Thanks to all for the comments. It's true that Lancashire runs Yorkshire pretty close in the picturesque stakes in a few areas
Nigel, I take your point about the formatting and agree that some of the skies don't have much interest apart from being December blue and all the more enjoyable for that. I also knew that there's a problem with the skyline in no.1, but didn't know how to get rid of it! My Photoshop skills are still a work in progress.

Lovely shots, David. Superb DoF control makes the birds stand out, with lovely soft bokeh. You can't beat a male bullfinch for a subject!

Lovely day on Wednesday, so got out on the moors above the Cliviger Valley, which is a very steep-sided glacial valley running between Todmorden and Burnley, best suggested in photo 2. Hope these give a feel for the area. The frost in the valley bottom didn't shift all day. All K-3 and Pentax 18-135mm. All comments welcome.
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3 Lots of millstone grit around



4 Known as the Bridestones, popular with climbers apparently



5 Hard to get a sense of size with no-one around, but they are big!



6 Hudson Moor



7 Towards Stoodley Pike, originally built after the Battle of Waterloo and the defeat of Napoleon



8 The way home

Wet sand, cloudy sky and an old boat! Doesn't sound very promising put like that. Takes a real expert to turn out works of art with that combination of ingredients. Brilliant, Alan!

Initially, I wasn't sure about these, David, but the more you look, the more you see, as they say! The light in the house shot is gorgeous, obviously, but the way the colours emerge from the misty gloom in the others is very atmospheric and makes for lovely images. For me, that's why no. 2 doesn't have the same appeal. But the rest I like a lot. It certainly looks like the kind of place that would appeal in different ways at different times of the year and be a rich source of photographic interest.

Regards,

Thank you, David! Coming from you, that's a great reassurance that I'm doing something right and is tremendous encouragement for someone still relatively new to photography. There's so much to learn, but being able to share with seasoned photographers on this forum and get constructive feedback is a massive help. Thanks again!

Thanks for the positive feedback, all, and especially to Nigel for the tutorial! This is something new to me, so I'll get practising!

Thank you, Philip - I think your comment about richer colours is completely reasonable. It often needs an impartial eye to make a point that hasn't been picked up earlier. So here's another go with 1, 3, 4 and 9.
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I think the effect is noticeably warmer, particularly on 4, and worth applying, so thanks for suggesting it!

Thanks, all, for the appreciative comments - I was actually in two minds about posting these, but am glad I did now! Thanks particularly to Nigel and Barrie for your suggestions re foreground - I'm not too hot on Photoshop selection technique, but have had a go and it's certainly lifted the foreground as you said it would. Hope I've not overdone it! What do you think? Here are 1, 3 and 7 again:

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Thanks for your time and interest,

Late afternoon sun the other day and out looking for migrant birds. Didn't see much, but the views were good and this 16/17th century packhorse bridge seemed inviting. It's on the old packhorse trail from Huddersfield to Rochdale over Marsden Moor, which is National Trust land these days.
K-3 and either Sigma 10-20 or Pentax 18-135mm. All comments appreciated.
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