On the 22nd November 2024 we had an unexpected early snowfall during the night on top of icy conditions that resulted in me cancelling a photo-shoot. Having risen early I decided to walk to Poynton Pool with my camera as conditions everywhere were treacherous.
Well, needless to say I was greeted by an amazing sunrise and was the only person there to witness the spectacle. The image from that morning is the one shown above “Winter Sunrise Poynton Pool”.
On returning home, and getting caught up in the spectacle I’d just seen I decided that instead of just going for morning walks I would walk to Poynton Pool and record with my camera what I’d seen. After several days of doing this I decided to formalise it and set myself the target of going down there at least 4 times a month for a year and to put together a Photobook of a Year At Poynton Pool.
I used the the November and December of 2024 as a Prelude to the Year 2025 and the idea of a single book morphed into two books to cover the year 2025 and I’m still continuing the journey through 2026. I never imagined when I started that I would have so much material.
I have visited the Pool on at least four occasions to take photographs every month since November 2024, chiefly in the early mornings for the sunrises,
it is quieter and I’ve always been an early bird.
The challenge over time became to create fresh images in a place I was visiting so regularly but I soon found that it pushed me into looking harder, seeing more and to trying out different photographic techniques along the way. So much so I’ve been able to print so many of my images and have presented a talk lasting up to a couple of hours to my own photographic club, Bramhall Photographic Society and to Stockport Photographic Society.
In addition to the sunrises, the wildlife, in particular the Swan Family were a highlight, the parents and the seven Cygnets. The image below “Swan Family In Line” was taken in June 2025 before Dawn.
I used as little equipment as possible, at most two lenses, one for the landscapes/sunrises and one for the wildlife, with a single camera as I wanted
the whole experience to be a record of a walk with my camera.
Anyway, it really was a delight to go down on so many occasions and witness a full year at the Pool and to be able to record most of what I saw and enjoyed. So much so that as I alluded to earlier I have continued to record my photographic images throughout 2026 that I will no doubt turn into a Photobook as a record of A Year At Poynton Pool 2026.
I am a member of Bramhall Photographic Society and have been for the last 4 years. We are a very sociable club with lots to offer in terms of skill development, external speakers, practical sessions, outdoor meet-ups and competitions both internal and external. We meet on Monday Evenings from September to June from 7.30a.m. at Bramhall Village Club, Melbourne Road (top of Lumb Lane), Bramhall SK7 1LR and look forward to welcoming you to see what we do.
By John King (Bramhall Photographic Society Competition Secretary)
