Bite-Size Blog Post #54 - First Dawn of the Year at Dawlish Warren
In this bite sized blog I share with you the story behind my first photograph of 2026.
Starting the Year with an Old Friend
Setting an alarm call for 06:30 on the 1st of January isn’t something I would normally do. It’s not as if I normally stay up the night before celebrating the start of a new year, it’s just that it’s nice to stay in bed sometimes and the 1st of January always seem like the perfect day to do so.
On this occasion though, I’d already had few long mornings in bed over the festive period, and I was itching to get out with the camera and get 2026 off to a flying start! However, I wanted to share the morning sunrise with someone so heading off on a 90 minute walk to a remote tor for sunrise wasn’t an option.
A much more socially acceptable choice would be a lovely walk along a beach somewhere. But where to go? For me there was only one place. Dawlish Warren! It’s only a short drive from home, it’s good for watching sunrise, and it’s a pleasant beach to walk along. And given the number of times I have photographed the beach, I know it can yield good results.
Arriving at Dawlish Warren I could see that lots of other people also thought that a walk along the beach would be a good idea. It wasn’t overly busy, but even for sunrise it was busier than usual. There were even swimmers in the water.
What I tend to do in these situations is head up past groyne number 10 as dogs aren’t allowed past that point. It’s not only quieter, but at low tide you can still get interesting photographs like this one.
It’s not my favourite photograph of Dawlish Warren but it reminds me of what a lovely morning I had watching the sunrise on the 1st of January and if that’s not a good reason for taking a photograph, I don’t know what is.
Happy new year everyone!
Capturing the Coastal Beauty of Dawlish Warren - A 5 Minute Photo Adventure
There are few better ways to start the day than by watching the sunrise at the beach. So, join me in my latest 5 Minute Photo Adventure as I photograph first light at Dawlish Warren beach in Devon.
The Serenity of Seascape Photography
I am very fortunate to live in Devon as it gives me easy access to the (roughly) 365 square miles of Dartmoor National Park. It’s a photography location with almost limitless opportunities to craft beautiful compositions and to create inspiring photographs.
While I spend much of my photography life wandering Dartmoor and capturing photographs there, I all too often ignore the coast along the southern edge of Devon. This is done on purpose, nor done because I dislike it, I just don’t visit it as much as I should.
During a recent spell of clear blue skies lasting days, if not well over a week, I decided I was long overdue a trip to my local beach at Dawlish Warren. While some clouds in the sky is almost always my preferred state, the beach can sometimes work when there isn’t a cloud to be seen.
So, join me in this 5 Minute Photo Adventure to see how I approached capturing some seascape photos on a clear, and very pleasant morning down at Dawlish Warren.
Dawlish Warren - Seascape Photographs from the South West Coast Path
Here are the photographs you saw me capture in the video.
Dawlish Warren, Devon - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 29mm, f/11, 4 secs at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL.
Dawlish Warren, Devon - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 30mm, f/11, 90 secs at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL.
A Slightly Random Collection of Photos from Devon
It’s a shame to have captured a photograph and not to publish it, so I’ve gathered up a few orphan photographs to share with you on this blog post.
Here and There
I try to get out with my camera as much as possible. More often than not I go out with purpose. What I mean by that is that I’m hoping to capture a specific image or create a video. Sometimes though I just go out because I want to. I just go for a wander, with my camera, to see what I can see.
Normally these wonderings do end up forming the basis of a blog post as there is a story to tell about that photography adventure. Now and again, I come away with nothing much more than a photograph. Without a story to share on a blog post or video to produce, these photographs are processed but are then left in Lightroom.
This to me seems a real shame. If I’ve gone to the effort of capturing a photograph, and then processed it, why not share it with the world. In this blog post, I’m going to share with you a few of those orphaned images that I’ve found in my Lightroom catalogue recently.
Higher Tor
I captured this image of Higher Tor after originally photographing the location for a project that I’m working on. Despite Higher Tor just being a short distance away from Belstone Tor (a location I photograph a lot), I’d never made the effort to photograph until recently.
Higher Tor, Dartmoor - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 17mm, f/11, 0.6 sec at ISO 64.
Bowerman’s Nose
Bowerman’s Nose needs no introduction being one of Dartmoor’s most unique tors. When I captured this photograph, I was out for a dog walk. I had my Nikon Z fc and kit lens, but the light was too good not to try and capture an image.
Bowerman’s Nose, Dartmoor - Nikon Z fc, Nikkor 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR at 16mm, f/8, 1/80 sec at ISO 100.
Dawlish Warren
I have photographed Dawlish Warren more times than I can remember, but it can still throw something unique at you. On this occasion it was fog. Something in all my years visiting Dawlish Warren beach I’d never seen before. I completely changed the feeling of the place, and I was able to capture some unique images of the beach.
Dawlish Warren, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 18mm, f/8, 3 sec at ISO 64.
Dawlish Warren, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 19mm, f/8, 1/100 sec at ISO 250.
I hope you enjoyed this slightly random collection of photographs. I must have another look through my Lightroom catalogue to see if there are any other hidden gems in there.
A Decade Photographing Dawlish Warren
Ten years ago, to the day I took my first photograph of Dawlish Warren beach. In this blog post, I look back at the photographs I have taken at Dawlish Warren and discuss why I keep going back.
That First Photograph of Dawlish Warren
I can’t remember exactly how I was inspired to visit the beach at Dawlish Warren for the first time. It could have been a black and white image of the beach huts that I saw in one of my LPOTY books or I simply saw an image of the beach somewhere, realised how close it was to home, and decided I’d like to photograph it
Whatever way I was inspired, I made my first trip to photograph Dawlish Warren ten years ago to the day, the 29th August 2011. This is the image I took.
1st Dawlish Warren Sunrise (2011), Devon, South West Coast Path - Nikon D80, Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 at 18mm, f/18, 13 seconds at ISO 100.
While I do hope my compositional skills and camera technique have improved since taking this image, the photograph does represent the start of a love affair I have with photographing Dawlish Warren. It’s difficult for me to remember what it is I saw that morning that made me keep coming back over the next 10 years. Perhaps it was the stunning sunrise, or the simple joy or being on the coast. If it had been a grey and overcast morning, would I have written the location off? Who knows and to be honest it doesn’t really matter. It was a special morning, and I did keep going back.
My 10 Favourite Photographs of Dawlish Warren
Over the next ten 10 years I continued to return to Dawlish Warren to photograph the beach at sunrise. Not all visits have been fruitful but some of them have been spectacular.
