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There are many, many, beautiful and dramatic landscapes to admire in the Snowdonia National Park, North Wales, but one of the most impressive is the area around the Ogwen Valley and Llyn Idwal.
Bounded to north by the Carneddau mountains, and to the south by the Glyderau range, there is some epic scenery to enjoy here. (Along with epic weather!)
Which is why this is such a popular spot for walking and climbing, which caused a bit of a problem for me and my extended family when we came here to take the grandchildren for an adventure one sunny afternoon in May.
But having overcome the problem of finding somewhere to park our two cars, we were soon kitted up and on our way up the well maintained path from the Ogwen Valley visitors' centre to the shores of Llyn Idwal, nestled in a bowl below the aptly named 'Devil's Kitchen' rock face.
Of course, I wasn't there to just admire the scenery, but also to capture the beauty and ambiance of this amazing place in a series of photos and videos.
The weather was perfect for photography, with dramatic clouds streaming by overhead, painting the mountain slopes below in a patchwork of light and shadow that was entrancing to watch.
This particular image was taken partway around Llyn Idwal, looking back over the lake towards the mighty peak of Pen Yr Ole Wen in the Carneddau mountain range with a stream bed providing foreground interest.
But what made this scene really grab my attention were the fearsome looking clouds over the summit of the mountain.
A portent of things to come?!
Filename - llyn idwal 07
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 24mm
Exposure - 1/50 sec @ f8, ISO100
Filters - Polarising filter used to reduce glare and enhance colours. 2 stop neutral density graduated filter used to reduce the brightness of the sky.
Location - Llyn Idwal, Snowdonia, North Wales
Image enhancements - Adobe Lightroom
Comments - Image underexposed slightly to preserve highlights.
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