I was really keen to meet up with Pro Photographer Chris Sale having enjoyed two 121s with him on our last visit to the Lakes in 2021.
Back then I did sunrise shoots with Chris to Raven Crag and Loughrigg Fell.
I reached out to Chris and he suggested Tewet Tarn this time round with a meet time of 05:00.
The shoot
We parked up and made our way over some fields to the first location.
A composition that uses the old stone wall as a leading line to the well known mountains of Skiddaw and Blencathra was the image to grab.
Chris gave me some good tips on composition, mainly around trying to achieve balance in an image.
Below are some notes of what Chris was pointing out to me which led to this capture.
Skiddaw is the sixth-highest mountain in England at 3,054 ft (or 931 metres in new money). It is the simplest of the Lake District mountains of this height to ascend.
Blencathra, also known as Saddleback, is one of the most northerly of the Cumbrian Mountains in the Lakes. It has six fell tops. Pd which the highest is Hallsfell Top at 2,848 ft (or 868 metres).
I observed Chris often suggested a portrait orientation which I’ll admit I don’t try as often as perhaps I should. I liked the one below in terms of depth to the image and detail.
Although it was dry on this morning, we weren’t getting much sunlight through the cloud, which was a shame given the 04:00 rise and shine. But nature will do what it wants, and we must make the most of what it provides to us.
While we waited and chatted all things photography, I got the drone up.
Although I hadn’t realised that on a DJI drone, bracket settings reset on power off, I grabbed the following single image which I think is interesting.
This drone shots shows you the contours of High Rigg, the Helvellyn range in the distance on the left, and a peek of Thirlemere reservoir in the distance.
I also grabbed a shot behind this scene of the tarn and Skiddaw/Blencathra, and while these drone images are not going to win competitions, I’m very pleased with the views they provide.
Chris then led me to a shot of a tree, again with that background.
We were heading back to the tarn but first had to navigate past some horses that had congregated near the gate we needed to use.
A quick handheld shot was taken.
At the tarn, Chris showed me a composition near the edge with some grasses – it’s a lovely scene, and would be more dramatic if we had some more early morning light and colour provided to us.
Moving around the edge of the tarn with our backs to Blencathra and Skiddaw, Chris recommended a shot of this tree.
With advice from Chris, I would get reasonably low for this one, and make sure the tree was all in the frame, as well as the tarn.
As the morning sunlight and colours were not going to arrive, Chris recommended a monochrome edit and a slight vignette.
Another tree Chris showed me was one which requires careful composition low down to ensure the lower branches stick up in-between the two famous mountains.
The same black and white edit would apply.
I must admit, I really like this shot and the dramatic mood monochrome delivers. Those two mini branches left and right at the bottom along with the higher ones are almost akin to signposts to the two mountains.
That was a wrap
I had a superb morning catching up with Chris who has had big life challenges since when I last met him in 2021, and that is what has led him to change his photography business to a different model.
Chris now provides coaching and mentoring to photographers and has guided his photographers to big improvements in their image creation as well as guiding some to RPS qualifications – check him out here.
Just like last time, I am considering a second trip out with Chris very soon.
Onwards and upwards…