Saddleworth Captured – looking through your lens

THERE may still be a chill in the air but once the sun comes out there is enough to warm the soul.

And people have been out and about capturing Saddleworth’s beauty on camera.

The lighter nights, clear days and stunning sunrises and sunsets proved too good to resist for many of you.

The changeable conditions even provided their own stunning backdrops, as you can see.

The Independent asked its readers and social media followers to get out and send in the finest photographs of the area.

And it is there were so many to choose from, we had difficulty whittling it down to the final nine.

Star Image and winner of our £20 prize, however, goes to Matthew Whalley, who caught the moody skies brilliantly while on an afternoon family stroll.

Star Photo by Matthew Whalley

No prizes for guessing where Chris Moore was when he took his picture while Ste Wallace made sure the scenery was caught in all its glory.

The hills in the area also give a great foreground as well as backdrop, which Phil Spencer used getting this shot of a rainbow and Craig Hannah captured with his image of the country against the background of Manchester city centre.

People are using their pets as a way of taking their exercise, although we are not sure what Rachel Bean’s dog made of the water.

Animals of a more wild variety also made for great photographs as Paul Cunniffe captured one brightly coloured visitor by the water.

Last Orders by Ben McDonal

David Brumpton caught the tones cast against trees in the foreground wonderfully while Ben McDonal went full on with his black and white image showing the old phone box in Uppermill in front of the Granby Arms pub.

• If you want to contribute to Saddleworth Captured, you can either e-mail photos as a JPEG attachment to gary@localcommunications.co.uk or you can post

them in our Saddleworth Captured Facebook group. Search for ‘Saddleworth Captured’ or head to www.facebook.com/groups/1689679511210273.

• See page 32 for more stunning pictures of Saddleworth taken by young photographers for a new competition.