A couple of weeks ago, I joined a fellow photographer for sunrise at Blea Tarn. Sunrise photography can be quite difficult in the summer months as it is so early and your alarm clock generally needs to go off at 3am. Far too easy to switch the alarm off and go back to sleep. However, no matter how sleep deprived you are, it is normally well worth the effort. Obviously planning ahead as best you can for the location and weather goes without saying. Lucky for me as I was joining someone else most of the planning was done for me and we certainly chose the right day. The conditions were fantastic.
Blea Tarn is a Lake District classic, located in a valley between Little Langdale and Great Langdale. It is probably one of the easiest to visit too as it has a National Trust car park so close to it. It has to be one of the reasons it is so popular with photographers, plus it has a fantastic backdrop of the Langdale Pikes.
A quick fact I found interesting when Googling the area - “The sediment in the bed of Blea Tarn has not been disturbed since the last Ice Age. It is now designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. There are brown trout, perch, and pike in the tarn.” - VisitCumbria.com
I didn’t see any fish while I was there, although there were a couple of campers who decided to go for a swim that might have come across a few. It must have been freezing in there as my phone was saying it was 4 degrees at the time, although if I had told you that later in the day you might not have believed me with it being a much warmer 22 degrees.
“may as well have a go at a Heaton inspired composition while I’m here”
When I got to Blea Tarn I quickly started to recognise the view. I thought this is probably down to seeing other photographers images but then I realised it was so fresh in my mind because of a YouTube video I had watched by Thomas Heaton a few days earlier. I even stumbled across the rocks he used in his composition and thought “may as well have a go at a Heaton inspired composition while I’m here”. I would usually try and find something different so I wasn’t copying anyone else but these rocks were just too interesting. Link to Thomas Heaton’s Video https://youtu.be/nre-qPW5m5E
I am yet to visit Blea Tarn at sunset, but if it is anything like sunrise it will look amazing. On the morning of our visit, there was hardly any wind, clear skies and some mist over the tarn. If I was to be picky though I would have liked a little more cloud in the sky to add some more interest over the peaks in the distance, as when we looked the other way the sky had some gorgeous colourful clouds.
Being a popular place to visit in the Lake District you will have seen many images of the area before, maybe even many that have a similar composition. It is such a beautiful place and well worth visiting to explore for yourself. Conditions will always be different and everyone's perspective is different.
I for one will definitely be going back.
Here are a few of the images from my visit.
A Thomas Heaton inspired image. He took a similar image in one of his YouTube videos.
Ventured out to Blea Tarn with a fellow photographer for sunrise over the weekend. It was absolutely stunning, calm, reflections and some mist. Well worth the 3am alarm.
An amazing morning watching the sunrise over Blea Tarn.
Equipment used;
Camera - Nikon D750
Lens - Nikon AF-S 16-35mm f/4 VR
Filters - Kase Filters
Tripod - Winston by 3 Legged Thing
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