Walking and shooting in the Peak District

I think I may have been a little obsessed by the Peak District in Derbyshire. Especially at night. I like the idea that the Peaks have been shot to death in daylight and there's probably too few images of the area in the dark. I'm normally a light painting photographer but I've always tried or dabbled in night landscape photography.

This is a little collection of images shot in the late evening or at night when all the crowds have gone home. I've also realised in compiling these images, how my photography skills have progressed over the years. I was quite choosy looking for related images and rejected quite a few because the quality just wasn't there. Every day is a school day!

Stone in my shoe

This turned out to be an unexpectedly romantic shot! From a sunset photoshoot on Stanage Edge where I was hoping someone would conveniently wander into my frame for a sense of scale. Then by a stroke of luck, this couple climbed up and even more conveniently there was something lodged in the lady's shoe. What a gentleman!

An unexpected shooting star

Out on the Monsal Trail with @fadetoblack one night, we were experimenting with silhouettes and lighting in different ways. It's during these experiments that a bright shooting star aka meteorite flew by and luckily I caught it! It was unique because I haven't managed to capture one since despite being in the dark hundreds of times since!

Headstone Tunnel ravine

To get to this point on the Monsal Trail, it's necessary to climb down a steep muddy path and walk almost a mile through this long and curved abandoned railway tunnel. I have promised myself to return to this place and re-shoot it with a star trail sequence but my knees are currently not up to the task!

Stanage Edge Sunset and the willing victim aka volunteer

It's quite a climb up to Stanage Edge and I'm my own worst enemy carrying too much gear on my back. I take all sorts of accessories and lights "just in case". I'm on a quest to lighten the load and only take what I need.

With this shot, we met another photographer with a tripod and we got chatting. At the end of our pleasantries I cheekily asked if he wouldn't mind posing in an iconic way on the ledge. The stranger agreed and I HAD TO SHOUT to be heard so I could line him up in the perfect position. I was rather pleased with the way this one turned out!

Under the Peak District

I don't think anyone except @fadetoblack and I are crazy enough to venture in to a very slippy cave and shoot inside! Near to Winnat's Pass is this cave sheltered from the wind and rain where we can practice our craft.

This was a relatively simple shot to make with a laser pen and a gelled flashgun. This was the test shot prior to Tim making his own award winning light painting silhouette shot.

Star trails inside Thor's Cave

Any image worth bagging in the Peak District seems to involve an arduous climb. The walk up to Thor's Cave is no exception. We'd seen another photographer shooting a star trail image from inside the cave where Polaris was lined up perfectly. We were somewhat sceptical so decided to check it out for ourselves to see if north was indeed pointing the right way for the composition in the cave.

As we arrived we knew instantly that the other photographer we'd seen had completely faked it! WHAT A FRAUD!

We did a star trail anyways and here the cave walls are lit from the outside. I need to return here!

The Powder House**

This circular stone structure was once used to store explosives used for the adjacent lead mine. We've shot this place many times and to find something new to shoot is always a bonus. We learnt on this occasion that shooting on a late night in May is a mistake due to the many little midges all heading to bite me! Only me!

Shooting in abandoned tunnels

Underneath an abandoned railway across the Peaks is this old stone built personnel tunnel. We've visited many times and every time seems to be more slippy than the last. I have fallen flat on my ass many times in this tunnel!

The Crime Scene

This is the entrance to the lime kiln which @fadetoblack and I have shot in many times. The star trail sequence here was easy enough to line up but the post processing required to remove all the plane trails was crazy! Shooting near a major airport is probably not going to help!

Lighting up Magpie Mine

Another favourite place to visit is Magpie Mine. The flare at the top is a friend's drone armed with Lime Cubes. I wandered around in the dark with different coloured lights to achieve this image.

I have yet to get an image from Magpie I'm truly happy with and maybe that's just another excuse for a return visit!

About me:
I usually specialise in shooting lightpainting images but occasionally dabble in urbex and artistic model photography. I'm always on the lookout for someone to collaborate with; please don't hesitate to get in touch if you'd like to create art.

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