It’s not just epic sunrises that keep me going back. There are other reasons. Firstly, it’s close to home. With a 20-minute drive, it’s one of the closest photography locations I have access to. It’s also a constantly changing environment. Every visit is unique. Being a tidal location, the tide is constantly rising and falling, resetting, and changing the beach. The final reason is that the coast is one of the best places to witness sunrise. With no hills or mountains to block the sun, as soon as it starts to rise you can get the benefit of the light. That is assuming it’s not overcast. Not that it being overcast is a problem as I’ve captured some perfectly good images on cloudy days.
Below are ten of my favourite Dawlish Warren photographs that I’ve captured over the decade. These have been captured during my many adventures there which have been well documented both here on the blog and my YouTube channel. If you want to know more about all those adventures, then why not sign up to get my free landscape photography locations map. There you’ll find links to all my published adventures (of which there are at least 18).
My Most Recent Collection of Dawlish Warren Photographs
A decade on from that first visit to Dawlish Warren I continue to return to this wonderful location. Here is a collection of photographs from Dawlish Warren that I took on a recent visit. It’s not often that I’ll publish six images from one shoot, but it was one of those mornings where the conditions were just right for creating photographs.
I hope you have enjoyed this look at Dawlish Warren. Let me know in the comments if you’ve photographed Dawlish Warren or if you have a similar location that you photographed over the years.
Why I'll Never Bore of Dawlish Warren
In this blog post, I share my latest photographs from Dawlish Warren and tell you why I don't think I'll ever get bored of photographing this wonderful south Devon coastal location.
How Many Times?
Searching through this blog I can count more than 15 posts that feature photographs from Dawlish Warren. To be honest this is more than I even thought there were and given that I’d been photographing Dawlish Warren even before I started the blog 4 years ago, I hate to think how many times I’ve been to this beach on the south Devon coast.
I say hate, but there is obviously something special about Dawlish Warren that makes me keep coming back.
Dawlish Warren Sunrise #2, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 19mm, f/11, 1.3 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL and ND Grad.
Every Visit in Unique
The one factor that keeps me coming back is that every visit is unique. Unlike many locations, the seasons don’t have a direct impact on what you photograph there. Apart from what time sunrise is, it doesn’t matter if it’s spring, summer, autumn, or winter at Dawlish Warren. The two factors that make it so variable are the weather and the tides.
The tide levels and times might be predictable, but every high tide resets the beach. Each time the tide comes in and then goes out the sand and the layout of the beach is subtly different. Sand patterns, stones, and debris all come and go. Even how the wet the groynes are results it a vastly different look for incoming tides compared to outgoing tides.
The weather delivers the most variety though. Wind and air pressure can impact the effect of the tides and the strength of the waves. This can change your whole approach to your photography for that visit. Making a choice between a shorter exposure time to capture movement or going for a longer exposure to smooth out the water is a creative decision but how the water is behaving can limit or extend your creative options (depending on how you look at it).
To add into the mix, you’ve got ever-changing cloud coverage. Even on overcast days, there are shots to be had but it is perhaps when the sun just rises above the horizon that excites me the most. It’s a special moment when the reds and oranges of the morning light catch the water and the sides of the groynes.
All these variables mean that I’ve never looked through the viewfinder and thought this looks familiar.
Dawlish Warren Sunrise #4, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 16m, f/16, 1 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL and ND Grad.
More to Discover
With 15 groynes there is a lot to photograph. I’ve probably only photographed a third of them and given that each groyne can be photographed from two sides, I’ve barely scratched the surface.
But there is more to Dawlish Warren than the groynes. Immediately behind you are the dunes is the nature reserve. The nature reserve is well known for its birds, but I’m far from a wildlife photographer. The dunes, however, are well worth a visit. I’ve only recently started photographing them, but with long grasses, fences, big views, and sweeping dunes they are well worth photographing.
At the top of the beach are the colourful beach huts. Having only photographed these once I must spend a bit more time with them. I’m sure there are some interesting compositions to be made there.
Dawlish Warren Sunrise #1, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 23mm, f/13, 1.6 seconds at ISO 125, Kase Filters K9 CPL and ND Grad.
Different Styles
Finally, I’ve discovered that Dawlish Warren beach is a good location for trying something a little different. When I captured the images in this blog post I was with my friend and fellow photographer Neil Burnell and he was capturing images using ICM and multiple exposure techniques. These aren’t techniques that have previously excited me but seeing the results Neil was getting certainly changed my mind.
I gave both techniques a try, and while I found ICM tricky, the effect of multiple exposures has inspired me to give this technique further work. The beach, with its constantly changing view, seems the ideal location to use this technique. While I did capture some multiple exposure photographs on this visit, I don’t think they are worth sharing here. It is a technique I will continue with next time I’m at Dawlish Warren and this will open even more creative opportunities as this varied and much-loved location.
For all these reasons, this is why I will never bore of photographing Dawlish Warren.
Dawlish Warren Sunrise #6, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 28mm, f/10, 0.4 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL and ND Grad.
Sparking My Enthusiasm for Landscape Photography!
There’s nothing quite like a sunrise to spark your passion for landscape photography. Join me on the Devon coast and learn why experiences like this have helped the return of my photographic mojo.
From Photography Dog to Photography God
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post called I Lost My Enthusiasm for Photography. In that post, I shared with you a video in which I talk about how I’ve struggled with my return to landscape photography after lockdown. One thing became clear from the comments and that is I’m not the only one who has struggled with their photography mojo at some point in their life.
As I had such a good response with that video, I was keen to do a follow-up video when my mojo started to return. Well, I’m very pleased to say that my enthusiasm for landscape photography is most certainly on it’ way back. In my previous video I talked about the importance of meeting up with fellow photographers and just getting out with the camera. This is exactly what I have been doing and it’s starting to pay dividends.
After two successful sunset shoots in Cornwall with one of my mates (blog posts coming soon) I was on a bit of a photographic high. I decided to keep riding that high and push to boat out for a sunrise shoot at Dawlish Warren on the south Devon coast. Would it be 3 successful shoots out of 3? Find out in the video below.
The Photographs
As always here are the photographs you saw in the video. Enjoy!
Dawlish Warren #1, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 16mm, f/8, 1 second at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 Circular Polariser, 3 Stop ND, and 2 stop ND grad.
Dawlish Warren #2, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 21mm, f/9, 238 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 Circular Polariser, 10 Stop ND, and 2 stop ND grad.
Dawlish Warren #3, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 18mm, f/13, 1/5th sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 Circular Polariser, 2 stop ND grad.
Remembering Why I Love Photography - Dawlish Warren
Grab yourself a cup of coffee because it's time for another 5 Minute Photo Adventure! In this episode, I head to Dawlish Warren where I reminded that it's always worth hanging on for just another 5 minutes. Even after all these years, landscape photography can still surprise and delight me.
