Saturday October the 12th 2024, A viewpoint, a challenging flight and heritage. Taking a different look from a unique perspective at Monsal Dale and The Impressive Headstone Viaduct.

It was on Saturday the 12th of October 2024, that me and two friends of mine headed into Derbyshire, a ride on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway from Wirksworth to Duffield and back to Wirksworth was just nothing short of magical, even if it had started out rather damp and rainy, but by the time we had arrived back at Wirksworth, well things started to change, the weather seemingly improved and before long what happened? Blue skies and sunshine had arrived, a slight Autumnal chill in the air, but that did not matter - however a railway themed day? Well it was certainly going to be a day with surprise, and after a short drive from Wirksworth via Bakewell and Ashford In The Water, the next location was going to be Monsal Head, with its stunning views and vistas down towards The Headstone Viaduct, a former Railway Viaduct that provided a rail link between Bakewell and Manchester, now though despite no trains crossing this impressive feat of engineering, it is now used by people cycling and walking and taking in a different perspective of The Monsal Trail. 

And yet despite visiting this location before, this time around I decided to capture the glorious view of Monsal Dale and the impressive Headstone Viaduct, from a completely different perspective, and that was with the drone. Yes, the wind did not help that much so a relatively low and safe altitude was kept, but the vistas and views were just something else to behold as I captured some elements of Autumn that were definitely visible in The Derbyshire Dales/Peak District National Park. 

"From just above, looking down, the Horseshoe Valley, Industry gone by and Beauty Collides."

"Heritage and a glorious Landscape."

"Heading the Headstone Way."

"The vistas, the beauty, A Monsal of a view."

Thursday October the 10th 2024, Without it I would have missed the sunset, yet from above artwork was found.

So far on the ground "Autumn of 2024" has been somewhat of a disappointment so far, with a complete lack of any, 

"Autumnal arts and Autumnal Colours."

Sporadic is what it has been to say the least, however though despite any Autumnal arts and Autumnal colours at ground level not exactly being visible to the eye, what has been visible are the skies, yes the nights are drawing in and well before the sky goes too dark, what has nature been doing (when the weather has been decent?) Well putting on a spectacular artwork and with that some spectacular painted like skies have been visible, and with that glorious colours, but little did I know that after this sunset had been captured, that the return of another spectacle of nature would take place and that was of course The Aurora Borealis, aka The Northern Lights. 

"Fire Like Glow, A View North West."

"Racing Clouds and the seem of Golden Light."

"Sweeping is the change, the beauty, the light."

"Clouds, Patterns and a Town."

"Towards the Autumn Sunset."

"A Fire glow, Beauty towards the valley."

"Winston, A Golden Glow, the magic of Light."

"Changes, a Light of Sunset Fire"

"Patterns, Shades and Glow."

"Clouds and that golden hue. A valley Glow."

"The Roofs, The Silhouette of Church."

"Catching the Autumn Glow, a glorious Autumn Sunset work of Art."

Tuesday the 8th of October 2024, The arts of Autumn within a Japanese Inspired Water Garden, at The Bottle Kiln, West Hallam.

Autumn, a season of arts within the landscape and a time in which nature puts on a show of colours before Winter arrives. I as a photographer have always found that Autumn like Spring is rather lets just say - "Theatrical" with the way it provides works of art, and those works of art are created by Nature, doing what nature does. But so far Autumn of 2024, has been rather meh, perhaps that is because any Autumn colour so far has been rather sporadic to say the least, patchy as well, and whilst I have always loved capturing Autumn and the colours of Autumn from ground level, the ability to capture Autumn from above, well that has been something else, and it was on Tuesday the 8th of October 2024, that after a delightful breakfast at The Bottle Kiln, (the former home of West Hallam/Peak Pottery) that I had the ability to once again capture the glorious Japanese Inspired Water Garde, from above. The last time that I captured The Bottle Kiln, from above was on Monday the 16th of September 2024, and from what I remember, the last of the Summer weather was here, yes it was warm and the colour changes, had to some extent begun to happen, yet this time around, I was completely amazed at the arts of Autumn from within The Japanese Inspired Water Garden, at the Bottle Kiln, for layers of colours came together like a painting from perhaps Monet? Either way, what I do know is that Autumn from above really does seem to be magical. 

"Colour Changes around The Bottle Kiln."

"Arts of the Autumnal Garden." 

"Autumn, A painting, Layers of Beauty."

"Autumn Symphony, Colours Glow."

"Green, Changes and Autumn Gold."

"Green, Colour, elements of Kiln."

"Seeking Gold."

"Autumn Stepping Stones."

Saturday the 5th of October 2024, Sometimes you just have to take a risk, and the rewards can be worth it. Capturing an Autumn sunset from Alma Hill, Nottinghamshire.

