Yorkshire, Yorkshire
· Sunday November 4, 2007
We all know the common adage (a quote by a philosopher by the name of George Santayana) that goes something like, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Well it would seem that I am to be counted amongst that unwise segment of the population.
The SUHC ‘s first away trip of the year is always to the Yorkshire Dales. Last weekend was my third time out there with the club. I can still remember my first year in the UK, and how excited I was to be going to the Dales.
I was, I admit, an avid James Herriot fan in my youth. The series of books also garnered me more than a few free personal pan pizzas at Pizza Hut through the BookIt Program =)
But getting back to the original thread, the last couple trips to Yorkshire have not been all that fortuitous for my gear. Last year, the Saturday walks were drowned in continuous rain like I have never seen in England. I did manage to get off one interesting shot, however, a somewhat surreal and poorly focused image.
Surreal
Though the rain was heavy, I diligently shielded my 350D with a plastic bag the entire time, and it emerged unscathed from the walk (though it would be several hours after the conclusion of the ramble before its owner would dry out). Ironically, my telephoto lens (a late EF 75-300mm) which had been ‘safe’ in my rucksack was later discovered swimming in a pool of electronics-frying death. The next day saw some beautiful photo-ops, including this shot that has been dubbed “the sheep picture” by some of my friends.
Morning Glow
Fast forward to last weekend, and imagine my great relief to be walking a much drier rendition of the Dales. On Saturday, the medium-difficulty group started from Ingleton, navigated out of town by a fresher named Becky.
Mrs. Map
Up a hill we went, towards Ingleborough, one of Yorkshire’s Three Peaks. Though the visibility and quality of light was quite poor, the landscape had a unique beauty that could not be denied.
the Tree
Visibility at the summit was next to nil, and a strong wind kept us from lingering.
Summit
And then, on our way down the hill, we passed a geological oddity known as the Gaping Gill, a large entrance to the Ingleborough cave system. Naturally, this being a site of interest, I made my way down to the stream to take some pics.
Deathtrap
The more astute of you may have already noticed that this was in fact the last picture I took in Yorkshire. I think the excitement of the moment overtook my senses when I decided crossing a small stream with my camera in hand would be a good idea. A small slip and a splash of water ended my photographic endeavours for the trip.
My first mistake was trying to cross the stream, camera in hand. My second mistake was turning the camera on afterwards (the screen was blinking, so I turned it off immediately). My third mistake was repeating the second. Fortunately, curiosity didn’t kill my camera, as a few days of airing out after returning from Yorkshire seems to have cured it of its water delirium.
Perhaps Mark Twain had the deeper truth of it when he said, “History does not repeat itself- at best it sometimes rhymes.” In my case, I hope it stops rhyming by the next time I go up to Yorkshire! :)
— Emery Ku
Any similar experiences?
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