Dovedale

Thorpe Cloud, 50mm f1.4 @ ISO200, f18, 1/80s

I had originally intended to go walking in the Peak District on Wednesday last week, but it was postponed due to aggravating a hamstring injury at Krav Maga training on Tuesday...  However, I decided to risk it on Friday, with it being the last weekday of my vacation.

It wasn't the best day to be out with the camera at Dovedale (overcast and drizzly to start with), and I should have got there earlier, with sunrise at about 5am at this time of year.  That said, the car park at the Thorpe end of Dovedale doesn't open until 9am in the morning anyway.  According to the parking attendant, it is not open earlier due to 'trouble makers'...  Still, at 9am, I pretty much had the place to myself, although, as expected, it filled up later...

I prefer shooting people and bands rather than landscapes and nature.  But I do like being out in the countryside, and having the camera with me certainly made me look around more than I might have done.  The 50mm f1.4 prime lens worked well for shots along the path, although, of course, it's not really wide enough for landscapes.  Ultimately, I found it a little frustrating trying to find 'interesting' shots in probably one of the most visited areas of the Peak District, particularly once it started to fill up.

50mm f1.4 @ISO200, f1.4, 1/500s

But, a brief conversation put things into perspective.  I spoke to a lady in Milldale who said that it was the first time in two years that she'd done this walk, as her dog had become too elderly to manage it.  The dog had died on Wednesday, so this was her way of remembering better times - I really hope that it brought back some great memories for her.