Up in the mountains

Posted 9:50 pm by infourthirds & filed under Blog.

Wet and windy was probably the most accurate way to describe the weather on this particular outing. We headed to the North Wales mainland, to the heart of Snowdonia. A popular village for the walkers, Betws Y coed always looks particularly beautiful at this time of year. I wanted to get some long exposure water shots down by the river and with the trees now a rich umber colour – it was a great place to start. I used the Kowa 12mm f1.8 lens and my Hama ND filter.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA A classic long exposure shot at Betws Y Coed – nothing too creative but at this time of year – a lovely image to capture.
Autumn colours down at the River at Betws Y Coed – Kowa 12mm f1.8mm lens and Hama ND variable filter.

After a stroll around the village the weather began to take a turn for the worse – but whilst in Snowdonia, you just have to spend some time in the mountains. A short drive and you are in the midst of the Snowdonia mountain range. Rather than Mount Snowden which is often over crowded, I tend to head out towards the Glyders and Tryfan. There is a beautiful lake surrounded by steep sweeping mountains – Lyn Idwal. Although still very popular for hikers – it feels more remote and wild. Another bonus is you can walk just a short distance from your car following a stream with some superb waterfalls to the lake without having to use up too much energy – great if you want to do some mountain photography without having to put too much physical effort in and also if the weather is poor – much less of a risk.

I spent around one hour in the showers and wind to get some dramatic landscapes – I wanted to try my new Kowa 8.5mm super wide angle to really give an impression of the scale of this rugged landscape. Once home I thought black and white would suit the images better and I spent some time playing around with the contrast and lighting of the images to try and make them as interesting as possible. One shot I really want is of Lyn Idwal in perfect stillness so it reflects the mountains as a mirror image – but so far – no luck, the weather has always been against me!

Here are the results:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA