"Blink and you miss it!"
For that is quite possibly the best way to describe the year 2024 as, yes it has been a year that has gone by rather too quickly for my liking, but it has also been a year in which I have managed to capture some interesting and curious landscape photographs from lets just say "a completely different perspective." Yes, I like landscape photography from the ground level - but hold on a minute, the introduction of a drone to the mixture, well that certainly does change things completely and perhaps even for the best. You see it was the year 2024 that I first had a little go at flying a drone, it was Spring time and well a chance visit to Watnall Woods, was the location in which I would end up capturing my first photograph with the drone, I remember it like it was yesterday.
"A Watnall of a "Different Perspective." And the photograph on the right is the first photo that I had managed to capture, of course under the careful instruction and mentoring of
Nottinghamshire Landscape Photographer Craig Yates, but little did I know that down the line something would change, yet this is probably the photograph that perhaps
"changed my perception on photography and peaked an interest in wanting to purchase a drone for photography." And well I just loved this photograph, the way that it looked, the way in which Watnall Woods looked, a place that I had discovered during lockdown when rules were relaxed, and a place that from the ground is magical, yet from the air, well you get a whole different view and perspective of this beautiful stretch of woodland.
"After the flight in May of 2024, the one in which I got the photo from above, I had caught a metaphorical bug, that bug of course was The Drone Bug, one in which you immediately want to head out and capture the beauty of the landscape, not from the ground but from the air, to see the beauty of a landscape from a unique perspective."
But of course it was in August of 2024 that a trip to Stanton Moor was on the cards, again another photographic meet up with Craig, and this time it was all about the landscape photography - finding the purple heather, or the lack of purple heather, and a conversation took place, a little later in August of 2024 and I had finally invested in a drone, that drone being one that Craig had once owned, and now I finally had the scope to capture the landscape from the air, but of course what else was I going to capture? Finally though September had arrived and scope happened, and I had something in mind, I wanted to capture the middle of Nottingham, a city with a unique style of modern, brutalist concrete architecture and of course historical architecture, but where better to capture the views from but St Barnabas Cathedral
"Flying high above the arts of Pugin, St Barnabas Cathedral from a different perspective." To the left is a photograph that I just love, St Barnabas Cathedral in Nottingham (A Pugin Designed Building with history) and of course the other architectural gems of Nottingham, from 400ft up looking down I was amazed at what I had captured, something beautiful and the middle of Nottingham looking slightly more unusual, but again though after capturing this photo, I wanted to capture one looking directly towards the city centre of Nottingham, and that is what I ended up doing - I was amazed at just how beautiful the city centre of Nottingham looked, from a high altitude, magical in quite a lot of ways, and really, I was now using
"a tripod with a camera that can fly." I then panned the camera up slightly, and before long I had composed the next image, the next photograph, and immediately I just had to capture it, below of course is that photograph.
"Styles, Patterns, Architecture and a painted layout from above." And yes, September was a month that was warm, and this particular day the weather was just perfection for flying the drone, and below a view from just above St Barnabas Cathedral looking towards Nottingham City Centre, and down below is of course a junction that no longer exists, instead it is now a T Junction, that no doubt will create even more issues in the future, but the thing that I loved about this photo of course is the mix of architecture, low and high rise buildings, styles and patterns, architecture and a magical painted layout of various new and old, concrete brutalist buildings all blending into each other, something truly beautiful and magical, an urban landscape that was just something else to see from above.
And yet Autumn was also on the horizon, a season of colour, a season of delight and yet even now I feel the following about Autumn of 2024, which is the following,
"That Autumn of 2024 was something short, sharp, quick and beautiful."
Yes, all the colours seemed to come together this Autumn in what can be described as a crescendo, for it was magical to see and witness, but a place that throughout 2024 that I have visited, just happens to be
The Bottle Kiln, a delightful former Kiln that used to be West Hallam Pottery, now it is a mixture of retail with a fantastic café and I knew that the delightful Japanese Inspired Water Garden might have some delightful Autumnal colours, it did on this particular occasion and with permission from the owner of The Bottle Kiln, I managed to get the following photographs.
"Colour Changes around The Bottle Kiln." Okay perhaps the weather was not on my side, but there was just something that I was hoping to do and that was to capture a view of The Bottle Kiln from above, I had done previously and yet this time around I was after Autumn Colours, and when I sent the drone up, below was the Japanese Inspired Water Garden, and amongst that the magical Autumn Colours, but that was not going to be the only photo, of course when I bought the drone back down to a lower altitude, I noticed something beautiful, for I could see artwork, abstract as well and I knew I had to capture it, the only problem was flying, I had to fly low and slow, and before long I had managed to find the perfect composition, and with some incredibly careful flying I had managed to capture the following photograph, abstract yes but beautiful is what it was.
