When I wasn't freezing and getting blown to bits on Higger Tor and Millstone Edge I explored the area around Grindleford: Bole Hill Quarry and Padley Gorge. I've seen lots of photographs of these locations and wanted to investigate for myself.
Bole Hill Quarry is an amazing place as there are thousands of silver birches nestled in a huge disused quarry. Most people just walk straight through on the footpath between Millstone Edge and Grindleford Station but there are lots of footpaths leading to more areas of the minings and abandoned millstones. I have tried to separate out some of the detail on individual trees in the woodland otherwise it would be difficult to find a focal point. This was (hopefully) achieved by either using an extremely narrow depth of field or using different adjustment layers at the processing stage to emphasise the featured detail.
Padley Gorge is an amazing sight in Autumn which is why it was absolutely crammed with photographers with tripods; there must have been 16 other togs manoeuvring around the trees and waterfalls . I've never had to queue to set up a photograph before as I work hard to avoid other people. #fail. I focussed on two subjects: the fabulous autumn colours that were in evidence and the small waterfalls that were scattered throughout the gorge.
Anyway both locations were great fun to explore and certainly rate other visits at different times of the day and year.
