Paragliders on the Long Mynd, Shropshire

Whilst I’m recovering from surgery I’ve finally got round to sorting through and editing a whole bunch of photos I took back in July 2024 on the Long Mynd in Shropshire.

I went up there just to have a bit of a walk and take some landscape photos, but stumbled upon a bunch of friendly paragliders who were kind enough to invite me into the take off area to grab some shots.

Afterwards they even offered me beer in their camper van which was also appreciated!

The challenge with the scenario here, photographically, was balancing the extreme backlight with the gliders, as well as depth of field. I opted to try and include as much of the background as possible without having to ramp up the ISO too high or lose shutter speed. Most of these are taken at F10 and 1/640 shutter speed, therefore.

I’ve uploaded way, way, way more photos than I usually would in a blog post so the subjects can grab what they want!

Shropshire Landscapes - Caer Caradoc and the Lawley

Usually when I go to Shropshire I tend to end up in the Long Mynd exploring the well known hills of Church Streton. This time, for a change I thought I’d check out some of the hills that can be viewed in the distance from the Long Mynd, but up close.

I went in the evening, hoping for some nice lighting and shadows, with the intent of getting some successful landscape photos.

As the sun got lower in the sky, some brilliant shadows started to drape over the landscape. I particularly like the dramatic contrast on this last shot with half the woodland shrouded in darkness and the top half starkly lit by the orange glow of the setting sun.