A Detour to Magpie Mine
A landscape photography blog by Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire based landscape photographer Rob Thorley Photography.
This morning I was up and at them, and heading over to Danebridge. The plan was to have a drive around and check out what the autumn colours were doing, but I soon ended up with a plan B.
I’m not sure what it’s like in other cities but at the moment in Stoke-on-Trent it appears that every other road is closed, or has four way traffic lights on it. Today I had the pleasure of both. After sitting in traffic for too long I did a u-turn and headed into the Peak District in another direction.
At this point I didn’t have a destination in mind, and it was only as I drove further into the National Park that I opted for Magpie Mine. I have photographed this location before in the evening but the last time I was here the cows were out and I’m only a fan when I’m eating one. I came away that time feeling I’d rushed and spent too much time keeping tabs on the cows, rather than my photography.
Location wise this is another easy access one. It’s not quite a park and shoot, but it’s as good as. You can see the mine building from the car park, and a couple of hundred metres on the level and your in there.
There was only one other person there, and as I got to the mine they were leaving. Happy days.
Conditions wise it was a blue sky day, but at least there was plenty of cloud cover to give the sky some nice texture. This time of the year the light was fine during the day. I only find daytime shooting to be hard when it’s the harsh, bright hazy white light on a hot summer’s day.
With no cows to be had I spent a pleasant few hours snapping away.
I don’t know if it’s just me but i find it can be tricky to find new compositions of static subjects. Whilst subjects like mountains and trees are obviously static with those I feel like you can find more compositions, and shoot the seasons, weather, light etc . . . to get a lot more variation of a single subject. There are always exceptions to the rule, but I find buildings are much more restricted when it comes to composition, and pretty much the same irrespective of weather, so I was pleased that I came away with a few different shots..
I also took the opportunity to practise my videography. For those that follow along I can confirm that my 4K footage was spot on. Lessons learnt and all that.
You can view more images of Magpie Mine and my gallery of other Peak District locations..
