Sunday the 23rd of February 2025, Taking a look at the vistas and views of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire according to Grok?

Ugh! What a dire month February has been, for it has been largely dull, grey and bland - then again seasonally it is still Winter and that kind of weather is to be expected, but February has also been a month in which I have not really had the chance to fly the drone, the last time I had managed to capture anything was on Tuesday the 4th of February when I had moments to spare in which to capture a sunset, since then of course the weather for any kind of drone photography has been well not exactly on my side, yes the grey weather might have slightly broke this past week, but even still it is not that ideal for capturing any scenes with the drone, but today I had a slight thought and that was the following, 

"For do I need to actually use the drone in order to capture some photographs? Well strictly speaking no I do not, instead I need to just simply try a slightly unusual method and that of course is with something called AI."

And with that, well I decided to enter some simple commands, written lines into an AI service called Grok, yes it might be AI, but below are just some of the images that Grok managed to create of The Nottinghamshire countryside and Nottingham City, when taken from the perspective of a Drone. 

"Hidden are the gems of the Nottinghamshire Villages."

"Besides the Trent, A Gentle Nottingham Glow."

"The glow of Sunrise over Nottingham, AI Glow."

"Visions and vistas of The Gentle beauty of The Trent."

"Rolling are the hills of the Nottinghamshire Heathlands perhaps."

"The simple rolling beauty of a Nottinghamshire vista."

Tuesday the 4th of February 2025, Sometimes you just have to capture something with moments to spare.

"And in a split second I noticed something, the light was doing something truly magical and magnificent and me I had moments to spare, literally moments to spare and with that I just had to capture the last moments of a glorious Sunset."

The month of February has arrived and with that a noticeable change is happening, for a start in the afternoon/evening there is a little bit more daylight and with that, yes Winter is still to some degree, lingering and clinging on, but a transition is also happening and that is Winter slowly beginning to give way to what can only be described as "elements of the encroaching season of Spring." But it was on Tuesday the 4th of February that I noticed the sky was doing something truly spectacular, a glorious sunset was beginning to take place, and me well I just had to send the drone up to capture the last moments of this glorious sunset with literally only moments to spare, and sure enough I did, but here is the result, it might only be one photo but within photography some of the best photographs are captured with only moments to spare. 

"The Urban Fire Sky Glow."

Sunday the 2nd of February 2025, When it is still seasonally Winter and yet it feels as if it could be Spring! Views and vistas from The Chapel on The Hill.

The last time that I had visited The Chapel on The Hill, situated just above the Nottinghamshire town of Kimberley was on the 13th of November 2024 - a Wednesday and of course that was when a transition from Autumn to Winter was taking place, seasonally though it was classed as Winter and did it feel like it? Perhaps it did, but of course the light was doing something truly magical and magnificent to say the least and I was completely taken away, however though Winter has been so far, from the end of 2024 to now a bit "meh!" To say the least, the weather has not been that good and and whilst Winter has not exactly been really cold, it has been grey and with quite a lot of rainfall, plus storms which have passed through. 

But today though, a change and that was the "welcome return of the Blue Sky!" And of course that came with another question? Just where to capture? Where would be a good place to get vistas and views, perhaps even with a Spring element to them? And before long, a decision had been made to re-visit the beautiful and charming Chapel on The Hill, perched high above the Nottinghamshire town of Kimberley, plus with the sky being clear, on the horizon due North West it was possible to see Crich Stand and Alport Height just visible on the horizon. 

And yet amazingly, with the glorious sunshine, gentle light and blue skies, I almost forgot that seasonally it is still Winter, for this time around it felt as if it was Spring, and the conditions were perfect for capturing the following photographs. 

"The Town and The Chapel."

"Just floating and soaring. The Winter light, feels like it could be Spring."

"The magic of the gentle Winter light."

"The bare trees of Winter, a Chapel of a light and glow."

"Forms, Shapes, Shades and Light."

"The Trees of Winter bare, a Glow below."

"The Beauty, The Bypass, a Winter light that shines."

"Arts of the Chapel and The Road for The Commute."

"Floating and Soaring, Patterns and Abstracts, the beauty of Architecture."

"Quirky is the Chapel, Abstracts and Arts under the Winter Light."

"A slight change of Perspective, the beauty of The Chapel."

"Beauty from 400ft. Gentle below is the Chapel."

"Shades, Glorious Light, for is this Artwork?"

"Architecture, Light, Winter a Glow."

"Patterns and Arts, the Delightful afternoon light and the beauty of the Serene Chapel Below."

"Pathways, Circles, Bare Trees, The beauty and Unique exist."

Thursday the 30th of January 2025, The calmness, the serenity, The River Trent down below and a delightful Nottinghamshire view.

Nottinghamshire is one of those counties that somehow "feels a little bit left behind in the world of landscape photography." And that is quite strange really - just googling landscape photography UK, will bring up a plethora of content from other landscape photographers, and just where do they tend to photograph? Well the more well known areas of the country from The Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Peak District.... You kind of get the idea. But Nottinghamshire though is a county of many surprises, and it was on Thursday the 30th of January 2024, that after a lovely lunch at Fables Coffee House in Edwinstowe, a delightful drive through the Nottinghamshire countryside took place, and just heading along the A616 towards Kelham and then following the course of The River Trent, via the villages that sit on the banks of The River Trent happened, what I saw was a county that really does lend itself to landscape photography with a plethora of beautiful rolling hills, quaint villages and scenes just awaiting to be captured. 

