Snowdonia Sojourn
Llyn Bodgynydd
Last year I spent some time around the Ogwen Valley in Snowdonia, Wales. I had hoped to return in the Spring but Covid-19 lockdown’s meant that couldn’t occur. It wasn’t until September when I made it back to try again at two photographs I’d like to make.
I know the sort of light and clouds needed for the two photographs but it just didn’t occur - not even close despite trying multiple times. So, I’m not showing those images as I consider them work in progress. Based on the image above though you can probably guess the predominent weather conditions! Try, try again; I’ll be back next year for another go :-)
Mountain terrain is tricky to photograph for several reasons, some of which are: approach/decent time (aka walk-in/walk-out time); weather (less predictable); sun elevation (it gets occluded behind mountains, early). And this year in particular … midges! These pesky little blighters are not usually an issue in Wales but this year they seemed to have migrated down from Scotland and they made it most unpleasent in the hills without a good breeze to keep them down. :-(
Whilst the weather wasn’t great, it did allow for several reccie’s to parts of the National Park I hadn’t previously explored - the numerous small lakes near Capel Curig being an example. One night was stormy with heavy rain, thunder and the odd burst of lighting illuminating the inside of my tent. By pre-dawn the storm had passed and there were stars in the sky. Hoping for some mist that would separate the island from the background - image above - I headed out in the dark arriving just before sunrise. Unfortunetly there was only a little mist and this quickly vanished once the sun rose. But it was a beautifully clear, calm morning and the pesky midges were almost gone. :-)
Fingers crossed, Next time…
Andy
