An Iconic Dartmoor Location

Looking at my Free Landscape Photography Locations Map, I can see that I have published photographs of Bowerman’s Nose on this blog 14 times. Even if you don’t include the visits where I haven’t created a video or blog post, it’s fair to say that I’ve spent a lot of time at Bowerman’s Nose.

But why would I keep returning to this location? For me at least, it’s one of Dartmoor’s most iconic locations. Dartmoor National Park is covered in beautiful tors, with each one having its own characteristics and geology. But Bowerman’s Nose is unique, in at least as far as I’m aware, it’s the only tor comprised of a single stack of rock over 6 m tall. It protrudes out of the land and stands out against the rest of the landscape.

Its unique shape isn’t it’s only draw. To the east of Bowerman’s Nose is a hill, but in all other directions the view opens and on a good day you can see for miles. The view to the west of Hamel Down and Easdon Down is particularly beautiful. It’s a location that contains almost everything you want from a Dartmoor scene.

However, after more than 14 visits you would have thought I’d have all the photographs I’d want of Bowerman’s Nose. While I have captured many nice photographs of Bowerman’s Nose, I’d always felt I could get a better composition, and with better light and more drama. Something that captured the essence of this iconic Dartmoor location.

What Makes this Photograph So Special?

Photography is hugely subjective. What I find appealing in a photograph could be the opposite of what you think. So, when I say this is photograph is special, it’s special to me. But hopefully you’ll like it too!

For me, the photograph in this blog post is not only the best photograph I have taken of Bowerman’s Nose, but it’s also my favourite photograph that I captured in 2024, and it’s one of the best photographs of Dartmoor National Park I think I’ve ever captured. Let me explain why.

**An Autumnal Sunset at Bowerman's Nose, Dartmoor National Park, Devon** - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 24mm, f/13, 1/20 sec at ISO 800.

I’ll split the photo up into three layers, foreground, midground and background. All three layers add something to the photograph. In the foreground the striking rusty brown autumnal colours of the bracken create a slight V-shape at the bottom of the composition. This helps to frame the lower part of the image, stopping the eye from wandering out of the photograph. There is the tiniest bit of movement in some of the bracken, but it’s not a distraction and movement is very much a part of most the Dartmoor landscape!

Moving through from the foreground to the midground, the rocks and the undulating ground have caught the soft light from the setting sun off to the left. This not only adds warmth to the foreground, but it also adds contrast and depth. These qualities continue with Bowerman’s Nose itself. As dramatic as this tor is, it still looks like a lump of grey granite in flat light. The light hitting the left side brings to tor to life and you can more clearly see its lines, layers and shape.

Moving to the background, with the rolling hills of Dartmoor and a dramatic sky. While there isn’t any dappled light on the hills, this does help the tor that does have light on it, stand out further from the background. But the star of the show for the background is the sky. I’ve been craving for a sky like that in my previous Bowerman’s Nose photos. For me, the sky is perfect balance between colour and cloud. The heavier, darker clouds at the top create a frame for the top of composition and add a bit of drama. But there is also a small gap on the horizon where there is a small patch of blue sky and some of clouds are being lit by the setting sun. I find this balance very pleasing.

Putting all those three layers together delivers what I consider to be a classic Dartmoor landscape photograph. There’s light, colour, drama, texture, nature and an odd shaped bit of granite! No one element dominates the other.

Planning and Preparation

With all that I’ve said you would expect me to tell you that this photograph is one that came about because of planning and preparation. Well, this photograph was unplanned and my expectations that afternoon were low. I knew the sun was setting in a favourable direction, and the weather forecast was OK, but I’d never photographed Bowerman’s Nose in November, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

When I arrived, I started photographing the compositions that I’d shot lots of times before, but they just weren’t exciting me. Neither was the weather. It all felt a bit repetitive and with no exciting light I thought about going home. But I decided that would be a waste of time and that I should use the time to explore and find new compositions.

You might now expect me to tell you that when I found this composition I was immediately taken with it. But I wasn’t. I don’t even remember being that excited about the picture when I took it. It wasn’t until I got home, and I saw the photograph on my screen that it stood out and I thought I really had something. After editing, the photograph came to life and the more I looked at it, the more I loved it. By the time I had made a print of it, I knew I had something very special.

I don’t often write about my photographs like this. This is because I don’t capture images like this all the time. Which makes it even more special when I do. I just hope I don’t have to wait too long to feel this way again.