"Autumn Symphony, Colours Glow." Magical is what Autumn was this year, and even with a drone, some careful flying it is possible to find some abstract photo opportunities, and this is what I had found, the branches of a tree within the glorious Japanese Inspired Water Garden at The Bottle Kiln, with some opulent and artistic Autumnal Colours, needless to say that I just loved the abstract look, the abstract elements and most of all the elements of Autumn beauty, a work of art is what I was looking at, and that work of art, created by nature.
And of course Autumn soon gave way, October soon said farewell and before long, November had arrived, yes Autumn colours were still clinging on to some extent, but one thing about November of course was the light! Magical is what it was and perhaps it was a trip to The Chapel on The Hill, in Kimberley, a location that I have visited on many occasions before, a location as well that I had flown the drone before, in less than ideal conditions and yet this time around, a November afternoon, the light was just perfect, and the chance to fly at The Chapel on The Hill with this perfect afternoon light was something I just had to do, and well out of all the photos I have taken this year with the drone, perhaps this is one of the best ones that I have taken.
"Light, Arts, Shades, The Chapel down Below, the glorious Opulent Glow." November is a month of transitions, goodbye Autumn and hello Winter, yet November can also be a beautiful time of year as well, the light can be inspirational and get it right, and well November can be the ideal month for capturing photos, especially for sunsets and sunrises.
And here I was, the drone was in front of me, the light just lighting up The Chapel on The Hill, and immediately I sent the drone to 400ft, I was amazed at what I could see down below, the glorious Chapel on The Hill, looking that little bit more magical, that little bit more delightful and opulent with the golden light casting on the chapel and making the last of the Autumnal colours of the trees just glow - and yes, come the spring when the blossoms come out, then I shall return, but what had captured on this occasion was artwork, nature and architecture all combining in one beautiful show below.
Then of course November progressed, sunsets of purple continued, glorious light, but then a cold snap and snow! The snow bought with it, challenges and well I had a thought, the thought of course was to head to Greasley Church, a delightful historic 15th century Church that has a certain magical charm to it, and with the snow, was I going to capture any decent photos? Well yes I was, and my favourite photo from was the following.
"Greasley, and the magic of the snow." And to the right is what I had captured, a delightful crisp sky, the crisp snow below and yes for this photo I did not send the drone that high, instead I opted for a panorama a square format one and this is the end result, magical. And again another one of my most favourite photos from 2024.
But the Snow, did it stay around? Well no, and as November fluttered away December arrived, bringing with it some lets just say,
Instead of December feeling and having a Winter chill in the air, it felt mild, and that of course is Global Warming for you, but December was also a month in which it seemed to rain quite a bit, damp weather of course meant that flying the drone was not going to happen, and as December progressed, things gradually and slowly began to improve, before long a break from the grey and damp weather of early December, and with that a return to magical Winter skies and Sunsets of course, and it was on Christmas Eve, that I noticed the sky was doing something magical, a delightful purple hue could be seen and thankfully since Winter Solstice had now passed, a little bit more in the way of daylight, and that meant one thing, I had to capture the glorious Sunset on Christmas Eve from above, I had to see what works of art I could find and what I found, well it was nothing short of magical.
"If artwork was a Panorama?" I had moments, moments to spare before the light would completely disappear, I sent the drone up and wow, what I could see over the Erewash Valley, was nothing short of pure magic, the light was opulent, and what I had seen was nature creating a work of art, akin to a painting, and it was just something else to witness, but I did not stop there, I had to get another photo of the magical light, and that is what I managed to do.
"The arts of Purple, A Christmas Eve Hue, for artwork can be seen from above." And to the right, again the last photo that I had taken on Christmas Eve of 2024, a glorious light, a suburban landscape leading towards The Erewash Valley in the distance, and the colour of the light, the colour in the skies, well it was magical to say the least, again a work of art is what nature had created, the clouds lit up by the afternoon setting sun or the remainder of the light from the setting sun, and the purple/pink hues melding together to create something that little bit more special. I was truly amazed at what I had managed to capture, and again whilst this Winter has been a strange, perhaps curious one, it has indeed managed to surprise us all, especially with the colour of the skies, down below at ground level the landscape looks that little bare, and yet despite that, Winter can be a season of colour, yet sometimes you just need to look upwards to the skies in order to find that colour, a delightful Winter sunset.
For that is my Yearly Review for 2024, a year that has gone by rather too quickly, and yet a year that has provided works of art, surprises, curiosities and interesting drone photography along with challenging compositions. But I just wonder what magic, 2025 will bring with it? Who knows, but what I do know is to say...... Happy New Year!
