36 Shots – Winter Hill

In early summer 2019, I had an assignment to complete for a course. The brief was to take 36 different shots of the same object; they had to be outdoors but the choice of subject was completely left to me to decide.

After quite a bit of deliberation and after my thoughts repeatedly kept coming back to Winter Hill, I somewhat inevitably decided on the transmitter masts as my subject.

They’re such a beacon for people in this area. Maybe for some they’re spiritual, but for me, I particularly love the contrast of these otherworldly man-made structures in this rather desolate landscape. It’s the same sense of fascination I get from seeing an orderly line of pylons stretching across a rugged mountainous area. These structures have qualities of poise and elegance that somehow complement their natural surroundings. 

From that point, I embarked on several journeys, walking miles over the West Pennine moorland, in a variety of weather conditions and at different times of the day to build up as diverse a collection as possible. 

I have to admit, some of the conditions really worked in my favour – it was the time of the year when the moors are carpeted in bog cotton and I also got lucky with sunsets as well as clear blue skies with white, billowing clouds. 

You may have expected me to have had my fill of this specific subject, but it hasn’t at all dented my enthusiasm for the masts or Winter Hill one bit, so I’d expect these subjects will crop up time and time again in my posts – just saying!     

I’ve spared you the full 36 shots, but have picked out a selection of my favourites.