So it was the day before my daughter’s nineteenth birthday when I took this and, as she usually does she decided she wanted to have a party. This usually involves a group of her friends descending on the house, playing music and drinking various amounts of alcohol. Invariably there is spillage and/or breakage at some point during proceedings, before a taxi arrives to pick them up and take them into town some time around 10 o Clock. Not really my idea of fun. So, with full permission from my wife, I jumped in the car and headed west to Teesdale, with aim of grabbing a sunset shot of Low Force near to the Bowlees Visitors Centre in Newbiggin, County Durham.

I arrived in plenty of time, parked outside of the visitors centre (post code for parking: DL12 0XF), in the layby directly opposite the gateway to the short path to the Low Force Waterfall. Its a short walk, which in early spring takes you through a field of gamboling lambs; the sound of the excited baa’ing an accompaniment to the distant sound of rushing water.

This was my first visit to Low Force, but I have been to High Force before, so was expecting to find other people there at the same time as myself, however I was pleasantly surprised to find I had the falls all to myself for the two hours I was there. The weather was fine and warm as well and I could see that the sinking sun, framed as it was by the clouds, would make a perfect backdrop to the scene. I scooted about trying various compositions before settling on this one as the sunset was taking hold.

Now I know that this is a very dramatic image and for a time I was concerned that I may be eovercooked it. But it is one of those images I can’t stop looking at at the moment. Its two exposures blended together in photoshop in order to combine the longer exposure for the running water with that of the sky. I like it and I hope you do to.

As with all my images this shot is available free of charge for you to use on your own website, but I must request the all uses credit me as the photographer with a link back to this site www.stephentierney.co.uk.