Just Another 5 Minutes
Over the years I have produced fifteen 5 Minute Photo Adventure videos, but I’ve never made one from Dawlish Warren. This is a bit odd as it is the location, I photograph the most every year. You’ll find many blog posts on this website that feature Dawlish Warren, and it has been the location for many videos. However, I don’t think it’s ever been the primary feature of a video and it’s never featured in its own 5 Minute Photo Adventure.
A few weeks ago (14th March to be precise), I had a little spare time and after checking the weather forecast, I thought that a dawn shoot from Dawlish Warren might yield some nice results. This would also be the perfect opportunity to feature Dawlish Warren in a 5 Minute Photo Adventure.
I’m not going to write too much here about my time at Dawlish Warren because I’ll only be repeating what is in the video. The one thing I will say is that it pays to be patient. The conditions at the point of sunrise weren’t great and I wasn’t expecting to get any nice light. While I was enjoying my time on the beach, I was ready to call it a day on the photography.
Experience has taught me though that it is sometimes worth holding on a little longer past sunrise/sunset and that’s exactly what I did. Once the sun broke over the lower cloud I got some glorious light and I captured some of my favourite ever images from Dawlish Warren. Sure, a little more cloud in the higher reaches of the sky would have made the photos even better, but I cannot fault the experience of being there and having the opportunity to capture those images.
I really hope you enjoy my latest 5 Minute Photo Adventure from Dawlish Warren and if you scroll down a little further you’ll be able to see the images from the video in a bit more detail. Let me know which image is your favourite in the comments below.
The Photographs
Dawlish Warren Sunrise #1, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30m f/4 at 15mm, f/13, 5 secs at ISO 64, Kase K9 CPL.
Dawlish Warren Sunrise #2, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30m f/4 at 19mm, f/13, 10 secs at ISO 64, Kase K9 CPL.
Dawlish Warren Sunrise #3, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30m f/4 at 25mm, f/13, 8 secs at ISO 64, Kase K9 CPL.
Dawlish Warren Sunrise #1, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30m f/4 at 20mm, f/13, 0.4 secs at ISO 64, Kase K9 CPL.
Kicking off 2020 Somewhere Familiar
In the blog this week I head to Dawlish Warren for my first shoot of 2020 and to get some much need practice!
Where Did the Time Go?
Prior to taking the photographs in this blog post the last time I went out with the camera was the 15th of December. I went to Hound Tor on Dartmoor, I took four frames and frankly it was a bit of a disaster. Not the way I wanted to finish 2019 but hey, that’s the way it goes sometimes.
A few days after that I went on a family holiday, then it was Christmas, then New Year, then I got a cold and the weather was pretty miserable for an extended period of time. The result of all this was that I didn’t take another landscape photograph until the 17th of January (when I took the photos in this post). Where did all the time go!
Keeping Sharp
You may not think a month is a long time between sessions with the camera and for some people it might well not be. For me though that month represents a reduction in the sharpness of my skills. You may well ask what sharpness has to do with landscape photography? It’s not as if I’m shooting fast-moving cars, sprinting athletes or birds in flight. What I mean by sharpness is my “photographic eye”. My ability to pick out and fine-tune compositions.
Dawlish Warren #1, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 16mm, f/11, 218 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL, ND Grad and 6 Stop ND.
Photography is a skill and one that needs to be practised. This is one of the reasons why I go out with my camera when the conditions aren’t exactly great. I’d rather practise my photography skills in poor conditions than find myself stumbling when I’m presented with some stunning conditions. In other words I like to keep my composition muscles fit and flexed!
Down to Dawlish
My choice to photograph Dawlish Warren as my first location of 2020 was driven by two factors. The first factor was time. I was really short of time that day and I didn’t want to potentially wait another week to get my first photo of 2020 just so I could go somewhere further away. The other factor was my familiarity with the location. As I was short of time going to a location that I was familiar with would allow me to spend more time taking photographs. However, as I wrote in a recent blog post “Does Familiarity Breed Complacency?”, being familiar with a location doesn’t necessarily make it easy to shoot.
Dawlish Warren #3, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 16mm, f/13, 1.3 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL, and ND Grad.
I knew before I got to Dawlish Warren that the weather was unlikely to give me brilliant conditions and I wouldn’t get photographs that were better than some of my previous efforts from there, but that’s not the point. The point is that I would be out with my camera and I’d be exercising those photography muscles making sure they are fit for when I do get one of those very special days.
Dawlish Warren #4, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 18mm, f/13, 1 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL, and ND Grad.
As I look at my images from that morning I already know that it’s not my best work. However, there are qualities that I do like and I can take these ideas with me on my next shoot where ever that might be. The most important thing is that I feel more prepared and confident for the next shoot.
Dawlish Warren #5, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 19mm, f/13, 1 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL, and ND Grad.
Super Wide Seascapes with the Kase Filters K9
In the blog this week I head out to one of my favourite coastal locations with the new Kase K9 filter holder and polariser to capture some super wide seascapes.
Switching to the Kase Filter System
Back in July I shared with you my thoughts on the Kase Filter system. I had made the switch from Lee Filters to Kase Filters back in late 2018, but I wanted to give them a proper test before I told you what I thought about them. If want to see that video and see the images of Boscastle harbour that I captured that beautiful summers evening then check out this blog post here.
Going from Kase K8 to the Kase K9 Filter Holder
As I said in that video, I was very happy with my Kase filter system including the K8 filter holder and slim polariser. I know nothing is perfect but I honestly didn't think there was room for improvement with the K8. That was all true until I picked up a Nikon Z7 with the Nikkor 14-30 mm f/4. With my previous wide angle lens, the Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4, you could happily shoot at 16 mm with the K8 and polariser with no vignetting. However, at 14 mm on the Nikkor 14-30 mm with the K8 and polariser, you could get a little bit of vignetting (the same applies for the Sony GM 16-35 mm.
So when the team at Kase Filters UK told me about the improvements they had made with the K9 and asked if I'd be interested in trying it out I jumped at the chance. I was keen to put this new K9 filter holder and polariser to the test but I needed a suitable location. Where could I shoot super wide angle images that need a polariser? Dawlish Warren beach of course!
Super Wide Seascapes
The removal of vignetting at 14 mm isn't the only improvement to the K9, there are a number of other minor, but very welcome improvements as well. If you want to know what they are, or if you should upgrade to the K9, then check out the video below:
When I got my Nikkor 14-30 mm f/4 lens I didn't think I'd notice that extra 2 mm or use it that often, but as it turns out I really appreciate it. Not only does it give me more creative options in certain scenarios, but the image quality and sharpness, particularly around the edges seems to be much improved over my trusty old 16-35 mm f/4. It's also good to know that I've also got a filter system that can make the most of those super wide angles and help me create images like this:
Dawlish Warren Sunrise #1, Devon - Nikon Z7 with Nikkor Z 14-30 mm f/4 at 14 mm, f/11, 1.6 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 holder, CPL, and ND grad.
