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Hiking up on the path past Llyn Idwal and up into the Devil's Kitchen in Snowdonia, North Wales is a fantastic way to spend a day.
Once you get past the lake itself the path steepens significantly as you start to climb up to the peaks of the infamous Glyderau, outlined against the sky above.
The only problem that I face in this area is that the slopes are north facing, and thus are only lit for a couple of hours either side of midday.
This can cause a problem when trying to make a meaningful photo of the area as the harsh overhead sun tends to kill the mood and cause contrast problems.
Such was the case on this unusually bright and sunny day - perfect for hiking but not so good for photography.
However, the scenery was so magnificent that I just couldn't not photograph it, even in less than flattering light. The craggy peaks and detail on the stone steps was just too good to pass by.
In this sort of situation I'll often revert to monochrome, which, to my eye, can make a much better job of these harshly lit scenes than colour, bringing out more of the drama and atmosphere that I actually felt when I was there.
Filename - mountain path 01.jpg
Camera - Canon 5D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @24mm
Exposure - Not known
Location - Devil's Kitchen, Glyderau, Snowdonia
This image - 533x800px JPEG
Conversion - ACR & PS-CS2
Comments - Polarising filter used to darken sky.
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