The images I have posted today were taken at Derwent Water from Crow Park, Keswick, although you may have already guessed that from the title of the post. They were also taken on a day where a client came to the realisation that landscape photography is not necessarily all about being out in good weather and that having patience can pay off.

On this occasion to give my client the best opportunity with the weather conditions and because she was travelling a fair distance to get to the lakes I offered to split the full day workshop in to two half days. So the previous day we had been up on Lingmoor for sunset and given the conditions for the following day I opted to stay lower down and head for Keswick. In all honesty the forecast was pretty rubbish but there was a slim chance of some light, albeit after sunrise, and I'm not one for cancelling workshops as there is nearly always something to do even if it means changing plans and location.

The rain was persistent on the drive to Keswick but had subsided by the time we arrived, which made me feel slightly better to say the least and by the time we had walked over the field to Crow Park it had stopped completely. If you know of this location you'll be aware that you can see all the way down the water to Borrowdale, and with the wind being a southerly one, this meant it was in our face which also made it rather cold as it was rather gusty. The only advantage I can think of for having such foul conditions is that you could clearly see what was coming our way, which for the most part was nothing to look forward to.

For the best part of what I would say was an hour to an hour and a half, we were under our umbrellas in heavy rain, strong wind and at one point a hail storm which lasted about fifteen minutes. Now you could ask yourself why would one do such a thing, it probably would've been much easier and warmer to walk back to the car and give up, and I did make this suggestion to my client as it looked like her enthusiasm was dwindling, and I wanted to give her the option as it was her workshop after all, but I was also confident we would catch a break and it was worth waiting it out.

The picture below is of Derwent Isle as a band of rain was sweeping across and over us. Trying to get a clean shot of this wasn't easy either as the rain was in my face and every time I lifted the brolly to reveal the camera the lens got water on it. As quick as I could wipe it off more spots appeared which were clearly visible when viewing the image on the back of the camera. I'd like to think you'd get some sense of what we were out in by viewing this.

After what appeared to feel like an age and seeds of doubt starting to sprout in the back of my mind, I was beginning to wonder whether the forecast I'd seen was indeed accurate. Not to mention keeping my client out in these conditions with potentially nothing to show for her efforts other than a cold and runny nose. All was not lost though, finally the cloud started to break and spirits started to lift and we had an opportunity to grab some shots. Needless to say I was relieved that we caught a break and the rain stopped long enough for the clouds to part and subject us to some rather nice light. 

As good as this was given what we had stood out in, sadly it only lasted for about ten minutes or so but for me that made the wait all the more worth while and the persistence paid off. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't always work out like this and it it would've been so easy just to pack up and head back to the car, but if you're prepared to suffer a little then the rewards are worth it. I'm happy to say my client also thought it was worth it, but she admitted that had she been on her own she probably would've gone back to the car or not even ventured out in the first place. I'm just as guilty at times for thinking the same thing but the bottom line is, if you're not out you'll just never know and some of the best conditions aren't always on nice sunny days.

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