Dawlish Warren Sunrise #2, Devon - Nikon Z7 with Nikkor Z 14-30 mm f/4 at 14 mm, f/13, 1 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 holder, CPL, and ND grad.
I hope enjoyed this quick look at the K9 and the images I captured that morning on Dawlish Warren. If you've got any questions about the Kase Filters system, the K9 or the images I captured let me know in the comments below.
A Quick Word on Moving to the Kase System
Since moving to the Kase Filters system a number of regular readers of the blog and viewers of my YouTube channel have asked about how easy it is to move from another filter system to Kase. Well, the good news is that if you are coming from another 100mm based system such as the Lee100 Filter System, most of your existing ND and ND grads should work just fine in the K9 or K8 holder.
The Lee Filters range of Stoppers, which have foam on the inner edge, need to be slotted in with the foam facing outwards (as shown in the image).
Kase circular polarisers (CPLs) are designed specifically for each of their filter holders so you probably won’t be able to use a CPL from another manufacturer. The good news is that the K8 and K9 filter holder kits come with the correct CPL for that holder.
I appreciate that changing filter systems can be costly and the need to gradually transition is an important one so I hope this information is useful for you. I would of course recommend you plan to replace your ND and ND grads with Kase equivalents as Kase filters have some useful benefits (which you can hear about in the video below).
Dawlish Warren - Three in a Row
Is there any benefit to going to the same location three times in a row? In the blog this week I find out.
Let me start off by apologising. I know this is now the third blog post in a row to feature Dawlish Warren but because of some not very interesting reasons, it's the only place I've managed to get out to photograph recently. I also have a special blog post from Dawlish Warren to share with you in a couple of weeks time as well! However, I will be mixing things up over the next few weeks. I've got one more blog post on a local location before I head to Scotland for a week of uninterrupted photography, so expect plenty of interesting blog posts, photos and videos from that trip!
After last weeks blog post from Dawlish Warren where I talked about becoming complacent with my compositions, I was determined to try a little harder this time out. I wasn't sure what to make of the weather forecast. One weather forecast was predicting dry conditions and high clouds, while another was saying overcast and showers Regardless of the weather I thought this was going to be my only opportunity to get out with the camera this week so I decided to go for it anyway.
I arrived at Dawlish Warren a little earlier than normal so I sat in my car and enjoyed the cup of coffee that I had bought from the petrol station on the way there. You simply can't beat the feeling of that first cup of coffee in the morning, so as I walked towards the beach I already had a bit of a skip in my step. As I walked along the beach and breathed in the sea air I decided that this was indeed a fantastic place to watch the start of a new day.
Caffeine highs aside the weather was actually a mix of the two forecasts. There were some great looking patches of sky and some big rain clouds kicking about. However, as is often the way, there was a big bank of thick cloud on the horizon where the sun was going to rise. No vibrant morning light for me. Though I knew I probably wasn't going to get any amazing pictures, I thought I would use the time constructively and work on some compositions. This is all good practice. I'd rather work out some new compositions during average light rather than when the conditions are amazing. Better to practice when there is less pressure.
So was this third consecutive trip the most productive? I'm not sure, so I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. Here is the image from this week, plus the other two from the previous weeks.
I personally don't have a favourite. They all have different qualities and minor issues. For me at least, it's only by looking at them all together do they deliver in a completely different way. While no one image is a stand out image, by shooting the same location in 3 slightly different ways under 3 slightly different weather conditions I have increased my working knowledge of this location. I can see from the photographs which style of image works for a certain combination of gryone and weather. This means I can be more effective and efficient for future visits. I can use my knowledge of the location to create a composition that is suited to whichever groyne I'm shooting and the weather. Hopefully, this will result in me capturing better images.
I said at the start of this blog post that I wanted to apologise for the 3rd Dawlish Warren blog post in a row, but by writing this very blog post I've gained a new perspective and that’s something that I didn't expect.
I'll see you next week when I promise you that the blog post won't be about Dawlish Warren.
Does Familiarity Breed Complacency?
I’m no stranger to photographing Dawlish Warren, but is that familiarity gradually leading to poorer images?
Under Normal Circumstances
Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have bothered heading to Dawlish Warren last Friday. I had already been there the week before, and with the weather forecast not exactly predicting spectacular conditions, I wouldn’t have normally visited this location again. However, these weren’t normal circumstances. My friend and newly turned professional photographer, Chris Sale, was in the area and he was keen to visit the beach at Dawlish Warren.
Chris was staying in Cornwall for a week to immerse himself in photography and see his mum. This was also going to be an excellent opportunity for us to catch up and do a little photography. Unfortunately for us the weather was pretty poor all week. The one evening I was able to meet up with Chris the weather was particularly poor.
We had decided to meet at Trebarwith Strand, a wonderful coastal location to photograph, but the wind was howling. While stormy weather can sometimes be used to great effect, this wasn’t one of those evenings. The wind had churned up the sea into a mass of white water and foam. Only a mad person would have ventured down onto the beach and the view from the cliffs wasn’t exactly inspiring. In the end I didn’t take any photographs so we went to the pub and had a very nice pizza.
With Trebarwith a right off, we committed ourselves to a dawn shoot. Chris had always wanted to photograph the beach at Dawlish Warren so we decided to head there on Friday morning. Unfortunately, yet again, the weather forecast was poor. High winds, lots of cloud and the potential for rain didn’t fill me with enthusiasm. I did however want to head out on another shoot with Chris and go out for a spot of breakfast, so I thought it was worth a punt.
More Chat than Photography
Arriving at Dawlish Warren the conditions were slightly better than forecast but still not particularity inspiring. I already knew I probably wasn’t going to get a better shot than last week. No worries though, Chris was with me and the banter was flowing.
Even after many years of photographing Dawlish Warren, it is still a place that excites me, but sometimes when I feel I can’t get a better or a different image than previous visits then I do perhaps get a little lazy with my photography. That familiarity with a location can sometimes make me a bit complacent.
While I do like the image I captured that morning, I think I could have taken a better shot if I’d focused a little more on what I was doing and the conditions I had to work with.
Into the Void, Dawlish Warren, Devon - Nikon Z7 with Nikkor Z 14-30 mm f/4 at 29 mm, f/8, 224 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K8 holder, CPL, and 10 stop ND.
