Abandoned Mill Stones at Stanage Edge in the Peak District

Stanage Edge, or simply Stanage (from "stone edge") is a gritstone escarpment in the English Peak District, famous as a location for rock climbing. The edge is the longest in the peak and is generally 15m to 20m high but some of the climbs are up to 30m.  For centuries the millstone grit was quarried and used to make mill stones. At the Northern end of the escarpment there many abandoned mill stones scattered about.

These photos were taken on a day of hiking in the Peak District along Stanage Edge, with a visit down to Hathersage and then a return route over Higgar Tor and along Burbage edge.  

Abandoned Mill Stones at Stanage with the Stanage Edge escarpment running into the distance

The same abandoned Mill Stones at Stanage lying directly below the crag at the Northern end

Stoodley Pike Monument in the South Pennines

I had a hill run this afternoon in very mixed weather on the local South Pennines and took a camera with me (Lumix GF1 with 14mm and 20mm lenses). The run went over Withens Moor and Erringden Moor and I managed to get a few shots of  Stoodley Pike. There was a decent view from Withins Gate early which is quite close to Stoodley Pike Monument so I have included that as well to give more of a picture of the local scenery.

Stoodley Pike Monument on the Pennine Way in the South Pennines looking North with rain clouds fast approaching

Stoodley Pike is a 1,300-foot (400 m) hill in the south Pennines, noted for the 121 foot Stoodley Pike Monument at its summit, which dominates the moors above Todmorden in West Yorkshire. The monument was designed in 1854 by local architect James Green, and completed in 1856 at the end of the Crimean War. The monument replaced an earlier structure, started in 1814 and commemorating the defeat of Napoleon and the surrender of Paris. It was completed in 1815, after the Battle of Waterloo (Napoleonic Wars), but collapsed in 1854 after an earlier lightning strike, and decades of weathering. Its replacement was therefore built slightly further from the edge of the hill. During repair work in 1889 a lightning conductor was added, and although the tower has since been struck by lightning on numerous occasions, no notable structural damage is evident.

Close Up of Stoodley Pike Monument on the Pennine Way

Stoodley Pike Monument viewed from the East showing the a typical derelict stone wall and boggy Pennine moorland.

Stoodley Pike Monument viewed from the East showing the a typical derelict stone wall and boggy Pennine moorland.

Running with a Camera

I enjoy fell running (also called  hill running or trail running) and I often like to take a quality camera with me. If I don’t, I can guarantee that I will regret it. I don’t  often get  stunning images out on runs but I usually get one or two 'keepers'. Even if they are of no interest to others I often like to look back  on them,  just  one picture can remind me of the day and every aspect of the run.  Several years ago I started carrying a SLR and then a prosumer Canon DSLR with a L series 17-40mm lens and made a bubble wrap bag for it to sit in securely, which in turn fit snugly into a light rucksack. This very light Camelback bag had sternum and waist straps and I was able to make it really hug my body so that there was no bouncing when running. This proved to work fine and protected the camera very well but it was inconvenient to take the rucksack off and remove the camera then repack it to continue. When I am running, especially in cold weather I only want to stop very briefly. In September 2010  I moved to my first micro 4/3 system which has proved ideal and provides a very high quality systems with low weight and small size. It is the Lumix GF1 and when running I attach the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 prime lens and have the  Panasonic 14mm f2.5 lens in the bag (2 oz !). The Olympus Pen would be an alternative camera in terms of performance and size.  My preferred bag is a Lowepro Apex 100 AW with which I just sling the strap over my shoulder and across my chest and the bag sits comfortably on my back without swinging and it gives excellent protection to the camera. On longer runs I also have a small bumbag for car keys, hat gloves etc., and I fasten this through the straps of the camera bag so that  it sits comfortably on top of the bum bag, behind me. It is then very easy to swing the bag round, get the camera out and put it back. 

On a profile like this the camera needs to be light and the bag very comfortable!

