Ladybower x2.5 vertical exaggeration

I'm always interested in viewing landscapes in different ways and occasionally I experiment with exaggerating the vertical scale of my photos. I'm not sure of the validity of this as a photography technique or an art-form, but I do quite like the effect it produces and quite often this enhances geological and geomorphological features, and so is useful as a teaching aid.

This is a view of Ladybower Reservoir taken from Bamford Edge in the Peak District. Here, the River Derwent has cut down through the Namurian ('Millstone Grit') succession - mainly Kinderscout Grit and the Shale Grit (an unfortunate name). The hillsides plunge straight down into the water, clearly showing how these are drowned valleys. Less obvious in a normal view, but brought out by this exaggerated scale is the relative flatness of the tops of the hills, above the 'V'-shaped notch of the valleys. This indicates a much earlier uplifted erosion surface (probably Tertiary age) on which the proto-Derwent and other rivers became established. The stepped topography of the hillsides is due to the presence of alternating hard sandstones and softer shales.