Good morning to everyone wherever you are in the world...and thanks to Woodsider for filling in last week.

Well my 5-day break in Marrakech turned out slightly different to what I expected. We were in a cab in the old town when the earthquake hit. The roads are so bad out there, we were used to being buffeted around in the car so didn't necessarily think too much of the movement. We then saw huge clouds of dust, followed by people running and shouting, everyone was on their mobiles, so much confusion and panic. I thought it was a bomb. The driver rang his family and his kids were screaming and crying but they were safe, as was his house. Others weren't so lucky. Took a while before the enormity of it all sunk in. We heard so many stories in the days that followed, some harrowing, somer uplifting, each one extraordinary. Of course that was just a tiny percentage of what people experienced and still are. Poor sods.

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Didn't do a great deal of photography for obvious reasons. Some unedited pictures I took on my phone. There was worse than this but didn't seem right poking cameras in peoples' faces the next day.

So glad to hear you are back safely WM. I was just beginning to wonder ...

Granny Pines

A day hiking around Loch Affric in the highlands. The glen has some of the largest remnants of ancient Caledonian forest which would once have covered much of the highlands, and it is being managed to encourage natural regeneration. The oldest pines are easily old enough to have sheltered Bonnie Prince Charlie after his escape from Culloden, and are known as Granny Pines.

A game of Chess

Pleased to see you got back safely, and were not in the hotel when the quake struck. Being in a building with a 6.8 quake must be horrific. Our 5.0 ones, which are a 100 less time powerful are bad enough.

On Wednesday I was in Piacenza for work. Afterwards, I went to see a building on my Romanesque "hit list". Basilica di San Savino, from the outside, looks like just another suburban neo Baroque church of little interest. But inside there are some wonderful medieval mosaics, including a panel depicting a chess game. At some point in time the interior was brought back to the Romanesque condition. It has some nice column capitals too.

When I arrived, there was a funeral, so I went off and saw some other things in the city. But this turned out to be a lucky moment to photograph the the mosaics behind the altar, as the lighting was still on and when I asked the verger, who was clearing up, where the chess player mosaic was, he kindly removed the carpet that was covering them. and let me get close to them to take some pictures. The crypt was easier as lights turn on when you enter.

Everything hand held, except the shots of the nave that were done using my monopod with feet, that is a lot less bothersome to carry and seems to get around tripod bans.

Behind the Altar

The Crypt

Hunt for red octob..., sorry, aurora.

On Thursday night on national television evening news it was hinted that there is possibility for seeing aurora. I checked weather forecast and saw that there is possibility for clear sky so I decided to exchange some sleep hours for photos and went to coast to avoid city lights from getting in a way. Well, luck was not on my side as most of aurora was visible when sky was clouded and by the time sky was cleared it was just bare hint of it.

This photo is processed to show approximation what the scenery looked to my naked eyes, I thought that the light is pollution from Finland's cities. On right are lights from Helsinki reflecting from clouds, but there shouldn't be other big cities..

This is how it looks for camera and after some processing, it was aurora after all. So it is likely that lot of nice aurora photos we see in internet are not representative what we can see IRL, as human eye is not very colour-sensitive in dark but sensors are much more sensitive. However, I remember seeing one years ago in cold winter night where aurora with full red-green colours was present on south from my location so it is possible with some luck to see nice auroras with naked eye.

Unfortunately by the time northern sky cleared the aurora was distant echo so I just fooled around

Here same scene with more exposure and with my flashlight to create some fill light.

Not sure what happened here on left top corner, maybe my self-made light diffuser from soft paper was caught in frame. Anyway, it looks interesting, so I have to retry it for kicks and giggles...

Anglezarke Moor

During the mini heatwave I started exploring the moors around Anglezarke a bit more. This was mostly because I didn't have the energy to hike up to the moors from lower ground such as White Coppice or Brinscall and could just drive up to the edge of the open moor at Anglezarke and then walk a short distance over relatively flat ground to get out into, what at least felt like, remote places.

With the heatwave passed and a return to normality (i.e. <20C temps, overcast skies, the constant threat of rain, you know, standard summer weather here in the Northwest of England) I decided to explore more deeply into this little patch of moorland, approaching places I've visited many times before, such as Round Loaf, but from a different starting point and getting a bit more insight into how these places knit together.

