Bite-Size Blog Post #66 - Great Staple Tor

11 May

An Area with a Lot of Choice

After a long walk around the Fernworthy Reservoir area as part of my Hill and Moorland Leader training, I sat in the car pondering what to do next. Well, it was less a case of what to do next and more a question of where to go with the camera. I did consider heading over to Birch Tor as I would not have had to move the car, but that felt a little lazy, particularly as I had already photographed it several times over the previous few weeks.

So instead, I made the short drive to Porkhill Car Park on the western edge of the moor. From here, photographers are spoilt for choice when it comes to locations to shoot. There is King’s Tor, Pew Tor, Great Mis Tor, Vixen Tor, Cox Tor and many more. But the location I had my heart set on was Great Staple Tor, somewhere that has recently found its way back onto my radar.

It is not a long walk, but it is all uphill, and my legs were already feeling the earlier miles. Still, I was hopeful the effort would be worthwhile. The skies were looking wonderfully moody and I could see light dancing across the landscape.

A landscape photograph of Great Staple Tor on Dartmoor taken at sunset. — **Great Staple Tor, Dartmoor National Park, Devon** - Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 26mm, f/13, 1/10 sec at ISO 64

Of course, moody and dramatic conditions do not always make photography easy. The biggest challenge was the direction of the light. I have always preferred side light as it really helps bring out the shape, texture and contrast of the tors. At this time of year, the setting sun swings far enough around to make some compositions less appealing, but with a bit of patience I eventually found something that worked well and allowed me to include some of my favourite Dartmoor elements, rock, grass and sky. Being pushed a little creatively also led me to try something different, photographing the tor from the opposite side and working in black and white.

It might only have been a short trip to Great Staple Tor, but it was one that pushed me to think differently and it proved to be the perfect end to an already wonderful day on Dartmoor.