The Peak District is an upland and national park at the southern end of the Pennines also known as the backbone of Northern England. During June 2024 I took a working road trip into the Peak district for the first time. What follows is my landscape photography experiences in and around the Peak District.

Reapsmore, Ecton Hill

My photography exploration of the Peak District began close to the farm cottage I was renting for the week in Shawfield, Reapsmore. Reapsmore is in the south of the peak district know as the white peaks which is primarily limestone rock and is on the Staffordshire Derbyshire border in the north east midlands. To break myself into my new surroundings on the first evening, using OS Maps online I just went for a walk from my cottage as the area had a lot of interest.

What was immediately noticeable in the white peaks was how peaceful it was and also the flora was different. The predominant tree is the Ash but I also saw lots of Maple trees, it felt like being in a different country. A good thing about a road trip in summer to the north it not get dark till gone 10pm. So you can stay out late. As the evening turned to golden hour caught some sunlight catching the hill tops of Ecton Hill from the moorland of Revidge.

Mam Tor, Dark Peaks

My second evening in the Peak District decided to take a trip to Mam Tor. Mam Tor is on the southern edge of the dark peaks and of sandstone. Most locations are within reach wherever you are located within the peak district maybe a 30 to 45 min drive. The lanes can be narrow and just hope a farm tractor not coming in the opposite way. But come 5pm and there is very little traffic. Its almost a no go at this time of day in the south east where I live. It did remind me of driving around some of the lanes from my trip to the Shropshire hills a few years ago. It was a blustery evening rain and then some sunshine, then rain which often means rainbows.

As I arrived at Mam Tor it was kicking off just as expected, rain, wind, sunshine and most precious of all rainbows.

Photographing Rainbows

Pulled over at the nearest spot. Rushed to the back of the car and pulled out the camera with the 24-70mm lens and the polariser already attached. A polariser is often essential for a rainbow to really pull out the colours. A wider angle lens allows the entire rainbow to be captured hopefully including some interesting features in the landscape. I not know where I was and just drove around finding the next place to park.

Managed to capture a few more compositions of Mam Tor and the rainbow but the rainbow was fading. Love rainbows, more than sunsets and sunrises, quite rare. The rain clouds need to be opposite the sun to get the rainbow, so need to be facing the right way. The lower in the sky the sun is when this happens the greater the rainbow. Stuck around Mam Tor exploring the location for a few hours into Golden Hour.

The calm after the storm, fluffy drifting cumulus clouds now over Mam Tor during the evening golden hour. A lovely way to spend an early summers evening. Never stay in when there is rain and broken clouds above.

Parkhouse, Chrome Hill

I was working during the day, so essential anywhere I rented had good WIFI. Which the cottage did but none on my phone. This arrangement works during the summer months especially heading north as you can have up to 5 hour outdoors in the evening after switching off the laptop. It does mess a little with meal times etc but with a 9am start can have a lay in. Had no intention of rising for sunrise, too early this time of year, just sunsets. Although many locations on the peak district are suppose to be best at sunrise.

Landscape Photography Guide

The next night in the peak district was a visit to Chrome hill and Parkhouse hill just inside the Derbyshire border. For a hitlist of locations to visit ideal for landscape photography was using The Photographers Guide to the Peak District.

What this book lacks is a small simple barcode of the carpark locations so can just scan with the camera in your phone bringing up the location on google maps. What it does list is a load of coordinates that I am not typing in even if I knew how to use them. Both Parkhouse and Chrome hill are quite dramatic known as the dragons back. There was more clouds in the sky than would have preferred and became a test of patience waiting for the sun to break through and light up the landscape.

The view west from the top of Chrome hill was dramatic. The sky had a lot of interest but with the thick clouds pools of light were failing to hit the landscape. The high dynamic range of light required exposure bracketing.

Peter’s Stone

The following evening in the Peak District decided to visit Peter’s Stone. It was a pleasant evening with some good sunshine and a few interesting clouds in the sky. Very peaceful and I was the only person there.

Had a good walk around the valley trying to find the best composition. I preferred where the dome shaped stone was completely separated from its surroundings. Had some interesting cumulus clouds above. Stuck around until golden hour but the sun went behind low clouds and the rock being at the bottom of a valley falls into deep shadow.

It was on the drive home from Peter’s Stone that I had to pull over. The June sun was setting behind a lone tree high on a hill in the peak district. Attached the 70-200mm lens, rushing to frame the sunset behind the tree before it disappeared. At 200mm and F/20 you don’t get much of a sunburst effect with this type of lens. Exposing for the highlights with the intention to throw the tree into silhouette.

Bamford Edge

Good thing working in the day it gives you something to do and you save your energy for the evening when the light is a lot better. The next evening I was heading to the amazing views from Bamford Edge. The good thing with the Peak District although remote it is not too extreme like the lake district and parking is not too far from some of the most iconic locations and also not too many other people.

Fantastic views from the top of Bamford Edge looking north west towards Lady Bower Reservoir, lots of interesting rock formations in the foreground. Composition overload!