As an example, these are a few photos from a short run yesterday in the Cleveland Hills, an old favourite. It was 6 deg C  but with a strong wind feeling quite cold, so all these pictures were taken very quickly. It was only 7.15 miles but had 2,500 ft of steep ascent.  This run goes from the car park at the top of Clay Bank and follows the Cleveland Way Footpath over  Hasty Bank, Cold Moor and Cringle Moor  to the Lord’s Seat cafe area on the Carlton to Chop Gate road then back. When time allows I like to go onto the summit of Carlton Bank and Carlton Moor and onto Scugdale, which makes it quite a bit more challenging. There is scope for varying the route in places.

The Sphinx Rock at The Wainstones

The Wainstones on the Cleveland Way on top of Hasty Bank

The Wainstones being approached on the return along Cleveland Way on the final climb

View from Cringle Moor showing the penultimate climb up and over Cold Moor with Hasty Bank just visible behind.
You can't see it here but the path is about to drop very steeply. 

Memorial to Alec Falconer on the top of Cringle Moor with stunning views. 

This plaque shows the various points of  interest in the distance. This route lies along a large escarpment with stunning views below. On a clear day you can see as far as the Penshaw Monument near Sunderland  40 miles away and Cross Fell in Teesdale, as well as many other distant places.

What you can see - click on photo to see large version

View of the Hasty Bank and The Wainstones with Broughton Forest on the left of the forest track.

Photo of Back Tor in the Peak District on Derwent Edge

After some dismal weather in the early part of January we suddenly got some bright cold weather which just coincided with being able to get out to the Peak District for a day on Friday 13th. It was also an opportunity to try my new boots out. I had the last pair for 11 years and it is amazing to think where I went in them, I wonder how far I will get  in the new ones?

We started at Strines Bridge and went up to Back Tor on Derwent Edge then did a loop down to Howden Reservoir and back up Howden Dean then along Cartledge Stone Ridge back to Back Tor before returning to Strines Bridge.  It was a fine bright day and I got several colourful photo's of the scenery but this is my favourite photo, taken late afternoon as some clouds were forming over Back Tor. It doesn't show a lot of scenery but the Gritstone typifies the 'Dark Peak', where I have often enjoyed  rock climbing on the numerous Gritstone crags.

Trig Point on Top of  Back Tor in the Peak District - click for larger image

Panasonic Lumix GF1 and Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm f1.8

I have been using the a very old Olympus  OM 50mm f1.8 on an M4/3 adaptor on the GF1. It was good fun and I got some nice results but I found the manual focusing too slow for taking photographs of people or anything moving. I had considered the Leica/Panasonic 45mm f2.8 Macro but it was too expensive for me and in any case the Olympus OM 50mm f3.5 Macro does everything I need 'macro-wise' on the GF1 with an adaptor and I don't need auto focusing for macro. I read some interesting reviews of the new Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 45mm f1.8 M4/3 lens and noticed that the price was considerably less than the Panasonic/Leica. I eventually bought  it in late December 2011. 

It seems to work perfectly with the GF1. I have only been doing test shots with it, including some portrait shots. I am pleased to say that it seems to do everything that I was hoping for - fast focusing, shallow depth of field, lovely bokeh and very sharp. In fact the depth of field is shallower than I had expected on a M4/3 camera, which is a really nice surprise, it is very light too at 116 grammes. Despite being a plastic body it seems well made with a metal mount. The only disappointment is that the lens does not come with either a pouch or a lens hood.  When using it at wide apertures I set a single  focus point as small as possible to help get the focusing spot on when working with a shallow depth of field. There is no Image Stabilisation (IS) in the lens and the GF1 body doesn't have it like the Olympus Pen bodies but I am quite happy to use the GF1 at ISO 640 or ISO 800 so I should be able to get some nice natural light shots with it indoors.

I will eventually post some photos taken with the lens on this blog and on My Flickr Olympus 45mm f1.8 Photo Stream as I start using it properly in the New Year. (The 3 photos of the GF1 were taken with Canon 5D with 24-105 L lens and two remote 580 EXII flashes).

Using the Canon Speedlite 580EXII Flash on Lumix GF1

The built-in flash on the GF1 is only rated at 6m at ISO 100. It can be useful if there is nothing else but it is obviously very limited. There are various Olympus or Panasonic flash systems available as well as third party units such as Metz etc, but I already own two Canon 580 EXII Speedlites for my Canon 5D system and I fancied using either one or both of them with the GF1. I have found a few different ways of using them.

