Bite-Size Blog Post #70 - Hound Tor
A Black and White Tor
Of all the tors I have photographed on Dartmoor, there aren’t many that I photograph more in black and white than Hound Tor. Despite its significant size and dominance within the surrounding landscape, I’ve always found it one of the most challenging tors on Dartmoor to photograph well.
But it’s that challenge that keeps drawing me back, and it’s one of the reasons I frequently use it at the beginning of my workshops. With so many rocky outcrops, it’s the perfect place to teach photographers how to recognise lines, shapes, contrast and texture within Dartmoor’s tors.
Hound Tor, Dartmoor National Park - Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 19mm, f/13, 1/30 sec at ISO 64.
For those reasons, I often feel that Hound Tor works especially well in black and white. Removing colour allows the textures and tones within the rock to take centre stage in a way colour sometimes can’t. Unlike many of the other tors I photograph, where the tor becomes just one element within a wider composition, Hound Tor often dominates the frame. Black and white can help simplify the scene and focus attention on what really matters.
I also tend to photograph Hound Tor during the day, which makes black and white an even stronger choice when working with deep contrast, strong light and dramatic skies.
Photographing Hound Tor will once again be one of the highlights of my Dartmoor workshops this autumn. I’m looking forward to seeing the compositions participants discover for themselves and whether they too begin to see Hound Tor in black and white.
Hound Tor, Dartmoor National Park - Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 17mm, f/13, 1/30 sec at ISO 64.
