Moods and Grey. Yet somehow the Canal Basin at Langley Mill was just so serene with a strange element of beauty.

The end of February of 2026 could easily be described as being "something akin to a mixed bag, weather wise!" And that of course is because to a degree, a break in the continuous grey, damp and meh weather that had been in metaphorical force, since January had been in place. Yes, only six or seven decent days with anything like sun or blue skies were visible. But towards the end of February 2026, this last week and well things began to break, and thankfully the return of sunshine and blue sky, this time of course delicately intertwined with the signs and elements of the arrival of Meteorological Spring. However though despite the return of sunshine and blue skies, there were of course some days, in which the grey, gloomy and damp weather did make a brief return, and it was on Friday the 27th of February 2026 that a chance visit to Langley Mill, meant that I had time to capture the delightful and magical Canal Basin. 

And whilst this unique and picturesque canal basin, that signals both the start/end points of the Cromford/Erewash Canal(s) looks beautiful in much better weather, with sunshine and blue skies, well that was not exactly the case on Friday the 27th of February, with the return once again of grey and damp weather, however though it did mean that I had to be slightly inventive and this time around I ended up capturing the serenity and stillness of the basin in a more moody way, with Black and White, and below are the photographs that I had managed to capture.

"February Moods and Grey. The Serene of The Basin."

"The two barges."

"The Two Barges of Old and the Modern elements."

"Lock Side Beauty."

"Serenity and the Lock Gate."

"Serene as the Water flows through the Gates."

"A Simple View, A Basin Side of Life."

"The House, Reflections and The Tollhouse."

"Reflections and The Way of Waterside Life."

"Atmosphere and The Boatyard."

"Gliding through the end of Winter Grey."

Even within the "February Cold and Grey." Beauty and Abstracts can still be seen, finding magic at Shipley Hill.

To say that the start of 2026 has been largely meh, claggy and grey - well that would be a massive understatement, and whilst there has only been something like six or seven days of anything that has included elements of sunshine and blue sky, well the rest has just been grey.  Still though that is to be expected what with it seasonally still being Winter. But it was on Wednesday the 18th of February 2026 that a visit to Shipley Country Park, was on the metaphorical cards, and a walk around Shipley Hill/Horsepool Hill, a location that I have visited on many occasions that no matter what always has something to capture, and despite it being cold and grey, well beauty and abstract artworks could still be seen, and below is what I managed to capture. 

"The Winter Woodlands so Bare."

"Elements faded, Elements they Hold On."

"The Abstract Elements of Brick. Art in the Works."

"Green in Winter Shine."

"Layers, Shades, Elements of Green."

"Growth and Monochrome Beauty."

"Elements and Rhododendrons." 

"Tentacles of Green."

"The City under Rhododendron." 

"Into Bud, for it is still Winter."

 

"Woodland Elements a Grow."

"Wall of Green."

"The Bleak elements of Winter Woodland."

"When a Tree becomes Sculpture."

"Venus in The Bark."

"Icehouse."

The beauty and abstract of Sandstone. Taking a look at the artwork of Architecture at Greasley Church.

Winter and Photography, for they are two things which really do not exactly go together hand in had that well, for the landscapes, well they can appear as just colourless, bare, dull and drab. But I suppose that there is one redeeming thing about the Winter, and that is it reveals details, it can also challenge you to look at things in a slightly different perspective altogether, and that is very much true, for it was in December of 2025 that I had a little walk around the outside of Greasley Church, and came across yet again,

"The beauty and abstraction of the artwork of the built environment."

Which in this particular case of course was the abstract elements, patterns, textures and layers that could be found within the sandstone that Greasley Church is made out of, and below are the photos that I had managed to capture. 

"Ripples and Sandstone Gorges."

"As Ripples Meet Sandstone Gorges."

"The Star Wars like City in the Walls."

"Layers, Elements and The Star Wars City in The Walls."

"Sand and Veins."

"Veins and Sand. Colour and Golden Hue."

"Like an Ocean Floor."

"Smooth and Rough. The beauty, the art of Texture."

"Scream."

"Red and White. Elements and Rust."

"Abstraction Arts, formed over Years."

Sometimes you just get surprises. Finding beauty, light and a golden light along with arts at Shipley Country Park.

"If there is one month that needs a re-branding then it would have to be the month of January. For it is a month in which time slows down, a month which seems a slog to get through, and one that is known for being dank, dull, damp, rainy and largely grey. Yes you get some surprising days in January in which the sun appears, along with blue skies, but come on - surely it is now time to re-brand the worse month of any year."

Yes it goes without saying that January is a month in which it is known for being rather bland, and for photography it is a month in which it can be difficult to capture anything decent. But sometimes there is a break in the bland, in the grey weather and you end up getting surprises, and it was on Saturday the 17th of January 2026, that a break in the dull and grey, bland weather happened, and with that a walk at Shipley Country Park, just around Shipley Hill/Horsepool Hill was on the cards, and walking around, well what did I find? Beauty for a start, the woodlands bare, but light and a golden magical light that really did make the woodlands something else, almost akin to an art gallery, and below are the photos that I had managed to capture.

"The Veins of Trees."

"Finding the Bare Woodland, Winter Light a Glow."

"Bare is the Winter, Beauty of a dappled Light."

"Golden is the Woodland Glow."

"Light, Contrast and Gold."

"The Winter Woodland Glow."

"Winter Abstract Gold."

"Light, Beauty, Silver and Gold."

"Into the Engine of Life."

A crisp January Morning of Beautiful Views and Surprises.

"The month of January, a month that always seems that little bit grey, dull and bland." Or is it? Well for the longest time I have always disliked January, for yes it is the first month in any new year, yes it is Winter, but as a month goes it always seems bland, dull and boring, grey as well. However though January of 2026 has been somewhat surprising - just where is the grey? Instead it has been cold and crisp, beautiful Winter light has also provided a nice surprise, but it was on Friday the 2nd of January 2026, that I had noticed something, looking out the window I could see on the ground what appeared at first glances to be an incredibly hard and harsh frost, for there had been, but on top of that making things that little bit more magical, a dusting of snow had also fallen, and with that I managed to get the metaphorical flying tripod with the camera attached to it, and captured the following photos. 

"Early Morning Winter Glow."

"Suburbia and the magical Winter Glow."

"Glistening White, the Rooftops Below."

"The White on the Rooftops above The Town."

"Crisp, White Frozen Streets a Glow."

"The Stillness of Snow, a Magical January Sight."