Finding A New Location
Rutter Force. Cumbria. A quintessentially idyllic scene.
There is something great about discovering a new location to photograph. On a recent trip up to the Lake District, I decided to plan in a little stop to break up the journey. I knew that realistically I’d be needing a pee and something to eat at some point on the journey and so I planned to pull off the M6 motorway at Tebay services to answer nature’s call.
Over a coffee I scoured the local area on Google maps and stumbled across Rutter Force. This was a place I’d never heard of but a quick search on Flickr showed it certainly had potential. I questioned whether it would be worth the 20 minute detour but as soon as I arrived it was obvious it was time well spent. The scene in front of me was just idyllic. The late spring sun gave the waterfall an almost tropical feel. Often, overcast conditions are preferred for waterfall photography but I have often found that, if you can avoid blowing out the highlights in the water, that you can get some magical results. The vista in front of me could have been frozen in time for decades; rural, beautiful and peaceful.
The falls are situated just a few meters from the roadside where the Hoff beck is crossed by a ford and foot bridge. The western bank has an old corn mill situated on it, complete with a restored waterwheel. No longer an operation mill, it is now available to book as holiday accommodation. This bank is sign posted as private property, so access to falls or mill cannot be had from this side. The opposite bank has a small path through the trees that leads almost to the base of the waterfall. I took advantage of this composition but not before putting on the wellies and walking into the middle of stream to capture an image low to the water.
There wasn’t a great deal of water going over the cascade. Often less is more in these cases and it can give a soft, delicate effect when using log exposures. Around 1/6 to 1/2 a second is my usual stating point.
I can imagine the scene is equally stunning in autumn, so as I often do, I’ll be returning to this location again.
A blended image. 1/6th second for the waterfall and 25 seconds for the foreground to smooth out the water
