SteveTanham – writing, mysticism, photography, poetry, friends

Category: Lake District

October 18, 2022 + #Humour, #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Consciousness, English Lake District, Lake District, Photographic techniques, Photography, Travel and people

Cartmel, anarchy and the perfect morning…

by Steve Tanham

The Cumbrian village of Cartmel is most famous for its racecourse, but it is difficult to find any part of it that is not also beautiful or at least interesting. There are also examples here of innovative responses to hard times… Something we all need to take note of. Cartmel lies two miles northwest of Grange-over-Sands, on the northern edge of Morecambe Bay, just … Read More Cartmel, anarchy and the perfect morning…

October 16, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Lake District, Mindfulness, Photographic techniques, Photography, Places and Prose

Bardsea Sunset

by Steve Tanham

Just about my favourite shot of October so far. Bardsea is a vast beach a few miles along the coast road from Ulverston. It looks south over Morecambe Bay and is a favourite walk for dog owners. Frisbees can be thrown ‘for miles’! When we returned to the car, the sun was setting and I could see its reflection in one of the pools. … Read More Bardsea Sunset

October 4, 2022 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Consciousness, Lake District, landscapes, Photographic techniques, Photography, Places and Prose, Seasons of the year, Silent Eye School, Travel and people

Maple Quay

by Steve Tanham

There’s a giant maple tree on the quayside at Waterhead on the northern shores of Lake Windermere. Waterhead is the most northerly ferry stop on this, England’s biggest lake. Boats from Waterhead link the town of Ambleside to Bowness and Lakeside at the southern tip of the lake. We call it ‘Maple Quay’ though it has no official name. In the autumn, the tree … Read More Maple Quay

September 27, 2022 + #Silenti, Consciousness, Lake District, landscapes, Mindfulness, Photographic techniques, Photography, Places and Prose

Lines on Stone

by Steve Tanham

It’s amusing to watch your own progress with a pastime, hobby, or even a skill. I was new to creative photography a few years ago, and set about it with the usual Gemini enthusiasm. It doesn’t take long before you’ve taken hundreds of shots, some of them credible renderings of beautiful things – like our local River Kent, or buildings, or even skies – … Read More Lines on Stone

September 17, 2022 + #Silenti, Consciousness, Lake District, landscapes

The old pier and the birds of young wisdom

by Steve Tanham

There’s a strange object near the end of Morecambe’s long Stone Jetty pier. From a distance, it looks like a large piano… Beyond it is only the sea, so, really, it’s stuck out in the middle of Morecambe Bay. It’s actually one of two new radar stations designed for detailed analysis of the intense tidal flows of these parts – some of the largest … Read More The old pier and the birds of young wisdom

August 28, 2022 + #Silenti, Consciousness, English Lake District, Lake District, landscapes, Photography, Places and Prose

Fading summer wine

by Steve Tanham

One of the most poignant moments of the year is the last week of August. There comes that first sense of ‘chill’, plus the heavy dew on the morning grass. We find the best way to deal with this is a bottle of white wine, taken just as the warmth of the afternoon has begun to ebb. We spend the time it takes to … Read More Fading summer wine

August 21, 2022 + #Silenti, Lake District, landscapes, Photographic techniques, Photography

Time, place and lens

by Steve Tanham

The River Kent forms a natural heart to the village of Sedgwick. The river has many faces. In 2015 it saw some of the worst floods in the region’s history. But most of the time, it’s peaceful and beautiful. It has some special moods, but you have to be there to photograph them. Not a matter of skill, rather right place at the right … Read More Time, place and lens

July 17, 2022 + #Silenti, Lake District, landscapes

The High Watercourse

by Steve Tanham

So high above this Lakeland landscape, it’s difficult to imagine its industrial past; in particular, how an army of labourers toiled here, competing with an impossible deadline to deliver a vital transport link between Preston and Kendal. It’s 1819. The industrial revolution is in full swing. But this wasn’t the railway. This was prior to the coming of steam. The labourers were navvies – … Read More The High Watercourse

July 10, 2022 + #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Consciousness, Lake District, nature, Photographic techniques, Photography

Falling from Solstice

by Steve Tanham

The tree on the right marks the farthest point the setting sun reaches on its solstice progression across the ridge beyond the garden. From the dark wood lattice of winter, through the joyous green spring, to the fullness of summer, I never tire of standing outside the house and attempting to capture a little of its evening splendour… Falling away, now, as it nears … Read More Falling from Solstice

June 23, 2022 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Consciousness, Lake District, myths and spirituality, Photographic techniques, Photography

Heroes in a Landscape (7) End of the Quest

by Steve Tanham

Continued from Part Six… The final day of a weekend like ‘The Journey of the Hero’ has to serve many purposes. It has to reinforce what has been shared; it has to send people on their homeward journeys with a smile… and a desire to do it, again. In short, it needs to embrace the companions with a warm hug! It also needs to … Read More Heroes in a Landscape (7) End of the Quest

June 16, 2022 + #Silenti, Ancient Landscapes, Ancient Sacred Sites, Consciousness, Lake District, myths and spirituality, Photographic techniques, Photography

Heroes in a Landscape (6) Fellowship of the Shepherd

by Steve Tanham

Continued from Part Five… There comes a moment in any weekend event when the carefully cultivated sense of order breaks down… no matter how good the plan. At that point one looks to ‘heaven’ knowing that the success is in the ‘laps of the Gods’. The man striding up the hill from Great Salkeld towards Long Meg Stone Circle possessed a brain whose capacity … Read More Heroes in a Landscape (6) Fellowship of the Shepherd

May 17, 2022 + #NightMoves, #Silent Eye, #Silenti, Lake District, Photographic techniques, Photography

From beneath

by Steve Tanham

Photographs are meant to be taken from above, except…. Except when they’re not, and there’s some compelling reason to take them from beneath. Often, I walk the collie in the early evenings. It’s impossible in the winter, except with a flashlight; and then you get strange looks. But in spring and summer, you can still find strong evening sunlight – full of golds – … Read More From beneath