So what exactly do I feel is wrong with the photograph? While I like the long exposure, the slightly desaturated colour palette, and the way the groyne fades into the sea, I’m not that happy with the location in the frame where the groyne appears in the photograph. For me at least, I think the right-hand side of the groyne needs to be more prominent and perhaps start further down in the frame. This probably would have been best achieved by moving closer to the groyne and perhaps turning to face it more directly.
I could change the relative position of the groyne in this image through a crop but I would lose a lot of the sea in the foreground. The best option of course is just to get it right in camera in the first place!
While I like the image, it definitely has room for improvement. Perhaps if I’d been a little less complacent and was focusing more on all the elements of the composition, I might have made a slightly different but improved image. Photography is a constant journey of learning, and this trip to Dawlish Warren has taught me not to be so complacent or lazy with composition, even when I don’t think I can improve on previous images.
Do you agree with my critique? Do you sometimes get complacent when photographing your favourite locations? Let me know in the comments below.
Get Your Camera Out!
With sunrises now being at a much more sociable time of the morning I decided to get myself back into the swing of early morning rises and head to my favourite local beach.
Summer Sunrises
I like to think I don't have much of a problem getting up early in the morning so I can capture sunrise images. During the summer months the shock of a 3 am alarm call is enough to shake the resolve of even the hardest landscape photographer. While I can and have got up at this time in the morning it often means a fairly difficult rest of the day.
The difficult part is when I return from the shoot. It would be lovely if I could just come home, have some breakfast and then have a nice little nap. For a couple of hours. In reality though I have to plough through the rest of the day as if I had just got up at 7 am. It's hard to function with little sleep and still behave like a normal human being. It is for those reasons that I will only get up for a 5 am sunrise if the weather is promising to be epic or I am meeting someone.
Winter Sunrises
As the nights start to draw in it's getting harder for me to get out to shoot sunsets, so as I sat at my computer the other day planning out my photographic week it suddenly dawned on me (excuse the pun), that sunrises are now at a much more sociable hour! With a 7 am sunrise I don't have to set an alarm until 5 am, maybe even 5:30 depending on the location.
To get myself back into the swing of early morning rises I decided that I would make life easy for myself and go somewhere I know and that is local. If you've been reading my blog for a while you'll know exactly the location I'm talking about. Yep, that's right, Dawlish Warren. I've created many videos and blog posts from this location. There are too many to list here, so if you want to see what I captured on previous trips just use the search box at the top of The Exposed Blog page and search for Dawlish Warren.
Dawlish Warren - 2015. Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 35 mm, f/13, 72 secs at ISO 100.
Get Your Camera Out!!
I was actually rather excited to be heading out for a dawn shoot at Dawlish Warren. Not only I had I not been on a sunrise shoot for a while but I also hadn't been to Dawlish Warren for some time. It was hard to tell exactly what the sunrise would be like from the weather forecast but I wasn't going to let that put me off.
I arrived at Dawlish Warren about 6 am, roughly an hour before sunrise. As I strolled along the beach I took in a big lung full of fresh sea air and decided that there was no place better to start the day. I was the only person there and it was wonderful.
When shooting the beach at Dawlish Warren I normally like to shoot past groyne 9. Dogs aren't allowed past groyne 9 at any time of year so there is no risk of jumping dogs and unwanted footprints in the pristine sand. As I got to groyne 9 I could see a heavy bank of cloud on the horizon where the sun would rise from. This could be a problem but I decided not to let it get me down and so I sat down on one of the sand dunes to see how things might pan out.
As I watched the waves roll in that pesky bank of cloud wasn't shifting. The sky above Dawlish Warren was looking good with plenty of breaks in the cloud which, if the sun could break the horizon, would light up nicely. The time for sunrise approached, arrived, and went, but no sign of the sun in the sky.
Sitting there I did think to myself that I might not even bother getting the camera out. It's not as if I'd never been here, or would never return, or that I didn't have any good shots from this location. Experience has taught me though that it is always worth getting the camera out! So I got my camera out and I have to say that I'm glad I did. As the sun finally broke above the bank of cloud the sky started to get interesting. Not amazing, but interesting enough for me to want to take some photographs. I soon found my creative juices flowing and I got busy with the job of creating photographs.
Dawn at Dawlish Warren, Devon - Nikon Z7 with Nikkor Z 14-30 mm f/4 at 14 mm, f/13, 99 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K8 holder, CPL, and 6 stop ND.
Do you shoot sunrises all year round or wait like me until the autumn and winter months? What is your favourite sunrise location? Do you always get your camera out or have you gone home having taken no pictures at all? Let me know in the comments below.
From Dartmoor to Dawlish
In the blog this week, I head to Dartmoor to shoot sunset, and then the following day head to Dawlish Warren to shoot sunrise.
A Good Time of Year
Late September is a good time for landscape photography. Sunset isn’t too late, and sunrise isn’t too early. This means I can do both back to back without feeling like it just killed me. I still remember back in July this year when I photographed Daymark tower for sunset and then Start Point for sunrise. While I had a lot of fun with the friends that joined me, the late finish and very early start just about killed me.
When some welcome settled weather came in recently, I thought I would maximise my shooting opportunities and go out and photograph both sunset and sunrise. But where would I go?
Dusk at Dartmoor
As is normally the way, I was, of course a little short of time so I had to go somewhere local. Fortunately for me, I live near Dartmoor so I’m a little spoilt for locations on my doorstep. Though the weather was settled, it was looking like there would be little in the way of cloud.
I had a number of ideas of what to shoot including the view from Rippon Tor and Honeybag Tor, but the conditions just weren’t going to be right for those elevated viewpoints. I remembered that Haytor Rocks often gets the evening light so I decided to photograph it from Saddle Tor. By photographing from Saddle Tor I could position Haytor Rocks above the horizon and into the only real interesting part of the sky that evening.
Haytor Rocks at Dusk, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70 mm f/2.8 at 62 mm, 1/3 sec at ISO 64, f/11. Lee Filters ND Grad, single image crop at 6:17.
The image I took is actually a panoramic crop from a single frame. My original composition had Haytor in the lower third of the frame with the rest of the frame being taken up by the sky. My original “big sky” shot might have worked a little better if there had been a bit more interest in the sky, but the lower band of haze in the sky was the only area to get colour. As it turned out, I rather like the panoramic crop so can be reasonably happy with the final output.
Dawn at Dawlish Warren
The morning weather forecast for the following day looked to have a bit more cloud so I decided to head to one of my favourite locations, Dawlish Warren. I tend not to visit Dawlish Warren during the summer months but now sunrise isn’t so early I decided it was time to visit my old friend.
