What’s Up with the Hound?

If you’ve spent any time looking at my free landscape photography locations map and you know the western edge of Dartmoor, you may be wondering why there are no pins on Haytor and Hound Tor. Both these locations are some of the most famous tors in western Dartmoor if not all of Dartmoor!

It’s not that I haven’t tried to photograph these locations before, it’s just that I’ve not had much success photographing them. As I wrote previously on my blog, a honeypot location does not guarantee success. It would also seem that this applies to Hound Tor and Haytor. There are plenty of inspiring photographs of these locations on the internet so is the fault with me?

Let’s Give It Another Shot

With so many great locations to photograph on Dartmoor, it doesn’t take too many unsuccessful visits for a location to be relegated to “maybe I’ll go back one-day” status and to move on to the next. To think that any landscape photography location, particularly those found on Dartmoor, can be somehow mastered in a couple of visits says more about the photographer than the location.

While I previously haven’t managed to get a satisfactory shot from Hound Tor, that doesn’t mean I’d given up trying. Far from it. Having photographed the surrounding tors multiple times, it felt like it was time to give Hound Tor another go. Besides, I needed a fresh adventure!

No Place Does Weather Like Dartmoor

Unsettled weather and Dartmoor go hand in hand, and the morning I returned to Hound Tor was no different. Fierce winds, low temperatures and rain showers were just a few of the weather conditions I had the deal with. These are also the types of weather conditions that yield the most dramatic results, so I do find myself heading out in the weather like that.

Once I’d dealt with the problem of cold hands, I just had to battle the rain and wind. The wind was about manageable, but the rain on the front element of the lens can be a bit trickier. The rain showers bring the big clouds and even the odd rainbow, but keeping that front element clear of water can require constant action. This can suck the fun out of photography, but it’s also something I’ve got used to over the years. You can never carry to many lens cloths.

**Sunrise at Hound Tor #1, Dartmoor, Devon** - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 15mm, f/11, 1/4 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL.

Discovering Compositions

I had arrived at Hound Tor with plenty of time to explore but I decided to make things a little easier for myself and to just explore the southern side of this extensive tor. I’m not sure why, but I was inspired from the start! I could see potential compositions all over. Why this morning had been different from my previous visits I don’t know. Some of the compositions I thought would work well that morning, and others I’d would need to wait until a different time of year or different conditions.

I’m happy with the images I did capture. I won’t go as far as to say that I’ve suddenly mastered Hound Tor. Far from it. But what the visit did do was inspire me to go back and keep trying. It’s a location with plenty of potential and it’s now on the “must visit again soon” list. So don’t be surprised if you see me back there again soon.

**Sunrise at Hound Tor #2, Dartmoor, Devon** - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 19mm, f/11, 1/4 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL.

Do you have a location with a similar tale? Something you previously thought wasn’t worth shooting but now love. Let me know in the comments below.