Firstly let me wish you a Happy New Year! Let us hope that it is a healthy one for us all.

I personally had a quiet but nice festive period with my family and friends but now as January is in its stride I am back working full on.

My workshops are just about to start and so knowing I had a few days to spare, I managed a good day out with Vicki Procter over in Snowdonia.

The view from the Miners track over towards Moel Siabod

It was a regular haunt for my wife and children and over the years and we proudly attained every route up Snowdon. Our Rob was four when he made his first ascent. Where has 28 years gone…..

It is a fantastic mountain and we always felt comfortable walking there. Never ever the risk takers and no, I never took my family over Crib Goch. Some of the routes were repeated time and again with the Miners and Pyg tracks our favourites, so it was to the Miners that I took Vicki.

The weather couldn’t have been any better. A fantastic winters day. Bright blue skies and a hint of a nip in the air. i have to say that’s not my perfect scenario for the type of photography I like and don’t normally ‘do’ blue sky days but you take what you can get. I call it weather roulette.

It is a problem that all landscape photographers have. Work will get in the way for most and I am no different even though I will often be ‘there’ in the thick of it. I do not use my own camera on workshops unless the absolute unusual happens because my job is to teach, not take my own photographs. I can do that at other times. Therefore my time does become limited to shoot what I want. A normal working week comprises of writing, commissions and workshops and so I find very little ‘me’ time. However, when the opportunity presents itself I take it with both hands.

We had a cracking time and mid afternoon I told Vicki I knew of a great location for a sunset that would show us a glorious view of the Snowdon and Glydrs range. That was the intention and all went well until a pointy rock sliced into my tyre and we had to effect a change to the spare. As a consequence we missed the sunset.

It happens and so the journey that is normally an hour to home took over two as I had to run on the ‘50mph’ tyre till i had it changed the next day.

Good pix and a nice meal at the end of it all though!

The following day, Irene and I took Vicki to Lyme Park. We used to live nearby and was a walk we regularly undertook. It is occasionally used for TV productions and is most famous for ‘Pride and Prejudice.’

I wanted to take her to The Cage. An imposing old Hunting Lodge that commands fantastic views over the Cheshire Plain and the Derbyshire hills.

We couldn’t have picked a more contrasting day as fog descended and remained throughout.

Still, we made the most of it. Referring back to weather roulette, I always tell folk who are beginning to venture out into landscape photography to, “take the weather as it comes.” if we simply sat at home waiting for it to turn we could have a long wait. I don’t mind ’poor’ looking days because at some point the light will change. I know, ever the optimist ha ha

For me, those produce the most dramatic images and it is on that subject that I will be talking on both the FUJIFILM stand and THE GREAT OUTDOORS stage at this years PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW in Birmingham.

Looking forward to it!

Before I embark on the workshops, I am currently enjoying the talks season and received a warm welcome recently at the Copeland Photographic Society. I managed to squeeze in a shoot the same day before heading off to the venue and was grateful for a change of clothes as I managed to find a nice deep bog to connect with and slowly fall into on Side Pike ha ha

My first reaction? To look around and see if anyone was watching!

No harm done and a few nice images of the afternoon watching the Langdales ‘play ball.’

At the back end of the week I drove down to Biggleswade to give my second talk to them and it was nice to bump into old friends again. It made the return journey more enjoyable.

The forecast for the next week looks promising with wintery showers and even snow appearing on these shores.

I hope you manage to get off the couch and go out there with your camera.

You never know what you may see……