Shooting at dawn is one of my favourite times of the day. There is a sense of excitement as the sun starts to rise and deliver some of its magical morning light. On this morning though, that display of golden light probably wasn’t going to happen. You can plan all you like, check tides, and look at weather forecasts, but if a bank of cloud happens to position itself in the wrong location, all that amazing light you were looking for can be lost.
It’s important to remember though that good morning light can occur 30 minutes before and after sunrise. Even though I didn’t get the best of the light as the sun approached the horizon, I’m glad I stuck around to capture this long exposure.
Into the Sea, Dawlish Warren, Devon - Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70 mm f/2.8 at 48 mm, 339 seconds at ISO 64, f/11. Lee Filters Circular Polariser and ND Grad,
While this image was captured after sunrise, the long exposure helps capture what light there was and the calmness of the ocean that morning.
It’s always fascinating to see how other photographers interpret the same scene so I was really interested to see how Neil Burnell, who was with me that morning, shot the same scene. Check out his Instagram post to see his take on the beach that morning.
What is your favourite time of day to shoot? Do you use techniques like ICM or long exposures to create a sense of mood? Let me know in the comments below.
Dawn with Danks - A Mini Adventure with Gareth Danks
In the blog this week I share with you vlog I made when fellow photographer and YouTuber, Gareth Danks paid me a visit. We headed down to the south Devon coast for a bit a coastal photography and a chat.
Meeting Gareth Danks
I've been following Gareth Danks on YouTube for a while and we briefly met up at The Photography Show earlier this year. At the show, we discussed the idea of meeting up to do some photography but finding a date we could both do proved a little tricky.
As spring came around and the days got longer, the number of opportunities to get out with the camera also increased. So when Gareth announced he was going to be making a visit to Devon we thought it would be a great time to meet up. We agreed to shoot sunset on Thursday evening and then shoot sunrise the following day.
Our Adventures
The plan was set and the day soon came around. In the following videos, you can see exactly what we got up to.
The first and only video I made was of the Friday morning shoot at Dawlish Warren and Dawlish. You can see it here:
For an alternative take on the morning, check out Gareth's video from Friday morning:
And finally, if you want to see what we got up to on Thursday evening on Dartmoor, you can see Gareth's video here:
I hope you enjoyed all those videos. I think we both have a similar style when it comes to our vlogs so it was really easy to mix up the photography, shooting my video and appearing in his vlog. Though it was only a short meetup, it was a mini adventure to remember!
My Photographs
You will have seen my photographs from the Friday morning in the video, but as always I like to share them here on the blog as well.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 16mm, f/13, 240 secs at ISO 64, Lee Filters circular polariser and 10 stop ProGlass IRND.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 20mm, f/11, 80 secs at ISO 64, Lee Filters circular polariser, 2 stop hard edge grad and 10 stop ProGlass IRND.
I do hope you also watched Gareth's video. It's really interesting to see how another photographer shoots the same scene at the same time. It was beneficial for me as watching Gareth setup his compositions got me to think about my own compositions.
Do you meet up with other photographers? Do you find yourself learning from them or trying something new out? Let me know in the comments below.
Lee Filters Little Stopper vs 6 Stop ProGlass IRND
In this blog post, I look at the differences between Lee Filters Little Stopper and their 6 stop ProGlass IRND. They are both 6 stop neutral density filters so what are the differences and which one should you buy?
Lee Filters
I'll be upfront with you. Ever since I bought my first filter set in 2007 (when I had a Nikon D80), I've only ever bought filters from Lee Filters. When I first started looking for a filter system, everything I read said that Lee Filters were the best. Pricey, but the best.
Over the years I've built up a reasonable size collection of filters from Lee. Up until now the only filter I have replaced was the original circular polariser for the new, slightly thinner landscape circular polariser. I've never had to replace a filter because of a fault and I still use the filters that I originally bought in 2007. So if you are looking for a comparison to filters from other manufacturers, I'm afraid this isn't it.
Goodbye Little Stopper and Big Stopper
With all that said I have just sold both my Little Stopper (6 stop ND) and Big Stopper (10 stop ND). These are filters I have used a LOT. So did I not need them anymore or did I buy ND filters from a different manufacturer? Of course not! All I have done is simply replace them with 6 stop and 10 stop ProGlass IRND filters from Lee Filters.
Apart from being more expensive than their Stopper equivalents how do these ProGlass IRND filters differ? Should you sell your Stopper filters and replace them? Do you need both Stopper and ProGlass IRND filters? In the video below I aim to answer all those questions!
Hello ProGlass IRND
As you'll have seen in the video my conclusions about whether these new ProGlass IRND filters are a must buy aren't clear-cut. It's difficult to give a general conclusion as everyone's needs and budgets are different. The fact that the ProGlass IRND filters don't actually replace the Stopper range also adds a little complexity to the decision.
So all I can really do is talk about my own decision to sell my Stopper filters and buy the ProGlass IRND filters. For me, it has very much been money well spent. I particularly like the lack of colour cast and vignetting. While both these can be corrected or enhanced in post-processing, I much prefer seeing a more neutral/accurate representation of the scene on the back of the camera at the time of capture. I also like the fact that calculated exposure times are far more accurate.
So have you bought any of the new ProGlass IRND filters? Would you consider replacing your Stopper filters? Do you use something other than Lee Filters? Let me know in the comments below.
Comparison Photographs
Here are the images from the video should you wish to take a closer look.
60 Second exposure with the Little Stopper. Unprocessed.
60 Second exposure with the 6 Stop IRND. Unprocessed.
60 Second exposure with the Little Stopper. Processed
60 Second exposure with the 6 Stop IRND Processed.
Shoot, Print, Surprise!
In this blog I head to Dawlish Warren to shoot a video I'm calling Shoot, Print, Surprise! But what is the surprise? Well, you'll just have the watch the video to find out!
Back at Dawlish Warren
In my latest video, I headed to Dawlish Warren to shoot some dawn seascapes. For those of you who have been following my blog for a while now, you may well be wondering if that is the only location I've ever photographed! I admit it though, I do like going there to capture images.
There are two good reasons for this. Firstly, it's close to home for me. This means that during the winter months when my time is particularly short, it's nice and easy for me to get to. It also offers a variety of different compositions to suit different conditions. With 15 or so groynes of different styles, and long beach it works well with both high and low tides. So, you can virtually go there in any conditions and get an interesting image.
I've mapped out the 15 groynes in a custom google map. It's still a work in progress, but the custom map also has recent images of each groyne so you can see what they look like before you get there. You can view the map here, and you can see how to make your own map here.
Shoot, Print, Surprise!
So back to the topic of the video. Well, the title should give you a good idea of what the video is about. In the video, I head out to Dawlish Warren to capture some dawn seascape images and then I head home to print some of them off. But what is the surprise? Well, you'll just have to watch the video to find out!
