Dartmoor days

As I write more blogs of my photographic outings this year, it will become evident that Dartmoor is featured in a good percentage of them.

At its best, Dartmoor is simply beautiful, at its worst, it can be a forbidding place, where many have fallen foul of its ever changing moods.
I have lived near the moors all of my life, yet it is only within the last five years that I have come to explore the moor in detail and to appreciate its wonder.

Some like to explore the moor by bike, others will climb the iconic Haytor or Hound tor, others may seek the fast flowing River Dart for kayaking while walkers and photographers seek their pleasure at a more leisurely pace.

I fall into the latter 2 categories, where my camera will be with me on any walk, always looking for the next photo opportunity.

Of all the places I have been on Dartmoor, Foggintor remains a favourite, the Quarry was decommissioned some 80 years ago, but granite hewn from here was used to make Nelsons column and London bridge, as well as more locally, Dartmoor prison in Princetown.

The quarry now lies still, a desolate reminder of Dartmoor’s recent industrial past, over these years, nature is reclaiming it once more.

Just a few yards away, lie the remains of what were quarry men’s cottages, perfect subjects in texture, light and shadow.

One of the things I like most about Dartmoor, is its ability to throw up the odd surprise, my last visit to a well known venue for bluebells was a little premature, yet just mile or so along the path was the most magnificent display of spring this year ….

I always marvel at the myriad of dry stone walls around the moor, an art that like so many may be forgotten in time, their resistance is testament to the craftsmen who built them.

For all the appreciation I have of the man made, it is always nature that prevails, those solitary trees amongst the rock, will always be a photo opportunity I cannot resist.

All images taken as part of my one camera, one lens project (Fuji X100F)
Images post processed in Lightroom, shadow /highlight adjustments and cropping, apart from the sketch look to the bluebell image, which  is a photoshop workflow I have developed myself.