Exposure Bracketing

The light was good but high contrast, the dynamic range being greater than the camera sensor could capture within a single frame. When this happens usually those important highlights are blown out, you switch to exposure bracketing. The standard is 3 frames 2 stops apart one for the highlights, one for the shadows and one for the mid-tones. Three brackets usually works, but if only just clipping the highlights and shadows will quickly change it to two frames. I want the exposure for the highlights to just be in dynamic range and also the shadows checking the histogram. later you use HDR Merge within Lightroom to blend these shots together. I was hand-holding so not want to long an exposure for shadow shot. I use a minimum shutter speed and auto ISO so the shutter is not dragged too long. The bracket order can be important, I choose +1,0,-1 order so the fastest is shot last or longest shot first. Setting an minimum shutter speed say of 1/125 sec and auto ISO means the ISO will be raised for the over exposed shot. To minimize the time between each frame I also use burst mode, this will take all 3 shots automatically one after the other.

Amazing Light

The intention was to stick around until sunset. There was a lot more cloud in the sky than I would have preferred. Switched to the 70-200mm lens to get some telephoto intimate shots of lady bower reservoir and the sunlight hitting the hills behind. With these compositions you have to be aware of balance there are lots of strong shapes and areas of light and shadow, there needs to be visual harmony in the frame.

In tight at 90mm cutting out those highlights in the sky no need to exposure bracket. Just exposing for the highlights. Shortly after more thick cloud moved in and the amazing light was snubbed out. If the odds are against me with the light returning and its late I will choose the cold beers in the fridge at home. At locations like Bamford Edge its easy to get locked in trying to include the foreground rock interest. This can stop you seeing the photos within the photo and attaching the telephoto lens.

Padley Gorge

My last day exploring the Peak District and took a visit to Padley Gorge. It was a Saturday and a nice June day. There was a lot of people about as Padley Gorge is a popular destination for day trippers from the nearby conurbations of Sheffield.

PayByPhone Parking

One pro tip when parking – Internet is very patchy within the peak district with all the high hills and valleys. Most car parking uses the PayByPhone app. So make sure you have this installed on your phone and created an account. Without internet though as happened in Padley Gorge you cannot use the app, which is frustrating! But on the car park signage there is a phone number. If you ring this number it is specific to the location so knows your at padley gorge. Its all automatic, no waiting and from your phone number knows your account so can charge you automatically too given have stored your credit card with your account. Its actually a lot easier than using the PayByPhone app with a good internet connection.

While your at it, you want to make sure you have also downloaded maps for offline usage with your other apps like google maps and OS Maps.

Patience and Faith

The weather apps were predicting some cloud cover. There had been a lot of rain in the night with some huge puddles in the road so thought Padley gorge and its flowing waters would be a good choice. A lot of the gorge is actually difficult to access as within a steep ravine with slippery banks. But managed to find a quiet spot, framing up a vibrant green fern in the foreground and a small waterfall in the background. Using a polariser a small aperture and in the dark of the ancient woodland canopy not need a filter to get motion blur in the water. It was a game of patience though waiting for the sun to go behind clouds to reduce the contrast and the wind to eliminate unwanted motion blur in the foliage. After 20 minutes I gave up. As I was climbing back up the ravine then the conditions occurred but I was not going back down. You need more patience in landscape photography. Hope and faith too that the right conditions will occur, often I just feel wasting my time when I look up and see a clear blue sky.

Stanage Edge Sunset

From Padley Gorge then made my way to Stanage Edge which is not far away. There are a lot of iconic and photogenic locations within this area of the Peak District. I arrived Stanage Edge quite early with the plan to shoot sunset from here with the conditions looking promising.

Pub Lunch Long Wait

Having been out all day was starving so decided to head down into Hathersage for a pint and a pub meal. Being a Saturday night was busy, all the seats reserved and a long wait over 40 minutes, so wasted a lot of time here. A better option is to find a fish n chip shop but a lot close at 8pm and sunset here is not until pass 9:40PM June.

Later, I scrambled back up Stanage Edge to catch the sunset before it dipped below the horizon. After my pub lunch and pint was breathless reaching the top and not good for the digestion.

Composition overload

The problem with a new location with so many possibilities is settling on a composition with little time to waste. Having visited earlier had a rough idea where some of the best compositions were looking north west that included some of the foreground rocks. Again required exposure bracketing due to the high dynamic range of the scene.

Peak District Summary

Really enjoyed my photography trip to the Peak District. One week was not long enough for a first visit, two weeks would have been better. Renting a cottage made a big difference, home from home experience and very peaceful. I shall return likely in August to capture all the purple heather on the hillsides. Here are some Peak District photography tips condensing my experiences there:

• Summer is a goodtime to be a digital nomad, you can work during the day and then be out all evening, just check your location has good wifi.
• Renting a cottage provides a home from home experience and deeper relaxation and much more peaceful than a hotel.
• The Peak District is remote and internet patchy so download maps etc for offline usuage
• Create an account with PayByPhone for parking, use the phone number at the location rather than the app if no internet. Its very fast and easy.
• If outdoors and hungry with time to kill before sunset, a fish and chip shop would be a lot faster than waiting in a busy pub, stay off the alcohol.
• If rainbows use a polariser and wider angle lens to capture and enhance the rainbow.
• Be patient and have faith when waiting for the lighting and wind conditions to change.
• Purchase the Landscape Photographers guide to the Peak District for a top hit list of locations to visit within the national park.
• Be prepared to change lens when at a location and to see the photos within the photo.
• Windy is a great weather app to use, especially the live satellite overlay, you can see what clouds cover is coming into your area.
• With high dynamic range scenes be prepared to switch to bracketing using a min shutter speed and auto ISO.
• Don’t stay indoors when it rains, if there are weather fronts checking windy.com then good chance of rainbows and dramatic skies.

Check out the Peak District Landscape Photography Gallery