Well, I do hope you enjoyed that video, and of course the surprise element. Did you enjoy the surprise? What are your thoughts on the surprise topic? Let me know in the comments below.
The Photographs
As always here are the photographs that were featured in the video.
Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 @ 34 mm, f/11, 57 seconds at ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser, ND grad and 3 stop IRND.
Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 @ 24 mm, f/11, 1.3 seconds at ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser, and ND grad.
Getting to Know Dawlish Warren Again
In the blog this week I tell you about a frustrating couple of weeks with my photography and I return to Dawlish Warren to see how the beach looks now the works have been completed.
Why Dawlish Warren Again?
Over the years I have photographed the beach a Dawlish Warren numerous times. I've written about it my blog a few times and it's featured on my YouTube channel a couple of times. So why do I keep going back here? The simple fact is that I love shooting there. Every time I go there the conditions are slightly different and so I get a slightly different shot.
It is also one of the closest photography locations I have to home. I'm no stranger to driving for over 90 minutes to get a shot in Cornwall, but Dawlish Warren is less 30 mins from home making it nice and easy to get to. It also works well as a sunrise location pretty well throughout the year. It doesn't seem to matter if it's a grey overcast morning or an epic sunrise, there always seems to be a shot to be had. So it's close to home, works well throughout the year and in varying weather conditions. What's not to like!
Desperation and Frustration
For those of you who have read my blog over the last couple of weeks, you'll know that I've recently moved from the Nikon D750 to the Nikon D850. This change in camera represents a step up in camera technology for me and when I made the decision to buy one (not a hard decision I might add), I made a commitment to make the most of my purchase.
So when the D850 arrived on my doorstep on the day of release I was very keen to get out with my latest bit of gear. However, the photography gods have not been kind to me since the arrival of the D850. Photography is a bit of an all-consuming passion for me but I still have to balance my desire to go out with the camera, work a full-time job and being a family man.
Over the last couple of weeks, the weather in Devon has been fairly unsettled. It's not that there hasn't been great weather for photography, it's just that it never seems to have been on the days when I'm free to go out and take pictures. It's not been a total disaster. I managed to create a D850 video and head out to Trebarwith Strand, but I've been desperate to get out way more than that!
That's it! I'm going out!
As my working week progressed and the days came and went without out any camera action I decided that I would go out at the weekend instead. When I checked the weather forecast for the weekend it was generally overcast with light showers. I was damned if I was going to let another weekend pass me by, so I was going to go out regardless of the weather.
I considered some woodland locations, but I thought I might leave those locations for a couple more weeks until the autumn colours really kick in. Then while I was scanning through my custom locations map <insert link> I remembered about good old Dawlish Warren! (If you haven't seen my video on creating a custom Google Map for you photo locations you really should - my map is always a great source of inspiration!).
Not only is Dawlish Warren a great location to shoot but I was also keen to see how the beach had changed since the end of the Beach Management Scheme works. When I visited there for my Summer Solstice video the beach was having a significant amount of work being done on it. Some of the groynes had been replaced and repaired, and more sand was being introduced to the beach areas.
Now the works have been completed I felt it was time to go and reacquaint myself with Dawlish Warren. I was fairly also sure I could get an image despite the forecasted cloud cover.
A New Dawlish Warren
So has there been a significant change in the beach? Here is the image I took so you can see for yourself.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 @ 22mm, f/13, 90 seconds, ISO 64, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and ND Grad.
For those who know Dawlish Warren beach, it may look just the same but most of the groynes have been repaired and strengthened giving them a slightly different look when viewed up close. The woodwork looks fresher and the supporting poles are thicker. To casual beach walker they may look the same but having photographed them for so many years I think they could make for some interesting new photos.
With that in mind, I will be heading back to Dawlish Warren again to shoot one of my 5 Minute Photo Adventure videos there. Though I have featured Dawlish Warren in this video and this video I think it's time to make a dedicated video now that the beach works have been completed. Now that I can automatically GPS tag my images on the D850 I hope to also start logging some accurate location data so I know which groynes I have photographed and which groynes I haven't.
So have you photographed the groynes at Dawlish Warren beach before? Have you been there since the beach works have been completed? What are your thoughts on the updated groynes? Let me know in the comment below.
Summer Solstice in Devon
In this blog post, I share my Summer Solstice Landscape Photography in Devon video. Join me as I head to two classic Devon locations, Dawlish Warren beach and Dartmoor, and take images either end of the longest day.
Summer Solstice Plan
I'm always thinking about what my next YouTube video will be about. I keep all these ideas in a notebook so that when I'm looking for a fresh idea I have some inspiration. I was looking through the list the other day and I spotted something that I had added some time ago. The idea was relatively straightforward. On the day of the summer solstice, I would shoot one dawn photo and one sunset photo.
With sunrise on the day being around 5 am I needed to go somewhere local. I like to get to a location 1 hour before actual sunrise so wherever I was going to be I would need to be there for 4 am. Now, I like getting up in the morning as much as the next landscape photographer, but even I was going to struggle to get up that early in the morning!
So I looked at my custom Google locations map and spotted a favourite local location, Dawlish Warren beach. Sure I would still need to get up at 3:15 am, but the weather forecast was good and the sun would rise from a direction that would give me some good light (hopefully).
For the sunset location, I would also need to go somewhere local. I knew that when I returned from Dawlish Warren beach that I would still have the school run to do, then a full day of work, and then I had some family commitments. In all likelihood, it would be nearly 8 pm before I headed out. Even with sunset being around 9:30 pm, that didn't leave me a lot of time to get somewhere. To be honest, even if I was able to get out earlier I didn't want to have a big drive to do when I'd already been up since 3:15 am!
I'm really fortunate that I live near Dartmoor so this seemed like a great place to go. I was thinking about going to Bowerman's Nose, but as I had just recently shot a video there, I decided that a good option would be Emsworthy Tor. Though Dartmoor would be busy in the evening with people watching the summer solstice sunset, Emsworthy Tor is a little bit further off the beaten track so should be a little quieter. It's a classic Dartmoor location and if I were to get some good evening light I could be onto a winner.
So how did I get on? Let's take a look at the video:
As I said in the video you can take a look at the images (plus a couple of bonus ones) in a bit more detail below.
Dawlish Warren
5:12 am, Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 f/4 @ 30mm, ISO 100, 4 seconds, f/13, Lee Filters Circular Polariser.
5:41 am, Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 f/4 @ 19mm, ISO 100, 30 seconds, f/13, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and Little Stopper.
Emsworth Tor
9:14 pm, Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 f/4 @ 24mm, ISO 100, 0.8 seconds, f/13, Lee Filters Circular Polariser.
