Overlooking the northern flanks of Dartmoor, Belstone Tor shares a plateau with many rocks and the remains of an old wall. The surrounding undulating landscape is dotted with tors and rocky outcrops while the view to the north takes in miles of open countryside.
Inspiration comes to me at the oddest of times, regardless of occasion, time of day or place. Rarely is the potential for a photographic location out of my mind. After all, some of the best ideas come when they’re least expected.
One aspect of photography that I find most appealing and challenging is finding my own unique view of a place, particularly at coastal locations that receive lots of visitors. So when I visited Berrow Beach I sought to find something different from the well known pictures of it.
The flat landscape of the Somerset Levels stretches for miles, broken only by odd hills here and there. Glastonbury Tor is the most well known of these hills and it’s easy to see why; on misty mornings it appears like an island in an ethereal white sea.
After five days of overcast Yorkshire weather I was beginning to think I might return from a week in Wensleydale without seeing the sun. A sudden break in the weather meant I would have a few hours’ light to play with so I earmarked Semerwater, the largest lake in North Yorkshire, as my location.
Planning an autumn visit to Exmoor, one of my main hopes was to convey the beauty of the bleakness of the moors. I thought a lone tree on a windswept hill might provide the perfect opportunity for this as I’ve often seen such trees when driving through the area.