My photography club were on our Annual trip in 2020, the first trip we could make after the easing of COVID restrictions. Instead of the usual dozen members, there were just 4 of us. We went to the Lake District in Cumbria, a really picturesque part of England. The small lake we wanted to photograph was closed, owing to a film crew being in attendance and we couldn't get anywhere near, so we carried on down a small track towards another viewpoint, this time of the Langdales (hence the title "Light On The Langdales". There was no light and it was looking extremely like we'd have to find somewhere else, when the light suddenly appeared over one of the ridges and there was a fluury of activity to catch this beautiful scene. It's probably one of my 3 favourite landscape captures. I hardly did anything in post - it was just there.
7 comments posted
Mike Patterson
This is fine capture of a beautiful valley in England. It definitely invites one to admire and wish for the ability to explore the area. To me, the tint seems off, especially the green fields. They seem to have an overly yellow tinge about them. I wasn't there so maybe that's what they really looked like. But from an image standpoint they seem "off" and that can easily be corrected. Posted: 08/03/2026 21:17:36
John Zhu
Its is a stunning landscape in dramatic light. The sun breaking through the heavy clouds beautifully illuminates the green valley, while the rugged mountains create a sense of depth. The contrast between the dark sky and glowing hills makes the scene feel almost magical. Posted: 08/08/2026 17:35:30
Spring Zhang
It's a striking image with beautiful light and lovely landscape, love the light on the field on the right side of the photo. Image is well balanced with the two hills on both sides. The only thing I would suggest is to decrease highlights a bit on the sun; right now it's overexposed. Nice capture. Posted: 08/09/2026 19:31:14
Michele Borgarelli
Nigel,
This is a great capture of a wonderful, dreamlike landscape. From a compositional point of view, the image is well balanced, with the two hills on either side acting as a natural frame. I think you could have tried to place the sun a little further into the image. Where it is now, right at the edge of the frame, it is very bright and immediately attracts the viewer's attention. I also feel that there is a bit too much sky. The main subject is the hilly landscape, yet almost 50% of the image is occupied by the sky. In my opinion, a tighter crop might have given more emphasis to the landscape itself.
Finally, the processing has a slightly strong HDR look for my taste, although that is, of course, a matter of personal preference.
Best wishes,
Michele Posted: 08/17/2026 14:22:10
Tom Buckard
Nigel, this is a breathtaking image. I honestly wouldn't change a thing. Very well taken! Posted: 08/17/2026 16:24:31
Nigel Dalton
Thanks for all your comments. The scene was very much like that. Even though I bracketed the exposures, the sun was out of reach - or at least I didn't think it was so bright that I couldn't recover it. I quite like the star effect it produces even though it is v. bright. The image isn't HDR but it is a 5 image bracketed exposure processed in LRC and Photoshop. However it was fairly close to what I saw. Composition wise, I left the pool of light on the landscape on the bottom RH 1/3 so I kind of feel it balances well. The main thing I remember about taking this after waiting for quite some time in cloudy conditions was our club ex chairman shouting - "Look at the light, Look at the light". Posted: 08/17/2026 17:31:25
Dennis Lee
This is a beautiful landscape image with some incredible atmospheric light, especially with the sunstar peeking over the left ridge and illuminating the valley floor in a bright golden glow. The heavy overcast sky offers up a nice bit of drama, but I also agree with Michele that it can be trimmed back a bit for a sleeker panoramic aspect ratio that locks the viewer's eye onto the valley. Posted: 08/17/2026 23:57:47
