The Peak District Trip

Derek Smith • 19 October 2022
Paul Gray suggested and planned a Peak District photographic outing for us the intrepid trio. So, it was with Paul driving, Dave Turner riding shotgun, and myself leaving Louth at 4:30am, on Monday, to catch the sunrise on Mam Tor. Arriving in the dark at Mam Tor car park, after the overnight rain, we climbed the steep steps, and slippery path, our way ahead lit by head torches to the summit, arriving at 7:15am. We walked down the path to a gate which was supposed to be a photographic vantage point, and awaited the sunrise, which sadly, after all our effort, did not materialise, just a bright patch in the overcast gloom of the sky. The scenery was magnificent though, and to be on top of the ridge was breath-taking, we managed to get some good photos, trying various compositions from our vantage point high above the Hope Valley, and Castleton.

Leaving Mam Tor around 9:30am, and returning to the car park for a snack, we walked across the fields to Winnats Pass, then climbed an extremely slippery, wet and muddy track up the hillside, not being mountain goats Dave, and I, erred on the side of caution, and decided not to climb all the way to the top, losing sight of Paul as he continued up the hill.

Eventually Paul reappeared, and we made our way back to the car, driving next to Stanage Edge, a gritstone escarpment, we made our way up to the top of the ridge. Finding the light very glaring and harsh, and with a fierce blustery wind, it made photography very difficult, keeping the camera still was a real challenge, but the views were stunning. Paul was intent on finding the abandoned millstones pictured in his guidebook, as they made for an impressive photograph, after a while we found the millstones lower down the escarpment and were able to get some photos.
 
Moving on, this time to Padley Gorge, where the Burbage Brook tumbles over large boulders strewn about, in a delightful temperate beech wood setting. At one time the Burbage Brook was the county line between Derbyshire, and Yorkshire, now however the Hathersage Road is the county boundary line. Again, the strong light made photography very challenging, I saw Dave give up on trying to photograph a millstone beside the path because of the strong dappled light. I climbed over some boulders trying to get closer to the brook for some flowing water images, but was unable to get a satisfactory composition, some other images within the wood did look better though.

Leaving Padley Gorge, we had a welcome cup of tea at the National Trust Longshaw Estate, before driving back to Lincolnshire.

A truly amazing day, not having a “proper” sunrise was a little disappointing, but a great day, nonetheless. Personally, I’ve taken some photos that I really like, perhaps not competition worthy, but I like them. Interestingly, although I had my Fuji XT3 with me shooting in RAW, some of my best images were taken on the Fuji XT20, handheld, with the wide-angle Samyang AF 12mm f/2 prime lens (18mm full frame equivalent) in JPEG, the colours from the Astia film simulation look amazing, and only required minimal editing in software. All four images pictured here are JPEG's from the Fuji XT20 camera, Samyang AF 12mm lens combination.

A big thank you to Paul Gray, for all his hard work, planning, organising, and driving us to some fantastic locations.


