I have lost count of the times I have visited Ramshaw Rocks in Staffordshire‘s South West Peak since starting Landscape Photography. Many many times over the last 5 years trying to get that special photograph to be proud of.
Its defiantly an addiction returning time after time hoping that the right weather conditions fall into place at the right time to give you a shot you’d be proud of sharing. Of course there are many other factors that might also determine the outcome of the shoot; Like if you forget your cameras memory card or even the tripod mounting plate, both of which I have done on more than one occasion leaving you feeling devastated especially if you have traveled some distance and then walked some more to the final composition!
Landscape Photography is a repetitive skill set, comprising of numerous skills that are fine tuned over time knowing how to shoot a certain scene using the right camera settings is mastered time and time over, and in my case getting it wrong and learning by my mistakes played a big part in the way I shoot and process my images today.
Ramshaw Rocks
I have not wrote a blog in months. Preferring to be out behind the camera taking shots than trying to write about what I have been up to.
Ramshaw Rocks
Over the last few months Ive been predominately shooting the Peaks, updating my Peak District Gallery as I go, its an ongoing addiction but something that I love doing. Last weekend I decided to stay fairly local to home within a short 30 minutes drive to Ramshaw Rocks which is next to The Roaches, another more popular destination with visitors, photographers, climbers and walkers not to mention the casual family visits as I recall as a youngster scrambling over the gritstone.
As I set of from home I had planned on pushing further North to the Dark Peak. I reached The Roaches early and there was plenty of low lingering cloud moving across the moorlands, so I decided to change my plans which is rare because once I have a location planned I try and stick to it. I arrived at Ramshaw Rocks and bumped into another photographer ‘Greg’ we had never met before but followed each other on Flickr & Facebook which is common. We had a good chat and Greg decided to try elsewhere, I opted to stay-put. I decided to head up to a good vantage point.
This is what I was looking at at about 8.30am and I was contemplating actually moving on myself by now.
I wasn’t that optimistic at first as the low cloud was thick and obscured nearly everything in front of me.
The weather forecast was for it to clear by 10:00 and it was now 10:15 I started to contemplate moving on. Noticing some clear patches appear to my right towards The Roaches I waited. Then all of a sudden the clouds started to lift and was presented with the stunning views looking down Ramshaw Rocks towards Leek and Staffordshire Moorlands.
Ramshaw Rocks
And within 5 minutes it had totally lifted. This is my preferred shot from the morning called “A Touch of Snow”. Where the gritstone rises out of the ground, and the mist lifting to reveal the green lit middle distance.
Ramshaw Rocks Staffordshire
Please get in touch if you would like to use any of the images for publication, promotional or print work.
David A. Kiley
December 24, 2017
Dear Mr. James,
I was so moved, reading your story about transitioning from the military to civilian life and dealing with the affects of PTSD. My older brother, a retired U. S. Marine Captain, 80 7/8’s years old, has been dealing with five different cancers (Agent Orange & Vietnam, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina toxic chemicals leaching into the water table and 25 or more years around the world. This past month, he watched TV Special by Ken Burns, titled “Vietnam” and all of a sudden his PTSD came back in a big way.
Your photography is stunning! I have spent 35 years photographing the USA and Europe. My first life after college was in the department and specialty store business. My son followed in my footsteps with an MBA in Photography. I have traveled to your area and one week, I spent 4 days driving around in rain during mid-May. My best day was the evening light on the first day, looking out the window, with the sunset peaking through the rain. One day, I would love to drive up their once again, and give it a go, but with my digital Nikon camera, not my Mamyia RZPro in one case and my Toyo VX125 Monorail in the other. I loved those film cameras. I enjoyed your article on Sony A7R but then I read how bad their customer service was. A professional photographer writing that a drip of sweat off his brow ended up killing his A7R in warranty but Sony would not repair it for any reason!! Nikon was almost as bad and Canon it was said would take care of their customers the best of all.
You are to be commended. I stayed up all night Friday, viewing and reading many of your articles. Great job! Oh, on my mother’s side, her parents came from Penzance. I went their to photograph their town and I went to Ireland to honor my dad’s, father’s birthplace in Ennis.
I will look over more of your images and make a purchase. The “most photographed cottage”, in Scotland is beautiful. Your angle of view and the light falling on the first-third part of the scene is striking.
Thank you for all that you have done thus far for photography.
James Pictures
January 07, 2018
David! what can I say… thank you so much for taking the time to share your story of your brother, sounds horrendous. I thought US vets get top notch help? They did compared to us when I visited New York with the Wounder Warriors back in 2008.
Shame about the weather when you visited the Peaks – its like that most of the time, so im sure you can appreciate how many times ive been out and about to get my shots!
Photography has defiantly given me lots, focus, goals, ambition, drive, competition in fact the list goes on and on! Dont know where I would be without it – probably down the pub watching football which is no fun at all :)
Please feel free to drop me a email when you visit again. If im free Ill show you around