And wait a minute, heading into the Nottinghamshire village of Fiskerton, I just had to stop off for a little while and take in the glorious views, behind me of course was a low setting sun which made for some rather difficult conditions to photograph, but instead I turned the drone around and managed to capture the following views of The River Trent and some delightful views of the Nottinghamshire countryside, the River Trent of course in these photos is winding its way north towards the historic town of Newark and beyond, but again encroaching Spring could also be felt, and yes, the blue sky probably helped with that. 

"A Trent of a Fiskerton Panorama."

"Floating above the River, a Trent of a View."

"Serenity and Calm, the Trent snakes its way. A delightful view."

Monday the 27th of January 2025, for sometimes you have to visit a location but try something different. Another visit to a location of calm and a location of History - the beauty of Belper River Gardens.

The last time that I visited the delightful and glorious "Belper River Gardens" it was on Saturday the 11th of January 2025, of course the landscape surrounding Belper River Gardens, well it was a little bit different - as the cold weather, lingering snowfall and frost had transformed the landscape and made it that little bit more magical, this time around though well the weather had changed yet again, and thankfully the skies, well they did have blue in them which was refreshing to see. But again there was something else, the light casting a beautiful light, golden to a degree on the River Derwent, at the side of the old brick mill, yes the snow might have gone, but a certain Winter Bareness which lacked colour could also be seen, but somehow calmness could be felt along with a certain sense of serenity, and a feeling of encroaching Spring was surely in the air.

"The Golden Derwent Glow."

"Winter elements, the beauty of The River Garden Bandstand."

"Water, Elements, Bandstand."

"Beauty of Red Brick, the Old Mill." - (Colour.)

"Beauty of Red Brick, the Old Mill." - (Black and White.)

Thursday the 16th of January 2025, A truly glorious and ethereal flight looking down towards the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire Borderlands of The Erewash Valley and a curious morning sense of Beauty.

"The Winter continues and the surprises, for they keep on coming along."

6.30am and what is that, I can see outside? For yet again the sight of frost, well "freezing frost" this time around has made a slightly marmite like return, but along with it, as 6.30am soon bid farewell and the light began to peek through, what else did I notice? Well that of course was a truly glorious Cloud Inversion, that could be seen in The Erewash Valley, magical it was and I knew that I had to capture it. Below of course are the photos that I had taken in the morning.

"Silence, Blue, Vista."

"The Dreamy like Morning, Cloud Inversion of Magic, the Winston Glow."

"Magical Morning, Erewash Dreaming."

"Just above the roofs, floating within a Cloud Inversion Dream?"

But then by the afternoon, I was looking out the window and noticed something else happening, for the sky was blue and yet to the west where I was looking, what was encroaching? Again a beautiful bank of fog, and again I just had to capture that, and below are those photos.

"Flying close to the mysterious beauty."

"Light and Fog, on the Cusp."

"Looming, As the Fog encroaches."

But I also had to capture a little video showcasing the beauty of what I had seen in the afternoon, for I had literally flown by the cusp of the encroaching fog, on what has in ways seemed like the most curious of Winter days, with a strange kind of ethereal beauty to it, and if you want to see the video footage that I captured, then it can be found here.

Saturday the 11th of January 2025, Taking a look at the cusp of Frost and Snow, combined with History. The stunning light and beauty of Belper River Gardens.

As a county goes, "Derbyshire" has some truly amazing and contrasting landscapes and those landscapes well they vary so much have there own unique and interesting elements, from the curious limestone dales of the southern parts of The Peak District National Park and The Derbyshire Dales all the way to the more dramatic, bleak and beautiful gritstone elements of The Dark Peak, which are part of the more Northern flanks of The Peak District National Park. But it also goes without saying that history can also be found, clues from yesteryear, and beauty within that history can also be seen. 

And it was on Saturday the 11th of January 2025 that I had visited Belper, a historical town located within the equally famous Lower Derwent Valley, a town that is located on the banks of The River Derwent and a town that old ghosts from The Industrial Revolution can be seen, and the most infamous landmark within Belper happens to be the old red brick Mill, that stands guard above the Belper skyline, next door to this old red brick Mill, is of course Belper River Gardens, a delightful place to walk and explore, to relax and watch the world go by or to grab a bite to eat in the glorious Park Life Café at The Swiss Tea Rooms, but as I was awaiting for Coffee to be served, I wanted to capture the beauty of Belper River Gardens and the mill from a unique perspective, yes I have photographed Belper River Gardens on many occasions before from ground level, but to get a different perspective from the air, well that just had to be done. 

And from above I was met with a truly delightful glorious light, dramatic yes, and one in which a contrast could be seen, a deep frozen frost, but elements of snowfall that was still on the ground, and yet looking westwards more snowfall could be seen, yet looking eastwards, the snowfall that was still lingering on the ground, well that was on the cusp of a more Frosted landscape. Yet a short distance away in Nottinghamshire, only the deep frost remains, and yet in Belper and its surroundings, the last lingering remains of Snow, and that is because of course of Altitude differentials within the landscape, but what I had come across, the views, well they were nothing short of magical.

"Within a frosty River Gardens Rush."

"Frosts to the left, Snow to the Right, and a Derwent Valley sense of Beauty."

"The River, The Gardens, a delightful light and a glorious Winter Belper Sight."

"The Bandstand, The Mill, Rays of Distant Winter Light."

"The Glorious Belper Winter Light, Cold and Bitter Glow."

"Above the trees, to The Mill."

"Floating gently above, the Gardens below."

"The Bandstand, The Mill, The Glorious Winter Light, a Distant Sight."