Tryfan, Snowdonia National Park, Wales.Tryfan looks almost like a three headed fin, hence its name derived from ‘Tri-faen’ or ‘The Three Rocks’. Upon reaching the top you are faced with the twin summit pillars ‘Sion a Siân,’ (to the Welsh-speaking locals) or ‘Adam and Eve’ to the rest of us. Gather your spirits and your courage as you must now leap from one to the other to gain “the freedom of Tryfan”.
Here is where you stop being an ordinary hiker and venture into the empires of the mountaineers. It is not for the faint hearted, and as my days spent around Tryfan and the nearby ‘Devils Kitchen’ in the Scouts are long behind me, I prefer the slightly more leisurely pastime of photographing this monolith from afar. I was here four years previous and climbed up the same side of the Ogwen valley towards Ffynnon Lloer. I was on my way to Anglesey for a sunset shoot out at South Stacks Lighthouse so stopped in on the way mid-morning for a walk up to the waterfalls. I had spent most of the time wandering up and down the river finding a composition. Moving around on this hillside is quite difficult near the river, with many large boulders and thick bracken and spikey gorse to fight your way through. I managed just the one keeper that day.
Orographic clouds over Tryfan (2018)
I was happy with the composition, but I was there at the wrong time of day. The sun was directly over Tryfan casting dark shadows across the face of the mountain and I had to wait for a cloud to obscure the sun to get a reasonable shot without any blown-out highlights. So, four years later I was back and this time I knew what I wanted and when I needed to be there. I spent the morning having a leisurely breakfast at the newly built zip wire centre near Betws-y-Coed before moving to Llyn Ogwen just after lunch. I wanted to climb higher up this time, before descending as the sun was setting grabbing several compositions on the way back down, so I expected to be on the hill for a good six hours. Max was along for the ride once again, so we packed tea for both of us, grabbed my camera gear and left the van on the A5 next to Glan Dena. I had forgotten how tough the climb is up this side of the valley, or was it just the last 2 years stuck at home, but I was huffing and puffing all the way up.
Pit stop
We focussed our ascent toward the dry stone wall two-thirds the way up to Ffynnon Lloer. Here was a wooden stile I wanted to include in my first image. I had seen it on my last visit but did not go this high. Having had a pit stop, Max took the lead and pulled me up the rest of the way to the wall. To be honest I more or less fell over the top collapsing in a heap on the other side, much to the amusement no doubt of Max, and the elderly gentleman resting on the other side with his pack lunch.
Max making it look easy
Having got my breath back (I was puffing like a steamer), I set about finding the right spot to stand and get the best composition. There were 5 key elements in the image I needed to get right: Tryfan, the dry stone wall, the stile, Llyn Ogwen and the small curved path from Glan Dena where I started my climb. Tryfan – not an awful lot of angle changes you can make from this far away, and it was looking at its best. All that was needed here was the right light. The wall – Snaking for some distance, it gave great perspective and a leading line towards Llyn Idwal sitting below Devil’s Kitchen at the end of the valley. It was a shame there was also a wire fence along the wall but clearly the sheep had been getting over. What I needed to make sure was none of the wooden fence posts managed to cross Llyn Ogwen in the distance otherwise it would create a split image. A lake of two halves if you will. The Stile - An almost perfect mirror image of Tryfan, repeating the shape. The top of the style needed to be isolated and not interfering with the background. Llyn Ogwen – I didn’t want the top of the wall obscuring the lake, preferring it to be framed where possible by the greenery of the shore or the hillside. Glan Dena path – After you walk through the trees next to Glan Dena at the beginning of the climb, there is a lovely s-shaped path that curves around a rocky outcrop. I wanted this visible and uninterrupted as it is all part of the story of how I got here. I was almost tempted to run back down and move Mr T so he was visible parked on the road at the entrance to the path. But clearly, I’m not quite that insane. I walked up and down trying to find a way of aligning all these elements, much to the amusement once again of my spectators. I found the only spot where the stars aligned was with the camera at its maximum height on the tripod which required me standing on a rock behind it.
Aligning the stars
It was 2pm by now and the sun was more to the right of Tryfan casting better light than in 2018. The stile was a copycat on Tryfan, with the ladder aligning with the north face; The tops of the wooden poles and stile were floating in the lake; and the s-shaped path was snaking into a small low part of the wall between two larger rocks. My only distraction was the large rock at the base of the stile, but there was no way I was moving that.
Repeating triangles and leading lines
The scene was set, all I had to do now was wait for the right light whilst I ate my chicken sandwich and Max munched on a carrot.
Tryfan, the stile and Llyn Ogwen
Whilst waiting for the light to change, I chatted for a while with the gentleman on his way down from Pen yr Ole Wen who was very much looking forward to a pub tea in Betws-y-Coed, and couple on their way up for a swim in Ffynnon Lloer. I had put several layers on since crossing the stile and this couple were still in t-shirts heading for a wild swim and an overnight camp. Tougher than me on all counts. The light was OK in my first image, but not spectacular. I’m sure it would be fantastic at sunset, but I hadn’t come all this way for just one composition. Time to start heading down and find a location next to the waterfalls for a sunset shot. I can always come back here another day. I had plans to find the same location as last time for this next shot, but you know what? I spent far too long trying to find it climbing up and down boulders, jumping the river back and forth and getting attacked by the gorse. I just could not find it and it was coming up for 4.30pm so I needed to get that composition nailed soon. I made my last jump across the stream and found an s-curve once again, but not in the path this time, it was in the river as it cascaded over the rocks. This was good, the curve was creating white water, the stream was leading towards Tryfan and my s-curve was repeating in the path down at Glan Dena. Maybe I am obsessing a little over this path?
The light was changing all the time, and you could watch it travel across the valley below. Time to sit back and wait as the sun began to dip towards the top of the mountains to my right.
Enjoy the sounds of the waterfall and watch the light move across the valley floor.
Time for a kip
Just before 5pm, I was blessed with the magic light across my scene and snapped away.
Sunset over Tryfan
These colours would look great back up at the stile, so it looks like another visit is on the cards after all. Time to head down now and along the way I grabbed a few hand held shots as the sun set.
Mr T stealing the light
The last rays catch the summit of Tryfan
What a great afternoon climbing up for the view, and I was really pleased with what I had got. Mission accomplished, but I will be back, maybe when there is snow. Maybe I will find that composition again from 2018? It was dark by the time I got down to the road and I was ready for a warm drink and something to eat. Parked right on the road, I was in for a rocky night’s sleep as wagons passed by until around midnight. Not to mention Max had eaten his own body weight in sheep poo, so it as going to be a windy one too. Tomorrow I’m off to the slate mines. Rock and roll!
Keywords:
Landscape Photography,
Llyn Ogwen,
mountains,
Snowdonia National Park,
Tryfan,
Wales,
waterfalls
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