Buttermere in late September. Beware too much pre-visualizing. the week had been wet, windy and changeable. The day had been one of huge showers blowing through and my plan had been set to do battle with the elements in Buttermere. Upon arriving in the valley in the last afternoon, the wind dropped, the skies cleared and the sun even peeped through. With the still conditions, the midges appeared and the evening quickly changed into another plan entirely.

In my mind I'd seen shafts of sun bursting between the showers. What I got was a far more conventional scene. I'd expected to shoot for black and white and I ended up with colour. What works for me is the colour of the water and the tiny patch of sun to the right of Fleetwith Pike.

Yesterday I tried to maintain my new year's resolution of seizing opportunities. Having been at a meeting in Penrith all afternoon I rushed straight off at the end and headed for Buttermere. At the top of Honister Pass I changed from work suit to outdoor clothes and set about finding somewhere to park. The road from Gatesgarth to Buttermere village is desperately short of parking spots and I ended up with a very dubious piece of parking. The afternoon had been wild with sun and huge showers sweeping through but by the time I got there the dram had been replaced by tranquillity. Looking for foreground interest while trying to beat the fading light brought me to this washed up log. I was tempted to add to the composition by moving it but settled for higher moral ground. The long exposure was slightly compromised by the fact that the log was able to shift slightly as the waters lapped around it leading to a loss of critical sharpness. I made both colour and black and white versions but much prefer the colour one in this case. I was glad as ever to have worn my Hunter wellies as the entire evening's picture taking was made standing in water about a foot deep. It was a beautiful and tranquil evening at the end of a very busy day. the peace and quiet were medicinal and even the long drive home and late evening meal could not take the shine off a wonderful experience.