9:22 pm, Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 f/4 @ 18mm, ISO 100, 1 second, f/13, Lee Filters Circular Polariser.
I hope you enjoyed watching the video and looking at the images. Did you go out for Summer Solstice to do some photography? What's the earliest you've ever got up in the morning to take a photo? What's the latest time you've seen the sunset? Let me know in the comments below.
A Positive Start to 2017
On my first trip out with the camera for 2017, I visited one of my favourite locations, Dawlish Warren beach. While the conditions didn't produce inspiring results it was still an important trip out with the camera. Read why in this blog post.
Stay at Home or Risk It?
For me, 2016 was a good year for photography. I got out a lot with the camera and when I reviewed My 5 Favourite Images of 2016 I was very pleased with the results. However, when I went out and Said Goodbye to 2016 in Dorset, the results from my final shoot of the year weren't exactly epic.
One thing I don't do is the let the disappointment of the last shoot put me off the next. Especially when it was the weather or conditions that stifled my creativity. When 2017 came around I was soon looking for the next available slot to get out there with the camera. To say that I was keen would have been an understatement.
It was this keenness to get out there that largely overrode my better judgement of the weather forecast and just risk it. After all, weather forecasts can sometimes be pessimistic, and Dawlish Warren beach is just down the road. What else was I going to do? Sleep?
Being Optimistic
Despite the dubious weather forecast I headed off to Dawlish Warren beach, one of My 5 Favourite Landscape Photography Locations in Devon. Sunrise on the coast can often yield dramatic results, despite weather forecasts, so I drove there feeling optimistic.
However, even the strongest sense of optimism isn't enough to change the weather or light available. I did take a number of frames, adjusting composition and exposure times, but sometimes the magic just isn't there. I feel this image is probably the best of the morning.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 f/4 at 29mm, f/8, 205 seconds, ISO 100, Lee Filters polariser, Little Stopper and ND Grad. Processed in Lightroom CC (including 4:5 crop).
A Wasted Trip?
So you may ask me if it was a wasted trip? Should have I stayed in the warmth of my bed for an extra hour? Well, no, of course not. Regular readers of my blog will know often I talk about the value in Practising The Craft of Photography. Though the conditions weren't what I hoped for, I want to make sure that when the conditions are amazing I'm prepared!
Being prepared means a couple of things to me. Firstly, I need to know my equipment. Can I set up my camera correctly and even more importantly, can I adjust the settings quickly to support changes in light and conditions? I also need to have my "photographic brain" fully engaged and exercised. I took a small break from landscape photography last year and it was amazing how quickly I had become rusty with finding and setting up compositions.
So while the image isn't going to win me any awards, my time at Dawlish Warren was still time well spent. The camera was out of the bag and I was pushing buttons, moving dials, checking histograms and using filters. I was also thinking a lot about compositions. What will my image look like if I move up, or left a bit, what if I change my lens? I was exercising my brain in preparation for the day when I do get those epic conditions.
So how has your 2017 started? Have you been out with the camera? Let me know in the comments below.
My New Winter Friends
In this blog post I discuss the importance of having a close by location that you can shoot so that you can scratch that photography itch during the winter months and why it's still important to do a bit of discovery.
Winter Restrictions
Landscape photography in winter has a few advantages. Sunrise is later, sunset is earlier, and it might just snow. (Oh please let it snow on Dartmoor this year, please, please, please!). However, while sunrise and sunset are at much more sociable hours the days are very short and so are my windows of opportunity for photography. During the summer months I can spend all day at work, casually jump into my car, drive to Lands' End and still be there in plenty of time for sunset. I can go out photographing virtually any day of the week.
With winter things are very different. I still have to work and I still have a family life, but now I can't just pop out in the evening to go out and take photographs. The shorter days that come with winter are no different from any other year but this year I'm feeling the restriction more than any other year. I think this is largely due to the level of commitment I have given my landscape photography this year. This year I have committed more time than any other year to improving my art. Now all of a sudden I can't get out as much and if the weather is very bad I sometimes don't get out all in a week. I'm starting to find it frustrating!
My Old Friend
It's not all doom and gloom tough. It's not as if I can't get out with a camera, it’s just I can't get out as much. As with most working parents I have the school run to do. My responsibility is to get the kids to school every morning, except Friday. So if I'm organised and the weather is looking favourable I can just about get out for a dawn shoot on a Friday and still be back in time for work. This means that I have to go somewhere local and this is where my trusty old friend Dawlish Warren beach comes in.
Dawlish Warren is only about 25 minutes' drive from my house and as I said in my video My Top 5 Locations to Shoot in Devon, it's also one of my favourites. I've photographed the beach and the groynes many times but each visit offers something different. With variable weather conditions, changing direction of sunrise and tidal waters, each time I go I need to think how I'm going photograph it that morning.
When I visited Dawlish Warren last week it was probably at the lowest tide I had seen so I had access to shoot some of the groynes I've never been able to access before.
Given the proximity of Dawlish Warren and my desire to still practice my photography as much as possible during the winter, I expect to be visiting my old friend a lot this winter.
My New Friend
While visiting on old friend is all very good, particularly when I'm really short of time, I also need to stretch my photographic wings a little. Though time at the weekends is really family time there are windows of opportunity and they need to be put to good use. There is the temptation to visit locations I've been before but winter is also a good time to go out and do a bit of discovery.
Last weekend I got up early and went to North Tor and Bench Tor on Dartmoor. These two tors are very close together and offer all round views of Dartmoor. I actually discovered this location by accident. I was looking through some old issues of Outdoor Photography and came across Bench Tor in the Locations Guide section (which is a great source of inspiration and ideas). I knew roughly knew the area as it's very close to one of my other favourite Devon locations to photography, Venford Falls.
Arriving at the car park in the dark I put on my head torch and began the relatively short walk up to Bench Tor. As with most dawn shoots in the cold I questioned my sanity but a blast of hot black coffee soon put me in the correct frame of mind. As most landscape photographers know it actually starts to get light around an hour before official sunrise so as I wondered about Bench Tor and nearby North Tor I could start to see lots of possibilities for compositions.
Very much an exploratory shot but as this was a new location for me I wanted to try and get a few shots for reference.
With so many possibilities, including options for sunrise and sunset shoots I think I have found a new friend for winter. Though I expect the best photographs will be had during spring and autumn months I think I will spend a bit of time up there working out how to make the most of it when winter finishes. That is unless it snows in which case the big views up there will be amazing.
So do you struggle to find time during the winter to get out with the camera? Do you have a go-to location that is nearby? Do you use the winter months to get out and discover new locations? Let me know in the comments below.