Adjacent to Owler tor stand this lone boulder. I’m not sure if it it has a name, even a local one not on maps, but it’s quite a distinctive lump of gritstone.
The crack / groove angled around its midriff is quite striking and can produce the impression of faces in the stone depending on where you stand and the angle of the light.
In this final image there is a strange beady-eyed visage at the bottom left corner of the rock. Or at least there is to my eyes.
Pareidolia Seeing faces in objects That are not alive
Owler Tor stands a mere stone’s throw from Surprise View carpark. Unlike its namesake Over Owler Tor which sits up on the hillside in the opposite direction, Owler Tor is accessed by simply crossing the road, passing through a wooden gate, and then walking to the nearby boulders.
On nice days and, especially, weekends it’s difficult to get a photograph that doesnt have at least one person in the frame. The main part of the tor is easily climbed and there are generally groups of people taking in the view and grabbing selfies from the summit. There were a few people around when I made the shot featured here today, but patience, timing, and that old standby – the awkward photographer’s stance – allowed me to keep them out of the frame.
Climbing Owler Tor An irresistable draw For its visitors
As I type this it’s after 11pm here. I normally write these blog posts much earlier but today got waylaid trying to successfully scan some Portra 160 negatives. I thought I had a good system in place for getting the colours how I wanted them, but somewhwere along the line that particular train has left the tracks, and my scans looked like crap.
My process has been to scan as a linear tiff file and then invert using the Grain2Pixel plugin in Photoshop but today, for some reason , it’s made the colours look horrible on the frames I’ve scanned so far. So, after messing around for a while, I’ve resorted to EpsonScan of all things. While I use this Epson software very successfully for my B&W medium format scans, I’ve never been too happy with the results for colour photos. Today, however, it seems to have made the best job so far.
I found this blog post by Colton Allen about scanning colour negatives with EpsonScan that has proven extremely useful and given me some pretty decent results. If I can figure out the issue with Grain2Pixel I’ll resume using that (and will use it on a roll of Colorplus I’ve yet to scan – but that’s 135 format and will be scanned with my Plustek, so a whole different ball game anyway), but for now I’ll use EpsonScan for this roll
I’ll post the Portra photos in an upcoming post, but today no colour faffing is required for this black-and-white abstract image of a birch tree reflected in a water.
Wibbly wobbly tree Gelatinous in water Shimmering beneath
Millstone Edge, up above the lower Hope Valley in the Peak District is a location where quarrying for gritstone used to take place, withe the main ourput being the production of millstones. There are numerous signs of this former industry to be found, perhaps most notably in the number of abandoned millstones that litter the hillsides in this whole area of the National Park. Indeed, the emblem of the Peak District National Park is a millstone.
There are other indications of the former industrial activity to be found – there are still holes drilled into rock faces for the placement of never-used explosive charges, and also a number of building remains such as the stone shack featured in today’s blog post.
Quarrying for gritstone at Millstone Edge came to a close in the late 1930s.
Signs of industry Littering the stony crags Above the valley
While out in the Peak District the other week I took a brief wander into the birch trees close to Surprise View to look for potential photos. There are countless pictures to be had, but it’s not always easy to eke them out. I didn’t stay in the arera long and made just three or four photos including the two here today.
The first is of a bird-box affixed to one of the trees. There are a number of these boxes throughout the place, but this one has been damaged somehow – whether by human, animal, or natural forces I do not know. It’s a bit of a fixer-upper now though.
While I was making the photo of the bird-box I could hear the trees creaking in the wind around me, but it was only when I looked up that I noticed the soun was coming from a tree I was stood beneath. It’s trunk was broken partway up and a significant section of the upper part of the tree was swinging in the breeze. I don’t think it was at imminent risk of breaking free and landing on my head but I moved out of the way nontheless.
A broken tree trunk Swinging and creaking above I’m glad it stayed put
Just beside the car-park a wooden signpost points the way to the Surprise View scenic viewpoint at Millstone Edge. The signpost is weathered and host to mossy lichen. The view from the edge is pretty nice, looking down upon the Hope Valley / Derwent Valley area stretching away towards the Great Ridge and the Edale Valley to the north-west, and down towards Grindleford and beyond in the other direction. It can also be extremely windy, with strong gusts being pushed up the valley sides and onto unwitting sightseers (it nearly blew my wooly hat off on the day I made this photo!).
Looking for a view? Well head this way my good man I have a surprise!
A came across this place while wandering in the Peak District last week. I’ve passed close by before and never realised it was there but, now that I do, I think I’ll pay it further visits. While I’m pretty happy with how this photo turned out, I think that – with the right conditions – there might be much better images to be had. The autumn should be very nice here, I think.
Tumbledown structure Hidden in the old oak woods A nice place to find
With the easing of the lockdown in England it has meant the ability to travel a little further afield for photography has returned, so I’ve taken a couple of trips out into the Peak District – the closest bit, nothing too crazy! On both occasions I set out quite early and the car-park I’ve used has been almost empty, but has been busy when I’ve returned a few hours later. There are lots of places to venture from the car-park though, so it’s easy to keep plenty of distance from other people.
It’s nice to go somewhere different to make photos again and I’ve a big list of destinations for when the rules ease further from next week. It’s quite easy to get caught up in the act of taking pictures now the opportunity is back, so on today’s hike I made sure to take time to take things in through my senses without a viewfinder acting as a window to everything.
Countryside hiking Feeling fresh air on my skin It is wonderful
