Click on the image for licensing terms
I'm so blessed to live in North Wales, just a short drive away from some of the most magnificent scenery in the world.
Of course, I'm talking about the wonderful Snowdonia National Park, with its mountains, forests, waterfalls, lakes and coastline.
My wife Liz and I drive here often enough, in all weathers, just to soak in the peace and beauty that this part of the world provides in abundance.
But it's especially nice when it's warm enough to actually go for a hike (we're a bit nesh in that respect!), and one of our best walks is to follow the path up from Llyn Ogwen to Llyn Idwal, the gateway to the Glyderau mountains.
Just after you set off up the path you come to a lovely little wooden bridge, spanning the Llyn Idwal runoff stream as it tumbles as a series of small waterfalls over the boulder strewn river bed.
Nearly everyone stops on the bridge to take a photo of the waterfalls with the peaks of the Glyderau in the background, and I'm no different having photographed this view many times before.
However on this occasion I sought out an alternative aspect, climbing down to the side of the stream for a low down viewpoint, taking in the tumbling water in the foreground and the famous tree, seemingly growing out of solid rock, outlined against the cloudy sky.
Those clouds proved a blessing for this photo, taking the shine off the white water and allowing me to avoid blowing out highlights while still retaining shadow detail in the single exposure.
Mind you, a polarising filter for the water and a two stop neutral density filter over the sky also helped!
Filename - waterfall llyn idwal 03.jpg
Camera - Canon 6D
Lens - 17-40mm zoom @ 19mm
Exposure - 1/40 sec @ f8, ISO200
Filters - Polarising filter used to remove glare and enhance colours. Two stop neutral density graduated filter used to balance the exposure between the sky and land.
Location - Llyn Ogwen, Snowdonia, North Wales
This image - 533x800px JPEG
Conversion - Adobe Lightroom
Comments - Handheld exposure with image stabilisation and increased ISO to prevent camera motion blur.
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2026 unless otherwise stated.