The Landscape Group Out And About

THE LANDSCAPE GROUP OUT AND ABOUT

The Landscape Group has been active since the beginning of February 2023 with five outings to date. The group leaders are Kieran Metcalfe, Martin Malies and Tony North who all provide mentoring.

Padley Gorge

The inaugural trip in February was to Padley Gorge in the Peak District which proved to be very popular. Members arrived by car or by train at the nearby Grindleford Station. We worked our way steadily up the gorge, stopping numerous times to photograph the heavily wooded areas and Burbage Brook which runs along the gorge.

Castlefield

Photographing the intimate landscape was on the cards for our next visit to Castlefield in Manchester City Centre. The group focussed their attention on the smaller details to be found in the urban landscape, looking at various shapes, patterns, textures and colours. Little masterpieces were created from unlikely subjects!

Castleton, Peak District

A visit to Castleton in the Peak District came next. The weather was not great at the start, but members' patience was rewarded with brighter conditions in the late afternoon. Some of the images were post-processed in monochrome which suited the grittier weather conditions.

Anson Engine Museum, Poynton

Another outing in pursuit of the intimate landscape was held at the Anson Engine Museum in Poynton, Cheshire. Whilst the indoor museum exhibits were fascinating and obviously well cared for by museum volunteers, it was the dilapidated examples of plant and machinery stored in the outside yard which fired the members' quest for close-up and abstract images.

Heswall, The Dee Estuary

Our most recent outing in June was to Heswall which lies on the Dee Estuary. On arrival at the location, we were confronted by a wide-open landscape comprising salt marshes dotted with seawater creeks and open mudflats (which were dry, cracked and very photogenic). A big surprise was the large number of wrecked boats marooned on the marshes – great subjects for both wide and intimate landscape photography.

Future Meetings

The group's outings are punctuated by Zoom meetings to review members' images and to provide mentoring as required. We also plan for future activities. These activities will naturally include more outings to the urban and rural landscape, principally in Manchester and in the Peak District. Some of the members have expressed an interest in astrophotography, for which mentoring is being given by Tony North. Outings to photograph the night sky are being planned.