One 580EX II on camera left in large soft box and one 580 EX II  under table with blue gel firing at black card.

Canon 580 EXII mounted directly onto GF1

Method 1) 580 EXII mounted on GF1 hot shoe The 580 EXII works perfectly in Manual mode as I suppose a great many other flashes do when fitted to the GF1.  It is a very large flash and is not ideal for carrying around on the camera but is absolutely fine for the occasional photo or if you have the GF1 set up on on a tripod. When hand-held I find that I grip the camera flash assembly as well as the camera body. The power of the 580 EXII gives you a lot of opportunity to bounce the flash or diffuse it, even when on the camera. I often use a single flash like this with a Stofen diffuser fitted or a Rogue Flash Bender or one of my own home-made flash accessories.  You cannot use the 2nd Curtain Sync or High Speed Flash and you also lose the ability to use the GF1's LVF.

Taken with the GF1 in-built flash.

No problem with power because subject is close,

but harsh light, even when turned down.

580EX II on camera, Bounced above to hand-held reflector,
giving much softer lighting.

Method 2) Using the GF1 on-board flash to trigger an external Canon 580EXII using an Optical Sensor 

Sonia Optical Sensor

I bought a small ‘Sonia Wireless Optical Slave For Digital Flash’  for £9.99 on ebay and decided  to try it with the GF1, although I had read somewhere that this won’t work with the GF1 because of pre-flash.  When it arrived I fitted it to the PC socket on the 580 EXII and it worked perfectly. When fired like this via the PC socket you cannot use the Speedlite as a master.  You can just turn the GF1 built-in flash down as far as possible  (-2EV max) if you don’t want it to have any effect or use it turned up a bit for some fill-in flash. The big advantage of  this set-up is that you can leave the LVF on the GF1 and have a much lighter camera to work with. It is ideal if you can get your lighting set-up then want to move around with the camera as required. However, you must make sure that the sensor on the 580 sees the direct light from the GF1 flash. If it is not lined up well enough the Canon Speedlite will still fire but have no effect on the photo, appearing that it is not syncing properly. With the rotating head of the 580EX II it is easy to position the flash body so that the optical sensor is facing the GF1 and then rotate the flash head as needed. This works well indoors but I haven’t tested how far you can push the distance between the GF1 and the remote Speedlite yet or how well it works outdoors.  Update 11/01/12 - this only seems to  work up to a max of 3m between GF1 and Speedlite! 

Sonia Optical Sensor fitted to PC socket on 580EX II 

580EXII remote triggered by optical sensor.
GF1 flash set at -2EV, Grid attached to Speedlite on camera left.
Reflector on camera right to soften and fill slightly. 1/160sec @ f8 ISO 100

Method 3)  One 580 EXII on GF1 as a master and one 580 EXII controlled remotely as a slave. This is ideal if you have two flashes and want to control the remote ‘Slave’ flash from the ‘Master’ flash fitted to the camera. This saves you going backwards and forwards to adjust the slave since you can adjust each flash from the master to get the balancing right. You can also turn the master flash settings on the camera right down if you only want the light from the Slave. However, you must make sure that the slave flash sees the light from the master flash although this often works with reflected light when indoors. 

View of Master flash on GF1
showing Slave (B) adjusted to 1/2 -0.7

View of showing Master flash fsetting (A)

Method 4) Using Seculine T2D Triggers I have a set of these relatively inexpensive radio/infrared triggers which include a small transmitter fitted to the camera and a receiver fitted to the flash. I bought them for the Canon system a couple of years back because I couldn’t afford the other well known but expensive triggers. I have found them to be reliable and useful. A disadvantage with the GF1 is again that you cannot use the LVF since the transmitter is mounted n the GF1 hot-shoe although the transmitter is small and light. The significant advantage is the range of signal possible and the placement of the flashes, since you do not need line of sight. The speed link flashes  can be in different rooms, or hidden behind furniture etc. You can also use one 580EX II's triggered by the Seculine receiver  as a master and a second 580EX II  as a slave, so you can then adjust both flashes from the master. This would mean that you only need one transmitter and one receiver for 2 flashes. I use 2 receivers, one fitted to each flash, when I haven’t got good line of sight between the flashes.

