Bite-Size Blog Post #87 - Haytor

3 Sept

Texture, Contrast and Storms

I already knew before I left for Haytor that the chances of the cloud breaking were slim. Nonetheless, the forecast was predicting a small, but hopefully meaningful, break in the cloud around sunset.

Now that we are into September, and with me heading off on a big photography trip next week, time was running out to capture some more photographs during my favourite time of year on Dartmoor: heather season. So, even though I felt the chances of seeing any evening light were slim, I set off regardless.

Arriving at Haytor, I soon realised those chances had gone from slim to non existent. A solid bank of cloud lay to the west, looking like it was going to bring rain at any moment. I’ve seen the sun make its way through the smallest of breaks in the cloud before, but with this much cloud cover, the sun would have to make the journey to Earth and then somehow step in front of the cloud!

Accepting that the light I had hoped for wasn’t going to happen, I set about making the most of the situation.

One thing stormy skies can bring, though, is drama. With no direct light to highlight the heather or add contrast to the landscape, I switched my camera to black and white mode and started looking more closely at the texture and contrast of the distant Haytor.

A black and white photograph of Haytor on Dartmoor in stormy conditions. — **Haytor Rocks, Dartmoor National Park** - Nikon Z8 with Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 at 89mm, f/8, 1/6 sec at ISO 64.

Without the distraction of colour, I was free to explore the surface of the tor, and it was striking. Black and white photography can reveal the underlying character of a tor, and that was certainly the case with Haytor. The rough surface, the lines and cracks, the lumps and bumps were fascinating, and I found myself looking at Haytor in a whole new way.

Sure, I never got the heather shots I was after, but by making the most of the conditions and opening myself up to looking at things differently, I left feeling satisfied.

And slightly damp.

Not a bad result from a visit to one of Dartmoor’s most iconic tors.