Are the walls in upper image darker from top or is this result of processing? Looks bit strange to me...
Like these blue sky shots, makes them look almost like some Hollywood studio shot, I expect any minute Bond turning out from corner in Jag...

People should not see me dancing.
People should not hear me singing.
I'm bad in so many levels, that's my strength!

Yes, I like this shot too, here dancer is better distinguishable from background people, in other shots the black clothing blends them together.

You might get some odd looks if you do it in the wrong toilet. I just happened to have my bag over my shoulder.
😁

Yes, I tried HDR, but it did not work out so I went for some processing that lightened the walkway.

The Canal In Autumn

I've not been up to much during the last few weeks as another surprise health problem reared its ugly head, meaning I've had to lay low for a bit. I think things are on the mend, but it's difficult to judge and I'm now getting to a point where I'm just waiting for the next thing to stop working properly. Getting old is certainly an adventure.

This set is from a recent afternoon wander along the Leeds - Liverpool canal, that runs along the eastern edge of Chorley, pretty much defining the inhabited boundary of the town, although the houses have started popping up more and more in the green spaces on the far side over the last few years. They'll be building on the moors next.

Usually, I head North up the canal, but on this occasion, I fancied a change and headed South towards Adlington, a six mile stretch I used to regularly run down a few years ago, but haven't visited for quite a while.

As I was still taking it easy, I just took the little X-T50 with the 27mm f/2.8 Fuji pancake lens, which can easily be slipped into a pocket if the weather changes. I did find myself wanting for longer or wider lenses at a few points, but for a decent lightweight, pocketable camera, this combination is hard to beat if you can live with a 40mm(equiv-ish) focal length. I've also tacked on a few images from another walk along the canal, the differing weather conditions might give away the less than seamless join.

All images taken handheld and processed from individual raw files in Capture One Pro 23.

Deedz

I'm not a fan of graffiti, but this mural painted on a wall beside the Cowling Brow bridge gets points for at least being themed to suit the location.

Repetition

On the other side of the bridge you'll find these rather nice looking new build houses, complete with getaway boat. To think, there used to be a scrap yard on this site about 30 years ago.

I would have included the full gable end of the roofs, but this is all I could squeeze in to the 27mm frame without resorting to stitching.

Moor Hen

I don't think the Moor Hen has been moved for some time, judging by the number of leaves on her.

Round The Bend

This is pretty much where I turned back, having walked about three miles up the canal and realising it was going to be dark before I could walk the three miles back. The light was really flat due to a combination of cloud, setting sun and the woods on the right being in the way. I think an early morning shot here, with fresh sunlight streaming in from the rising sun on the left could look amazing, but I'd have to get up early to catch that, which is a deal breaker at the moment.

Peering Into The Woods

The woods beside the towpath look great at the moment as they sit in a narrow valley between the canal and a main road which shelters it from the wind, meaning there are a lot of fading leaves still clinging on in there. I think I need to get in there with one of my bigger cameras before this all disappears for this year.

Moorings

I'm always fascinated by moorings. It's not just the barges, but the other stuff that seems to accumulate around them.

Peasgood Nonsuch

Indeed.

Bridge 74A

Probably my favourite bridge along this stretch of the canal. The brickwork underneath swirls diagonally across its width. I took some shots of this on the outbound part of the walk, but I preferred this shot taken on the way back.

Return To Cowling Brow

The iron bridge at Cowling Brow has remained unchanged for over a 100 years (comparing against some archive cine film I have from the early 20th century). I've no idea if the metalwork has been replaced in that time though, but physically, it still looks identical.

The Old Mill

Most of the old mill buildings around here have long since been pulled down, but this one still appears to be in use for some purpose or other, although I'm pretty sure there's no milling going on in there.

More Moorings

These are the moorings at Botany Bay, taken from the bridge that crosses both the canal and the M61. The hill running across the horizon is Healey Nab.

Blackburn Brow

An abandoned house (barn?) can be found as the road steepens to climb Blackburn Brow. At least, I assume it's abandoned, that front window has bits missing.

The Final Stretch

Having gone over Blackburn Brow, this path leads back down to the canal, which lies just in front of the distant industrial units that they've been building near the M61 junction at Botany Bay. There are more to come in the field to my right here as another bit of green belt vanishes. The spire of the Mormon temple can be seen on the horizon.

Sorry to hear that. Hope you continue to mend swiftly. Getting old is no fun. I count it a good day when I only need to put ibuprofen gel on one part of me and no thing more major happenning 😐

Moorings and Bridge 74A are fine shots, especially the latter.
I presume you know that Peasgood Nonsuch is an old heritage variety of apple...

Thank you Woodsider79.

The overall lighting is done in post, converting to a night scene from the original.

I experimented with various colours for the "spotlight" and settled on this colour which looks good on my screen.

I posted the documentary version (below) earlier as well in reply to Chris' post.

I always enjoy your walks. This is a particularly interesting set. Canals are always fascinating places.

Hope you get your latest heath problem sorted. Getting older is a pain. I am seeing my Doctor more often than I would like. Ive just been given a serious dose of blood pressure pills. On my walk today I felt pretty knackered after a modest climb.

Thank you ArvoJ.

I too liked the multi layers of green and is why I didn't zoom right in on the waterfall when taking the photos.

I maintained the multi green layers in the "night" version while making the waterfall stand out more which imo doesn't stand out enough in the original.

Feel free to download and edit the original if you like.

I know how that feels. Post pandemic (2021) I had a mild angina attack while out in the mountains, which led to a daily dose of beta blockers, blood pressure tablets and statins, I'd only just turned 54 at the time and would have said I was quite fit, or at least, before the pandemic I was. I seem to have been on a downhill trajectory ever since, with the latest string of problems since August being particularly concerning.

The worst thing about cardiovascular medication is that it makes exercise so much harder, which somewhat undermines any efforts to maintain a good level of fitness, particularly beta blockers as I can't get my heart rate much above 130 since starting on those things.

Hopefully you can adjust to your blood pressure meds without impacting your fitness too much.

Ouch. That doesn't sound a lot of fun either.

I did not know that, thanks for the info.

Hope it's nothing too serious Steve. Cumulative health problems really take a toll mentally too.
But I think it led to a change of tack here with your photos which was a real benefit. Refreshing to see a change of subject matter and I think this is your most interesting set for many months.
Moorings and Bridge 74A are my favs.
I like the tiny little figure under the bridge in the first where the eye ends up.