The Lake District is one of the most beautiful regions of the UK, known for its glacial ribbon lakes, rugged fell mountains and historic literary associations. There are sixteen lakes in total, although only one is officially a lake by name, with the others being ‘meres’ or ‘waters’. As for mountains, Alfred Wainwright described 214 fells (hills and mountains) in his seven-volume 'Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'.
I often feel like a bad weather magnet, and this trip to the Lake District was no different. Over a foot of rain had fallen in parts of Cumbria a few days before I arrived, causing significant flooding. The weather forecast throughout my stay was for persistent and heavy rain, and it definitely turned out to be a wet and wild week.
This image was taken using a long lens from a viewpoint below Skiddaw (the 4th highest mountain in the Lake District, at 931m), looking across Derwentwater toward the mountains of Borrowdale. The diminutive Castle Crag (at 290m, the smallest of the Wainrights but accorded the status as it was “so magnificently independent, so ruggedly individual, so aggressively unashamed of its lack of inches”) takes centre stage, with High Spy (646m) on one side and Grange Fell (415m) on the other.
Between rain storms, I noticed this band of light sweeping across the landscape and captured a series of images over five minutes. I particularly liked how the light created separation between Castle Crag and the mountains beyond in this frame. I used a 2 stop medium graduated neutral density filter to balance the exposure between the foreground and sky. And my folding umbrella definitely came in handy during the hour I spent capturing moody scenes in all directions.
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Dimitri Vasileiou • Editor