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West Yorkshire

Capturing Light: Photography at Stoodley Pike

15th September 2026 By Mike Barrett

The Location

Stoodley Pike in the South Pennines in West Yorkshire.

Us photographers love light. Light is photography, photography is light. Quite literally. Photography in its essence is an imprint of light made upon film, a sensor, plates or paper. Of course there is a lot more to it than that, as we all know, but when you stop and think about what makes us tick, it’s light. Light on the land, city lights, light that falls beautifully across someones face, studio lights etc. 

The Photography

I took these shots at Stoodley Pike in the South Pennines in West Yorkshire. It was a bright day and there was a lot of cloud around. It was also really breezy and the cloud was travelling at a rate of knots. The land was being lit sporadically by beams of light punching through the gaps in the cloud and the scenery was changing in appearance from minute to minute. It was fascinating to watch. A vast valley of ever changing scenery. I decided that I wanted to capture a series of photographs that showed how the land can look so very different from moment to moment. I opted for black and white edits to reflect the drama of the day.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2026 – All Rights Reserved

World Photography Day

19th August 2026 By Mike Barrett

Today is world photography day. It celebrates the French government’s purchase of the patent for the daguerreotype photographic process in 1839. The first highly detailed and commercially practical photographic process. They then offered it as a free gift to the world. It also celebrates the wonderful creative art of photography in all its forms.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2026 – All Rights Reserved

Hartshead Church – Yew Tree

14th October 2014 By Mike Barrett Leave a Comment

St Peter, Hartshead - Yew Tree

Just up the road from where I live there is a tiny yet stunning old church in a little place called Hartshead.

St Peter, Hartshead is beautifully placed atop a hill with incredible views of the local Yorkshire countryside. Not only is it old and pretty, it is also steeped heavily in local history. Not least, it boasts connections to Robin Hood and the Bronte family. Patrick Bronte was the vicar here from 1810 to 1815 and Charlotte Bronte (his daughter) wrote her novel “Shirley” which was largely based on the local area.

The church also has connections to the Luddite uprising. It is situated not too far from the ‘Dumb Steeple’ in Cooper Bridge. This is where the Luddites gathered before marching across Hartshead Moor towards William Cartwright’s Mill near Cleckheaton. Their express intention was to smash the looms and break all newly developed labour-replacing machinery.

In the churchyard on this windy hill top there stands an old dead yew tree. Robin hood is said to have cut his last arrow from this tree and local legend has it that this was the very arrow that he fired that came to mark the place where he is now buried.

I was walking with my daughter recently and decided to stop for a rest in the churchyard to eat our picnic and take in the stunning views. I have marvelled at the tree on numerous occasions before and on this particular occasion decided to take a few shots of its wonderfully contorted and gnarly form.

All Images are copyright:

© Mike Barrett Photography – All Rights Reserved

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