Louth Photographic Society

by Derek Smith 2 April 2026
It was no April fools, when we held our PDI (Projected Digital Image) competition last night. The images submitted into this competition were off the highest quality. Dave Turner judged the Open category, which I think is always one of the hardest categories to judge, pitting landscapes, against nature, and still life, but Dave did a magnificent job, offering well founded critique of the images submitted. After the break, Steve Chapman judged the Local Nature category, (nature images taken within a 25 mile radius of St. James' church, Louth) Steve "held back" 10 out of the 18 submitted images, and gave those 10 images very careful consideration until he finally arrived at the 3 highest placed images. Steve commented that the submitted images were indeed of high quality, and he took his time to evaluate the submitted images and offered useful critique on each one. The competition made for a very interesting evening, and all members deserve praise for the quality of the submitted images. The website Competition page has been updated with the full results, and the top three images from each category. On this post is 1st placed Sedge Warbler, Cleethorpes by Tony Gaskins, in the Local Nature category, and 1st placed Hudson Bay Wolf, (Lincoln Zoo) by Harry Kerman, in the Open category.
by Graham Harrison 29 March 2026
Good Morning, All, Last week at the club member Chris Birchmore gave a presentation on MPP cameras which included some of Chris's collection of cameras and prints taken. There is a report on the evening on our blog page. Thank you Chris for an interesting evening. This week, Wednesday 1st April, we are holding a local and open PDI competition the local subject being nature, please if you haven't already, send your entries to Harry before midnight tonight. Members Steve Chapman and Dave Turner have volunteered to judge. Also on the Wednesday 1st April our Louth Photographic Society 70th anniversary exhibition will be open to view at the Louth Museum. Regards Graham
by Derek Smith 26 March 2026
Chris Birchmore gave an informative, and interesting talk and demonstration of his medium format film cameras. at the beginning of the evening Chris gave a potted history of the origins of the MPP cameras he was showing us. The cameras take a 5 x 4" film stock, and looking at the cameras it seems incredible that photographers in the recent past could take excellent photographs with these. The MPP cameras were often used by the British Armed Forcies during the Second World War, and throughout the 1950s, and 60s, and some of these medium format were still being manufactured in the 1970s. The prints that Chris showed taken with these cameras were of excellent quality, with an amazing depth of field. Many thanks Chris for a fascinating evening.
by Graham Harrison 22 March 2026
Good Morning All Last week at the club we held a committee meeting, which was very productive, we made the final arrangements for the exhibition, charity night, and studio evening as well as other items on the agenda. We are holding an Exhibition opening night at Louth Museum on Friday 17th April celebrating 70 years of Louth Photographic Society. There will be a small buffet and cold drinks available, if any member would like to donate a bottle of wine to the occasion please hand it to Harry at one of our club nights. This week, Wednesday 25th March, member Chris Birchmore will be giving us a presentation. The following week is a local competition, with the categoriess of "Local Nature" (up to 25 miles radius from St James church) and "Open" (unlimited mileage) please send your entries to Harry before midnight, Sunday 29th March. Members Steve Chapman will judge the Nature category, and Dave Turner the Open category. Regards Graham
by Graham Harrison 15 March 2026
Good Morning All Last week at the club we held our monthly PDI competition judged by Martyn Wrigg, the standard of entries was very high and well done to Tony Gaskins for a first in the Architectural Detail and Derek Smith for his first place in the Open. All the results are on our website under competitions. This week, Wednesday 18th March we will be holding a Committee meeting, just committee members for this one. The following week Chris Birchmore is the speaker for the night. Harry is now accepting entries for the PDI local competition, with the categories of "Local Nature" and "Open". We judge this competition in house so if you would like to judge one of the subjects please let me know. Regards Graham
by Derek Smith 12 March 2026
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by Derek Smith 12 March 2026
A PDI (Projected Digital Image) competition was held last night with the categories of "Architectural Detail", and "Open". Martyn Wrigg was our judge for the evening, and he competently judged the submitted images, although he diid surprise with some of his choices of placing, but that's a judges perogative. Martyn complemented members on the quality of the images presented, which had made some of his decisions difficult. First placed was "It's a Fixer Upper" in the Architectural Detail section, and "Dervish Musician" in the Open section. Congratulations to Robin Begley, who as one of our newest members submitted some impressive images, achieving a 3rd place in "Architectural Details", and 2nd in the "Open" category. All the results are now posted to our website Competition page.
by Graham Harrison 8 March 2026
Good Morning All Last week at the club member Steve Chapman gave us an insight into his life and especially his time at Ilam Park in Derbyshire photographing for the National Trust. Steve showed us many photographs he had taken of the people involved with the trust and the Peak District. The second half was dedicated to Steve's own work, some superb aircraft photography as well as many other subjects. There is a report on the evening on our blog page. This week, Wednesday 11th March we are holding a PDI competition, with the categories of "Architectural Detail " and "Open" to be judged by Martyn Wrigg of Barton. The following week is a committee meeting for the committee members only on that evening. For newer members we have two committee meetings a year. Regards Graham
by Derek Smith 5 March 2026
Last night Steve Chapman presented a selection of images from his archives. Steve had previously been a volunteer photographer for the National Trust, and he showed many photos from the Ilam Park Estate, Dovedale, it was interesting to see some of the "behind the scenes" photos. The Jacobite reenactment battle scenes were amazing, the uniforms showed great attention to detail, and there were some real characters among the reenactors. After the break Steve showed some of his general photography, he has a great photographic eye, as some of his photos showed with different colours, shapes, and leading lines. Steve has taken many photos of agricultural machinery, and risked life and limb to create some close up aircraft photos. For atmosphere, just look at these horseriders at the top of the hill on a cool early morning. For heartstopping imagery look at these children on the side of a building, the children are photos on the side of the building, however, Steve wasted no time in capturing this stunning image. Many thanks to Steve for a fascinating evening.
by Graham Harrison 1 March 2026
Good Morning All Last week at the club I gave you a PDI (Projected Digital Image) presentation showing photographs I had taken on my travels last year, following up with some past and present photographs of Binbrook. I hope you all enjoyed the evening and maybe saw parts of England you hadn't seen before. This week, Wednesday 4th March, our member Steve Chapman will be showing us photographs he has taken. This is Steve's first time showing the club his work so will be a very good night. Harry is now accepting your PDI's for the next competition, with the categories of "Architectural Detail" and "Open". The closing date is Friday 6th March. Regards Graham