Westwood, Poolstock

Braving the stiff breeze on a cold Boxing Day, I decided to start exploring the area off Poolstock that was once the site of the Westwood Power Station and the two massive cooling towers.
The towers were demolished in January 1989, and since then the area, now part of the Greenheart Flashes, has been returned to nature.
Especially prominent are Silver Birch trees, and I'll hopefully document a season of growth and change in this area.

Access to the area via Lock 1 of the Leigh Branch near St James' Church, Poolstock

The footprint of one of the mighty cooling towers

The channels that brought water from Pearson's Flash to the towers, now overgrown

Blowing Reeds

Blending Into Nature

Glowing Trees

Bright Silver Birches

Bare Silver Birch Trunks

Chain Winding Gear on the Canal Lock

Winter Swan on Pearson's Flash

Manchester Christmas Markets

Although it was a dull and somewhat rainy day in Manchester City centre, the crowds were out and the market stalls were as busy as ever!

I used a small camera to capture as many candid images as I could, processing the Black and White images in Silver Efex Pro.

Sony RX100 Mk2

Frosty Mesnes Park

I had an hour to spare in Mesnes Park park this morning, and the Winter sunshine combined with the frosty lawns provided plenty of colour!

Billinge Hill Dawn

Up before the Larks this morning!

Seeing how frosty/misty/clear it was at 7am, I took myself off to the highest point hereabouts, Billinge Hill.

Here are the results.

Fuji XT2, 10-24mm and 35mm Fuji lenses.

First Light On The Beacon

Pre Dawn Light Towards The Beacon

First Light And Misty Fields

Dawn Aerials

Dawn Light And Misty Fields

Tall Dawn Skies

The Sun Touches The Horizon

Tall Dawn Skies St Helens

Industrial Dawn

Dawn At The Ninth Green

Tall Dawn Skies Looking North East

Pre Dawn Misty Fields Liverpool

Brockholes Nature Reserve, Preston

After the torrential rain of the last few days, the promise of clear blue skies saw me heading up the M6 to this well kept area of natural beauty.

I was concentrating on Autumn Colour as a theme, and only used my Fuji 50-200mm lens on my new Fuji X-T2 to get close to the subjects.

Berry Drips

Glowing Reeds

Autumn Reedbeds

Final Shades Of Green

Bare Birch Branches

Holding On

Tree Trunk Patterns

Autumn Shadows And Light

Gliding Through The Reeds