Grafham Water reflections & sunset

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A month or so ago, I took a trip to the shores of Grafham Water, one of the largest reservoirs in the country, for a spot of photography.

It was a beautiful day, with very little wind and some rather handsome cloud formations. The conditions were perfect to get some tranquil shots of the sky reflected in the sparkling lake. I started off around the western shore, where the nature reserve is located, and took a few images looking towards one of the two pumping stations that serve the reservoir, as it was lit up by the afternoon sunshine. 

I then moved round to the eastern shore, so I could get some shots of the setting sun, as it descended towards the horizon in the west. Luckily for me, as the day began to draw to a close, the clouds started to gather into something that certainly wasn't tranquil, and by the time the sun was throwing out its warm hues of early evening, they were looking very stormy indeed.

As you can see from the images below, the clouds really made the day over at Grafham Water, and thankfully I happened to be in the right place at the right time. 

When I first arrived the conditions were beautiful, and were in fact a vast improvement on those that I
left behind.

A simple image of the clouds and the water.

A large convoy of fluffy clouds scuds over the reservoir.

A view of the pumping station as clouds move above and beneath it.

Sunshine lights of the pumping station and creates a strong reflection in the water below.

Once I'd moved round to the other side of the lake, the clouds were ramping up as the sun was settling down.

Dramatic clouds catch the dusk light on their leading edge.

Any breeze had died down, so the surface of the lake mirrored the vibrant sky nicely. 

The rock jetty and the soft, pastel clouds catch the last of the light.

As the light faded, the colour in the sky turned from orange to pink.

With the sun completely submerged, the colours slowly dissolved, leaving a dark, brooding sky.