 

"Golden is The November Greasley Glow." - On the left is a photo that I had captured of Greasley Church, on November the 28th 2023, the afternoon light was just beginning to fade away and what happened to the landscape? Well amazingly a glorious glow, a golden light had just completely lit up the landscape and countryside of Greasley, and here I was at the top of Alma Hill, just witnessing this glorious light even if it lasted for a very short time, of course though I was standing at the top of Alma Hill using a DSLR with a 55-250mm lens so I was able to get some pretty decent photos of this glorious sunset from this glorious viewpoint that during Lockdown became something of a "Lockdown Discovery!" Along with Watnall Woods. And the last time that I had visited Alma Hill and Watnall Woods this year was in May of 2024 when I had visited Watnall Woods with the fantastic Photographer - Craig Yates. Fast forward of course from May to October and Autumn has arrived, and whilst the Autumn colours are not yet in full foliage, what I have been noticing in-between the somewhat inclement rainy and damp weather is that when we have had clear skies, we have also had some equally glorious sunsets, Autumnal ones and it was on Saturday the 5th of October 2024, that in the late afternoon/early evening I noticed a change happening, I knew there would potentially be a sunset that I just had to capture, but where did I want to go? 

Well in the end it would be Alma Hill, and this time around I was going to capture the sunset in a completely different way - from above, but I set off with a bit of optimism, for was I going to end up capturing the sunset or not? Eventually after a short drive, I had arrived at Alma Hill, and I walked down the footpath/bridleway to the viewpoint that is on the corner, the sun I could see was just beginning to set, and thankfully there was also a little bit of light still, and yes, I had time! Quickly I got the drone airborne and what happened next was just magical, the light was creating a glorious tone over the landscape and not only that but the cloudscapes were rather spectacular as well. Sometimes with photography it is all about taking risks, small ones and in the end, the decision to capture a glorious October sunset from Alma Hill, surely did pay off, as what I witnessed and what I saw from above, was a landscape that had a certain glow about it.

"Pinks, Blues, Layers and Elements."

"Pastel elements of the Greasley Skies, a glorious light that glows."

"Painted Autumn Glow, a Sunset, a Pastel October Sky."

"Patterns, Fields, Patchwork, Pastel Sky, taking a look at Greasley from a different angle."

"Autumn shades, Autumn Abstracts of Greasley Fields."

"The painted October glow."

"A painted sky of beauty, the October sun it glows."

"The pastel sky, a glorious glow from Countryside to Suburbia."

"The path to Watnall Woods, a Painting of Fields, a glorious Landscape that glows."

Wednesday the 2nd of October 2024, A perfect late Autumnal afternoon/evening and a flight at the glorious Greasley Church.

Wednesday the 2nd of October 2024 - was just a perfect kind of day, and whilst it might have started out slightly "meh" to begin with, by the afternoon a break in the weather had occurred, blue skies had made their welcome return after what had seemed to be quite a long period with rain, and where to fly? For that was the biggest question, where to capture? And in the end it was to be the historic 15th Century, St Mary's Church, Greasley (or) Greasley Church, a Church that despite being surrounded by countryside, that also sits close by to suburbia, well it seems to be a place of escapism and no matter what season it is, what the time of year it is, it always has something photogenic about it, I was also seeking some Autumn colours in the trees, although they seemed to still be rather green, that being said though despite the lack of Autumn colours, which seem to be later this year than usual, it was just a perfect late afternoon/early evening flight, and the lighting conditions just made things even more beautiful and magical.

"The Autumn Light, A Perfect Flight."

"Floating above, a delightful view."

"Fields, Skies, Patterns and a Greasley Vista."

"In and amongst the countryside, suburbia, Escapism can be found."

"The light, the magic, a glow and October Blue."

"Light, Shadows, Beauty."

"Towers and Patterns in the clouds."

"October, a glorious light, A glorious sight."

"The trees remain green in the October light."

"October and an Autumnal light glow."

"Greens and Gold."

Sunday the 29th of September 2024, The Park, And seeking Autumn. Taking a look at Ilkeston Victoria Park, for hints of Autumn could be seen.

"Autumn, a season that is unique, for it is very much a season of artwork, much like the Spring when nature awakens, Autumn provides the artwork that a deep sleep for nature will be on the way." 

There are two seasons that I really do like to capture, they are Spring and Autumn, yes Summer can be nice to capture photographs, and Winter, well things can get a little bit more challenging, but Spring and Autumn, well they are seasons of art and beauty, they are also season that involve colour, and me, well I have been seeking Autumn colour since Autumn of 2024 has started, complex it has been and challenging to some degree it has been - especially because of the rain, that has made capturing photos from above, not possible; but it was on the 29th of September 2024 that I was at Ilkeston Victoria Park, a park situated just a metaphorical stone's throw away from the town centre of Ilkeston. Yet, somehow it feels a complete world away, and another reason why it feels a world away is because of its unique design and layout that dates back to Victorian Times, to a time when Ilkeston was also known as a "Bath Spa Town." Now though Ilkeston has changed and socio economic issues have made it a place that might seem slightly "tatty" around the town centre - but look beyond that and Ilkeston has an eclectic mixture of Architecture that is largely unnoticed. But it is Ilkeston Victoria Park, that is one of those places I discovered during Lockdown, but to see it this time around with encroaching Autumn colours on Sunday the 29th of September 2024, well that was just magical to see, okay the full Autumn colours are not quite out yet, Autumn might be late this year, but looking down on Ilkeston Victoria Park, from the air, you can see a little slice of heaven amongst a suburban surrounding.

"Encroaching Autumn at The Bandstand."

"Colours of the tops, a change on the way."

"A Bandstand, The colours as they change."

"Changing foliage, and a green space."

"Gentle is the turn of the trees, Autumn creeps slow."

"Patterns of the park, a green space of Escapism."

"Autumn, for arrival at the park is slow, but colours creeping in."