This set was taken on two separate walks around broadly the same area, both starting and ending near Jepsons Gate farm.

All images taken handheld with the Fujifilm GFX100S and 35-70 or 100-200 lenses (yes, my lens collection has doubled! My bank balance has been less fortunate). Processed from single raw files in Capture One Pro 23.

1. Jepsons Gate

I've been half heartedly searching for Jepsons Gate for a while now. It's labelled on the OS maps close to Pikestones, but its exact location isn't shown. Having recently found a blog containing grid coordinates for the site, I dropped a marker into my Garmin, ready for the next time I would be walking in the area. Sure enough, having walked past Pikestones and out onto the open moor, then following a vague trod across the moor in the general direction I arrived at the spot marked by this neat and tidy cairn. Finding information on Jepsons Gate is a bit like pulling hens teeth, so at this point I still have no idea what the significance of the site is or its relationship to other ancient sites on the moors such as the nearby Pikestones and the slightly more distant Round Loaf. I don't even know if it's "Jepsons Gate" or "Jepson's Gate" i.e. whether the name is possessive or not. One thing I do know is there's definitely not a gate there, just a pretty modern looking and well maintained cairn that appears to change its design from time to time, judging by other pictures I've seen.

2. Storms Over Chorley

Jepsons Gate does afford a rather nice view of Healey Nab and Chorley beyond. At this point, there was a bit of a break in the leaden skies, illuminating the mild storm that was sitting over the former cotton town.

3. Rivington

Looking in the other direction, we get a nice view of Rivington. The wooded side of the hill hides the terraced gardens, with just the odd bit of masonry poking through the canopy and of course The Pigeon Tower on the top left of the trees completely giving the game away. The row of trees in the foreground is the edge of a plantation that sits alongside Pikestones.

4. Shooting Huts?

Following along the edge of the plantation, I quickly arrived at a steep valley containing a stream that eventually becomes Lead Mines Clough further downhill. A little way downstream this is joined by a tributary emerging from the moors and labelled on the OS map as Limestone Brook. I crossed the stream and followed this tributary out onto the moors, eventually passing this little cluster of shaped stones. Referring once more to the OS map, it appears this was once the location of Shooting Huts, although you could easily dismiss it as just a few rocks in the grass, as whoever dismantled them really went to town.

5. The Red Weed

Following the boggy path higher onto Anglezarke Moor I eventually passed the lower end of Devil's Ditch and crossed the dried river bed beyond it. I say dried, it was really kind of boggy to be honest, so crossing it was quite a careful process. On the far side the moorland heather was on the wane. Still clinging to a bit of its colour, but definitely on its last legs until next year. It's a shame I didn't make it onto this part of the moors a few weeks back when it was at its peak, I bet it looked spectacular. In the distance, you can see my immediate destination, Round Loaf. Although I've explored this part of the moors over the past few years, I've never previously approached Round Loaf from the Anglezarke side, so it was nice to finally join up the dots in my head and have another option for accessing the moors rather than always entering via White Coppice.

6. Winter Hill from The Moors

From Round Loaf I crossed the moor to Hurst Hill, stopping mid way to take this shot of Winter Hill.

7. The Summit of Hurst Hill

This was taken as I approached the summit cairn of Hurst Hill. Harrock Hill can be seen in the distance to the right of the cairn and faintly in the distance you can just make out bumpy profile of The Great Orm.

8. A Hole In The Wall

This shot was taken after sunset in the field above Lead Mines Clough.

Wow, what great scenery and superb light. I really like the first two, each has its own merits, so it's difficult to choose between them. I'm quite taken with the tree in the 3rd one too, but I find the out of focus ferns at the bottom distracting and would probably opt to crop them off if it was my picture.

Such a beautiful set. #2 especially. And appreciate you filling in for last week.

That chess player mosaic is so cool. Love it. And The Crypt too.

I think you've created some very interesting shots here Vahur. The 2nd is lovely.

Different to your usual subjects in that these have fewer focal points. #2 is spectacular.

Bow of a fishing boat.

Glad you are alive and well.

Some superb shots you have.

Absolutely fab scenery.

I admire your stamina and efforts.

Some fantastic images you have here...

Nice. You should have made us guess.