Todmorden 2.0
I treated myself to a new toy on this week, a Nikon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 VR S lens. Naturally this angered the weather gods and they decided to throw thundery storms and heavy rain tantrum in my direction for some reason. Perhaps they prefer Fuji? Anyway, any prospect of taking it out for a spin on Saturday was quite literally washed away by the torrential rain and high winds. The forecast warned this would continue through Sunday, but when the day came the weather was actually quite nice and so, by mid afternoon I had decided to head back across the border to Todmorden for another crack at the moors high above the A646.
This time I stayed on the South side of the A646 and explored Todmorden Moor, home of a substantial wind farm, whose turbines ended up dominating a lot of my photos.
The weather behaved itself for the first couple of hours, but started to fall apart around about the point I decided to sit down for a rest and enjoy the view, so that didn't really happen and any further lens swapping was off the table, so in the end, although I took plenty of shots will all the lenses I was carrying, there's only one shot included in this set that was actually taken with the 100-400. Technically, it performed very well and I'm looking forward to getting out with it in the future.
All images taken hand held with the Nikon Z7 + 24-70 f/2.8S or 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 VR S. Some with a CPL. Processed from individual raw files in Capture One Pro 23.
1. Stormy Weather?
Not quite the picture painted by the forecast as I set off along the A646 towards Ratten Clough Wood.
2. Ratten Clough Wood
A very steep path runs up through the woods from the A646 to Beater Clough, rising the best part of 300ft in very little distance at all. It was also very slippery after the stormy weather the day before, so I was quite glad to see daylight coming through the distant trees.
3. The View From Beater Clough
When I emerged into the sunlight above Beater Clough I was treated to a spectacular view, looking down the valley over the little villages of Portsmouth and Cornholme nestled in the valley below. The only thing marring the view was the pylons and particularly the overhead cables they were carrying up the far side of the clough, making them impossible to avoid. If I really wanted to, I could paint them out, but lit as they are, they're not too intrusive, still I'd rather they weren't present in this image.
4. Approaching The Wind Farm on Todmorden Moor
From the top of Beater Clough, it's a steady climb up onto the moor itself, totalling almost 1,000ft from the 'A' road below.
5. On The Other Side Of The Pylons
These are the same pylons and cables that were spoiling my view from Beater Clough. The wind farm in the distance is the one I visited a few weeks back on the opposite side of the A674.
6. Just As I Sat Down For Some Lunch
Having worked my way to the top and then across Todmorden Moor, I ended up on Flower Scar Hill, which gave the best view of the surrounding hills and the valley below. I had planned to sit here for a while, enjoying the view and picking out details with the telephoto, but as soon as I put my bag down I felt the first drops of rain as showers began to wind their way up the valley, meaning that plan was out of the window and the 100-400 would stay in the bag for the remainder of the walk. I also didn't get to sit down and enjoy the view for any length of time either. Ah, well, there's always next time.
7. Two Sheep Discussing The Incoming Weather Front
8. Torrid Turbines
I was intrigued by the rusty mark running all the way down the central column of this turbine on Flower Scar Hill, so I took this shot to record it and take a closer look later, but the dramatic sky made for a more interesting picture than I'd originally expected.
9. Turneresque Turbines
Meanwhile, as the scattered rain passed through, the windfarm on the opposite side of the valley took on an almost watercolour look which I kind of like.
