it was perfect for photographers!

You can park right next to it so you don't have to carry anything far, its scenic and fairly quiet.
The river that it flows into is also very shallow and clear so you can see where you are going and there are plenty of rocks to climb on so you can move about.
Basically, you can get to anywhere you want - even behind it!

This was the best waterfall for photography that I went to on Sunday without a doubt.

West Burton village itself is also very pretty - it looks very much like it should be in the Cotswold's from the style of the buildings so I felt quite at home there!

Aysgarth Falls, Yorkshire

Aysgarth Falls, Yorkshire, originally uploaded by Elliye.

Aysgarth Falls was one of the film locations for 'Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves'.
The falls are comprised of three parts, lower (featured here), middle and upper falls.

Although Aysgarth Falls isn't very picturesque at this time of the year, its brute force and power are staggering and if you're up for a bit of a climb, you can get right down to the lower falls. Thankfully I got there before it rained so it wasn't too slippy, just not very easy with the equipment!
It was also quite difficult to get a clear photograph as there were so many visitors so it took a bit longer than I had expected!

Cotter Force, Yorkshire

Cotter Force, Yorkshire
Originally uploaded by Elliye

Just south of Cotter Rigg in Wensleyday is Cotter Force.

Unfortunately the 'light rain' that I was hoping for was more like heavy rain, rather windy and the light was starting to fail.
The footpath also lead to one very exposed spot and because it was so wet I didn't want to climb about on slippery ground too much with my camera.

I am pleased with the final couple of images of this waterfall that I have chosen but I would have liked more time here and slightly nicer conditions so I was very limited for composition.

Landscapes: The Next Locations

I am planning to visit the next set of locations tomorrow (Sunday). The forecast is cloudy which is perfect, in fact I'm hoping for light showers too!

The plan is to travel up to Wensleydale and visit some more waterfalls. There are four rather large and impressive ones (listed below) that I particularly want to photograph and if it rains, it will only make them flow more fiercely.

• West Burton Falls
• Aysgarth Falls
• Hardraw Force
• Cotter Force

On the way back to Leeds we will pass through Hawes and Grassington, both have some beautiful scenery so I'm hoping that I will be able to get some good shots of the Moors and Valleys if there is still enough light.

Collections: Change of plans...

Ok, so it has become pretty obvious that this project seems to have gone from landscape photography to waterfall photography!

This is mainly because there are so many waterfalls around and they are so much easier and quicker to find that the perfect location(s) for landscape photography, especially given the time constraints. The other reason is that after seeing the first few, I was amazed at how powerful they were. Each one was very different so there would be plenty of variation and I would be able to explore the Dales a bit more so that I can focus on landscapes for a later project.

This time of year is also quite difficult for landscapes as the weather is pretty miserable and I have a million and one things to do so I try to manage my time as best as I can, but this also means its not as easy to drop everything and head for the hills when we have a nice day.
Waterfalls often look better on a rainy and dull day so the weather shouldn't hold me back too much.