No I haven’t been on another Workshop or been anywhere except around home just recently, but we have had a short spell of weather including temperatures of -7°C and the landscape has been amazing for a few days with a couple of mornings of snow and in the middle a frosty clear morning making for some interesting photography.

On the 30th January when I woke there was a little snow lying outside, I decided to walk under Hambledon Hill with Tilly and see what the landscape looked like towards Shaftesbury and Spread Eagle hill. When we left it was sleeting a little and didn’t look too promising but as we walked up Pine Walk and along the edge of Hambledon Hill the snow come down as you can see in the picture below.

Click on the images for a bigger picture.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to be able to see if the snow continued, it was around dawn and as we got around to the other side of the hill the snow stopped and the view we had I thought was amazing, the sky had a lovely orange colour coming through from the sunrise and with the snow on the ground it made for some special pictures.

One of my favourite images below of the morning, across the Vale, Spread Eagle Hill and Shaftesbury were hidden by the low cloud but it didn’t matter!

We didn’t have a large amount of snow but enough to cover the landscape. The picture below towards the hill is looking back at the path I took from the hill. I was the first to walk on the snow which I always love although there were many animal footprints Birds, Deer, Foxes, Rabbits, Mice and Voles and I think Stoats. I always think there is not much about but the snow shows all the wildlife activity.

I take this walk regularly but the snow changes the view, The Stone Circle in snow looks so much different and of course with the sky makes the image special for me.

Another place I pass regularly to and from the hill is the Lime avenue in Manor Drive Child Okeford, another different image with the snow.

The next day, 31st January turned very cold most of the snow had melted the previous day but I noted the temperature outside our house before myself and Tilly went for our walk as -7°C, pretty chilly! I walked to the River towards Hanford and there was a lovely hoar frost clinging to the grass and trees and a beautiful sunrise. I took several pictures as the sun rose, another special morning.
 

On to the 1st February we had snow overnight which had cleared by the morning leaving a cloudless sky. I decided to head off around the hill once again. As I crossed Manor field I took an image of the sheep in the snow with the pre dawn glow behind the trees and hill.

I headed around the hill but I couldn’t get any inspiration from the clear sky, so much different from the landscape a couple of days ago. I headed towards the Stone Circle and took some images there, the trees had snow clinging to them still and when I got home I converted them to monochrome I felt it gave the images more drama.

On the 2nd February there was still a little snow around especially on the hills, there was a lovely orange sunrise over Hambledon Hill from the North Dorset Trailway near Shillingstone. It was worth getting up early and out in the cold to get these pictures as always in this part of the world the snow doesn’t stay around for long. It just goes to show even a familiar place is forever changing, you can never recreate an image they are all unique.