“Tufa, Stormy Sky” — Tufa formation in pre-sunrise light, backed by dark clouds above the Sierra Nevada.
The light on this scene was a surprise. I had left my campsite high in the Sierra Nevada while it was still dark, arriving at the shore of Mono Lake well before sunrise. For a moment I was the only person there before others began arriving. There were lot of clouds — which can be a blessing or a curse for sunrise photography, depending on where they are and whether there are breaks in the right directions. I expected to arrive at this formation in fairly dismal light, then go look for compositions and set up for sunrise.
“A Cotswolds Trail” — Two Cotswolds hikers pause in the sunlight between old trees and a wheat field.
I have to confess some (OK, a lot of) ignorance about England outside of its cities. We’ve been to the country a number of times, but that usually means going to London and then visiting a few other relatively urbanized places. So “my England” has been basically London and a few (mostly popular) towns. We’ve passed through the country on trains and looked down on it from the air, but this trip was the first time that we actually went out and walked through it. I learned a lot!
“Three Peaks, Rain Clouds” — Distant highlands peaks in light rain, beyond tree-covered hills.
Arriving at this spot involved one of the driving adventures that characterized much of our time in northwest Scotland. We followed a main road northward from Skye, and here we diverged to the west toward the coast. As we topped a rise we looked back and saw this spectacular scene — spots of sunlight on nearby hills, light rain falling between us and three distant tall peaks, and a dramatic, cloud-filled sky.
“Four Cotswolds Trees” — Old trees stand in a Cotswolds field.
Near the end of May we did a weeklong walk in England’s Cotswolds. Ours was not the longest walk, and our mileage was less than it might have been on more aggressive walks. (Basically, we did an out-and-back loop starting and ending at Moreton-in-Marsh.) The plan was to enjoy the walking, but have plenty of time and energy to enjoy the towns we passed through and stayed in each night.
