Bite-Size Blog Post #61 - Birch Tor, Dartmoor National Park
Just recently on this blog I wrote about photographing Birch Tor for the first time, and how despite all my years exploring Dartmoor I had somehow overlooked this gem of a location. Not only is it a fantastic place to photograph, it also felt like the perfect setting for a YouTube video to share how I approach working somewhere new on Dartmoor.
It has been a while since I last published a Dartmoor photography video, so Birch Tor felt like the right place to start again. One of the main reasons for the gap has been the weather, but this time I was determined to get out and film regardless of the forecast.
It was not the light that concerned me. The cloud cover looked promising. What I failed to pay proper attention to was the wind. Arriving at Birch Tor, I was quickly reminded that wind speed and direction matter just as much as the clouds overhead.
Rain, snow, and hail all swept through within fifteen minutes, which I could handle. The wind was another matter entirely. It was relentless, cutting straight through me and making filming far more difficult than expected. Still, I was determined to continue.
Filming in those conditions comes with its own challenges. Even with protection on the microphone, I suspected the audio would struggle. I told myself it would be something I could fix later.
It was not.
I am no audio expert, but no amount of editing, filtering, or enhancement could rescue it. In the end, the footage had to be set aside.
Even so, I came away with what mattered most, the photograph itself. It is not too different from the composition I shared in my previous post, but that is no bad thing. Returning to a similar idea can often lead to something more refined.
Birch Tor, Dartmoor National Park, Devon - Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 20mm, f/13, 1/15th at ISO 64.
As for the video, the idea still feels right. When the conditions and timing come together, I will be back to try again.
