As the saying goes - 'Red sky in the morning, photographer's delight' - or something like that anyway!
I photographed this amazing light show at dawn, standing perched on a partially submerged rock on the shore of Llyn Llydaw, part way up the Miner's track on the approach to Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales.
On a clear day Snowdon would be visible from this viewpoint, reflecting nicely in the calm waters of the lake, but not on this occasion. Today the summit of Snowdon is wreathed in storm clouds which are lit up a fiery red from the sun, just risen behind me to the east.
It's the tail end of Autumn and a stiff breeze is ruffling the surface of the lake, killing any chance of a reflection, but I don't really mind as the weather and light are combining in one of those rare events that us lovers of the outdoors just gape in awe at.
Overhead, storm clouds boil and seeth in the roiling air coming off the jagged peaks of the Snowdonia mountains, while on the eastern horizon a narrow band of clear sky lets the red light of the newly risen sun stream though a gap between the peaks and set fire to the lower slopes of the mountain itself.
It's at times like this I want to jump up and down screaming with joy at the incredible beauty unfolding before me, but if I want a photo I have to restrain myself and get down to business.
F16 and a polariser given me an eight second exposure to blur the lake surface and allow the stones on the lake bed to show through as a foreground to lead the eye through the scene to the drama unfolding beyond.
Two minutes later and it's all over as the sun rises into the cloud, the lights go out, and Snowdonia returns to it's default setting of grey flat light for the rest of the day.
Was all the effort worth it for two minutes of glorious light - you bet it was!
Filename - lake mountains 05.jpg
Camera - Canon 5D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @24mm
Exposure - 8secs @ f16, ISO100
Location - Llyn Llydaw, Snowdonia
This image - 565x800px JPEG
Conversion - ACR & PS-CS2
Comments - Slow shutter speed used to blur water.
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