The transmitter is quite small and very light with a small ariel

One 580EX II on camera left in large softbox. One 580 under table with red gel firing at black card.
1/160 sec @ f8 at ISO 100 using radio triggers.

Summary  If you don’t mind working with manual flash there is no problem with the EX 580 II except for the physical size of the flash. The Canon 580EX II is a very versatile tool and you can use the master /slave facility to good advantage.  Whilst it is well know that the GF1 will fire the Nikon SB900 Speedlites I was certainly under the impression that it wouldn't fire the Canon 580EX II's so it was a surprise that you can do this with  one very  inexpensive optical sensor  since it is a great way of getting the 580EX II off the camera, even if it is only 2m away. The more expensive option is to use something like the Seculine radio transmitter/ receiver system for maximum flexibility with placement of the flash units.

Documentary Photography at Union Rally in Halifax, Nov 2011

I was taking photographs on the 30th November for the Calderdale NUT at Halifax, outside the Town Hall, at the rally against the government spending cuts. The rally was supported by several unions and was well attended by an estimated 400 people. I took many photographs over a couple of hours for the NUT, focusing on the people, speakers and unions. Here are just a few of my favourite personal shots that I squeezed in, not so much about the rally and the various people and organisations involved but simply about the situation outside the really stunning Halifax Town Hall on a bright cold morning.

The speakers addressed the audience from the 'Town Hall Steps'.  I like the shot because the people look as if they are engaged with the speaker and they give perspective to the towering building. To me, the cobbles also say something important about the character and history of Halifax. 

People gathering for the 10:00am start. Bright sun and shadows on the buildings and the sky was just right for me on this one. 

 Martin is based in Halifax, West Yorkshire covering Commercial Photography, Wedding Photography  and Lifestyle Portrait Photography

  martin stainsby photography  

Moody Landscape Photos in the Hambleton Hills

These were taken whilst walking in the Hambleton Hills on the edge of the North Yorks Moors. We started at Kepwick and did a favourite circular walk over Black Hambleton. The weather was fine and bright but not ideal for the sort of photo's I like to take. Although I took many they lacked atmosphere and just recorded the views in a postcard sort of way. As we neared Kepwick towards the end of the walk the sky really clouded over  to the West and looked threatening. However, the sun was very low and just burst through the clouds at times. I was lucky to just be in the right place as the sun lit up this hill called 'Nab Hill'. I rattled off a few shots as I walked across the field. No tripod, no filters just the Lumix GF1 with the 14-45mm kit lens. The little camera never ceases to surprise me and although I usually use prime lenses the Panasonic 14mm-45mm is very sharp and contrasty.  

Nab Hill in the Hambleton Hills

When using the GF1 I have to be careful with the exposure of highlights and I just about managed this here. When using the Canon system I can usually recover about 1.5 - 2 stops over exposure but not with the GF1, the highlights have to be right.

This was taken 3 minutes later just looking to the right of Nab Hill as the sun makes a spotlight on the hillside.

Cottages in Kepwick

On returning to Kepwick about 20 minutes later  the sky is even more  threatening, but we didn't get wet!

Cottage chimneys in Kepwick. Looks like something from years ago.

See more landscapes at Martins Gallery

Wedding Photography at Holdsworth House Hotel, Halifax

I was delighted to be the wedding photographer for Amanda and Adam in early November at the Holdsworth House Hotel in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Amanda and Adam needed some formal group photo's but predominantly wanted relaxed and informal photo's taking throughout the day. They had  seven young children amongst the guests and the couple particularly wanted some nice informal shots of them. A small selection of the photo's from the day are shown below. 

martin stainsby wedding photography I am a wedding photographer based in West Yorkshire within easy reach of Halifax, Leeds, Huddersfield, Bradford, Manchester, York, Sheffield.  I also travel in the UK to Cleveland, North Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria.