Drones, Landscape Photography, and Holidays
Is the drone the perfect camera for the landscape photographer on holiday? I think so and in the blog this week I tell you why.
Relax, I’m on Holiday
When I go on holiday with my family, I really try and forget about landscape photography for a bit. But, the trouble with being a landscape photographer is that your brain is wired a particular way. For example, it is literally impossible for me to watch a nice sunset without a part of me wishing I was photographing it.
Fortunately for me, my desire to get up really in the morning diminishes when I'm on holiday, and a cheeky glass of wine in the afternoon means that I can't just jump into the car and head out to take pictures. But this does mean that I do actually enjoy my holiday, relax and have fun with my family.
Talking about balancing photography and family, there is a very good article on Nature TTL’s website called The Delicate Balance of Photography and Family Life, which is well worth a read.
Always Have One Eye on the Weather
Another odd by-product of being a landscape photographer is that I like to check the weather forecast. A lot. And in detail. Even though I was on holiday, and I had no plans to take any landscape photographs, I couldn’t help but to check the weather forecast on my favourite website yr.no. As I drank a glass one evening I checked the weather forecast for the next day and noticed something interesting.
The weather that caught my interest was the possibility of mist or fog. How did I know that there was a chance of mist? After reading the excellent book From Dawn to Dusk - Mastering the Light in Landscape Photography I had learned that mist can occur when the outside air temperature is close to the dew point, and wind speed is very low. These were the very conditions that were forecast for the next day.
However, even with such interesting conditions forecast, I didn't really have the motivation to get up, go out and find something to shoot early the next morning. I was in full holiday mode.
Misty Mornings
When I woke up the next morning and looked out the window, all I could see was mist. This was all very exciting but it was all a bit late to go anywhere. I was just about to get the coffee on the go when I had a bright idea. What did the landscape look like from above? Well, that's an easy question to answer when you have a drone.
With the coffee brewing away I sent the drone up into the air, just a few feet from my door. Though forward visibility wasn't great, vertical visibility was a lot better and I could clearly see the drone just above me. After a short ascent, I could see mist covering the landscape. It looked amazing! I just knew there was a photograph to be had from my elevated viewpoint. There was just a little too much mist at this point to make an interesting photography, so I brought the drone down and had a coffee.
A short while later I sent the drone back up and captured this image:
Trees in the Dawn Mist - DJI Mavic Pro, 1/1000th sec at f/2.2, ISO 100, 6 image stich cropped at 6:17.
The Perfect Camera for the Landscape Photographer on Holiday
I don't capture a lot of still images with the drone but that's twice now that I've used it to capture a landscape image on holiday (you can see the first one here). I've now come to two conclusions. Firstly, the drone really is a great addition to my landscape photography kit bag. There is no practical way I could have captured that image without the drone. That little bit of elevation the drone gave me opened up a whole new view on the landscape allowing me to capture an image which showed how the mist was covering the landscape.
The other conclusion I came to was that I think the drone may be the perfect camera for the landscape photographer on holiday. Why? Well, it allows you to take photographs without even leaving the comfort of your holiday home! I don't need to sneak off early in the morning or stay sober past 4 pm. Even the kids find it interesting. As long as I'm in a location where it's possible to fly and there is a composition to be made, I can scratch that landscape photography itch.
I know some photographers do manage to indulge their passion for landscape photography while on holiday, but I find it rather tricky, and would actually prefer not to spend large amounts of my holiday time out taking photos. This is why the drone is so useful. It's fun, accessible, doesn't require me to go out for hours, and I can do it from wherever I'm staying.
Do you separate yourself from photography while on holiday? Do you take landscape photographs with a drone? Let me know in the comments below.
Bonus Video
I also captured a 360-degree video of the misty landscape. Enjoy!
A Day Out in Dorset
In this blog post, I tell you about the day I spent photographing some of Dorset's finest coastal locations.
Dorset
Though Dorset is the county next door to where I live, I really don't spend enough time there photographing it. I do love to shoot The Cobb in Lyme Regis, and I have been known to photograph Colmer's Hill on the odd occasion, but I really should spend more time in Dorset exploring further afield.
So when my friends over at Dawn 2 Dusk Photography announced that they were running a special long exposure one day workshop in Dorset, I signed up immediately. It sounded so good that I even convinced my father-in-law to dust off his camera and join me.
I've written about the advantages of attending workshops before when I attended another Dawn 2 Dusk workshop in Glencoe earlier this year. This one would be no different. There would be some excellent tuition on hand, it would be well organised, there's always a great bunch of photographers to get to know, and we would, of course, visit some of Dorset's most iconic coastal locations.
West Lulworth
As the workshop wouldn't start until 9 am in Swanage, I thought I would try and make the most of the day by fitting in a nearby dawn shoot. As sunrise was relatively late on I couldn't be too far away from Swanage, so I decided to go West Lulworth and try my hand at shooting Lulworth Cove.
I will need to explore the cove in more detail if I'm to get the shot I'm looking for.
Upon arriving at West Lulworth it soon became apparent that shooting the cove in its entirety wasn't going to be as easy as I thought it might be. From my shooting location along the western edge of the cove, even with a 16mm lens, I wasn't able to find a spot from where I could get everything in that I wanted. Obviously, this would be a location that I would need to revisit when I had more time to explore.
I did find a nice composition down at the shoreline of the cove though. While I like the composition of the photo below, I think it lacks good light and a bit of colour from the rising sun. The sky was very clear that morning except the point where the sun was rising where there was a blanket of cloud. By the time the sun was rising above the cloud I really had to make a move to Swanage or I'd be late for the start of the workshop!
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 at 22mm, f/11, 25 secs at ISO 64, Lee Filters circular polariser.
Swanage
After the workshop briefing at 9 am, some witty banter, and some much-needed coffee, the workshop group headed out to photograph both the new pier and old pier at Swanage. Unfortunately, I was unable to make the most out of these locations. Though I got some excellent advice on how to shoot the old pier, I found the clear blue skies not to my taste and I didn't really get any images that I was happy with.
However, getting great images from every location isn't my goal, nor is it ever realistic. I did, however, leave happy knowing that I'd learnt something about composition (there's always something to learn about composition) and that I'd enjoyed meeting some new people.
We then moved down onto the beach where we had the opportunity to shoot some groynes, and banjo jetty (which I have shot before). On the advice of one of the instructors, I headed further down the beach to photograph one of the groyne markers beside a small river that fed into the sea. This was a good shout as I managed to get my first good image of the day. It would have been unlikely that I would have found this spot myself so this was another bonus of being on the workshop.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 at 17mm, f/11, 390 secs at ISO 64, Lee Filters Super Stopper.
Kimmeridge
We then all moved onto Kimmeridge where we had a quick picnic lunch and a bit more chat. I had visited Kimmeridge before on a workshop but it was the middle of the day with clear skies so I was really hoping that this visit would be different. There was some cloud in the distant sky and with sunset only a couple of hours away, I was hoping my luck would be in.
As it turned out we didn't get much in the way of action in the sky, but we did get some really nice spots of light on the rocky shore. I've always thought the rocky shore at Kimmeridge was interesting, but the addition of some interesting lighting really got me thinking about the possibilities at this location.
These are two of my favourite shots of the afternoon. I really like the composition, the textures and patterns on the rock, and just a hint of light from the setting sun. These could have been amazing shots if there had been some more interest in the sky. But let's face it, us landscape photographers are rarely completely happy with the conditions!
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 at 26mm, f/11, 90 secs at ISO 64, Lee Filters circular polariser and Big Stopper.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 at 21mm, f/13, 30 secs at ISO 64, Lee Filters circular polariser and Little Stopper.
Afterwards, we walked back along the beach to another really interesting spot. In this image you'll see how the rocky ledge creates a nice leading line through the image. It was late on when I took this image so there was very little in the way of light. However, I think with a good sky those pools of water could provide some really interesting reflections.
Overall both myself and my father-in-law had a great time. Though I struggled to create images that I was satisfied within the morning, the two images I created at Kimmeridge more than made up for it. I also picked up some useful compositional tips and, as always, I really enjoyed the social element of the workshop.
Anytime anyone asks me about workshops I always recommend Dawn 2 Dusk Photography, and attending their Dorset long exposure one day workshop is yet another reason why that recommendation remains.
So what are your favourite Dorset locations? Have you been on any workshops recently? Let me know in the comments below.
Glencoe Adventure - Part 2, The Vlog
In this 2nd of two special Glencoe blog posts, I'll share with you my vlog of the 24hrs I spent in Glencoe before the workshop. It was a busy and tiring time but the effort I put in resulted in some special images!
Maximising your Time
Last week, in part 1 of my Glencoe Adventure blog, I shared with you the images and stories from my time at the Dawn 2 Dusk Glencoe photography workshop. This week, in part 2, I will be showing you what I got up to with the 24hrs I had between arriving in Glencoe and the start of the workshop.
I had booked the workshop more than 12 months in advance so I had plenty of time to organise and plan my trip. Though the workshop started at 1 pm, the risk of being delayed if I decided to travel up on the day was just too great. So the only option was to travel up the day before. Rather than opt for a mid-morning departure from Devon and arrive early evening in Glencoe, I decided that a very early start was in order.
If I left at 5 am and undertook the 520-mile journey, I could feasibly make Glencoe for about 3:30 pm, just in time to get some sunset pictures! I then also had the morning to do a dawn shoot, with perhaps some post-breakfast shooting and all before the start of the workshop. My plan had been hatched!
Rather than write about the 24 or so hours I had in Glencoe, I've documented my adventure in my latest vlog. Check out the video below, and if you haven't subscribed to my YouTube channel then what are you waiting for!
Needless to say, I did not regret that 4:30 am alarm call!
Image Gallery
The gallery below is a collection of the images that I took during my 24hr adventure in Glencoe. They are in the video but sometimes it's nice to see them in a bit more detail so click on an image to bring them up in a lightbox.
A Good Book to Pass the Time
The video is just a snapshot of my 24 hours before the workshop so here is a few stories that weren't in the video.
Firstly, while the journey from home to Glencoe took around 10 hours, it didn't feel like a very long drive. The principle reason for this is entertainment. I've been a long time subscriber to Audible and listening to a good audiobook is a great way to pass the time on those long car journeys. For the journey, I started a new book called Fear the Sky by Stephen Moss and read by R. C. Bray (who also read the other excellent sci-fi book The Martian). I had a feeling it was going to be good (as it was recommended by the same person that recommend The Martian to me), but I was engrossed from the moment the story started. Let's just say that I almost didn't want the journey to end!
Most landscape photographers drive a lot and if reading any of the Game of Thrones novels seems like an impossible task then why not pass the time with a good audio book.
Waders and Being Social
One of the shots that I wanted to get while I was there was a sunset shot of Stob Dearg (Buachaille Etive Mor) from the River Etive. To get the shot that I wanted I would need to wear a pair of waders (as inspired by this Thomas Heaton video). I borrowed my father-in-law's waders and put them in the boot of the car, unsure whether I would actually need them or not. When I arrived in the layby near my planned shooting location I felt a bit silly putting on waders to go out and take images. No one was about though so I set off on the short walk to the location where I would shoot.
However, as I approached the spot I could see another photographer there. This is generally not an issue and I'm always up for a bit of a chat but what would this person think if they saw me wearing waders to take photographs! Well, imagine my surprise when he also was wearing waders! All of a sudden it didn't feel that odd to be wearing a pair of waders to take photos.
The chap in question was Johnny Baird and we joked about what the odds would be that there would be two photographers named Baird, wearing waders, taking landscape photographs from the middle of the river that evening! Landscape photography can be a solitary pastime so it's nice sometimes when you meet a like-minded individual and you can chew the fat over photography while standing in the middle of a river!
Johnny has a wonderful portfolio of landscape images and I strongly suggest you check out his Facebook page.
A Missed Opportunity
After my epic early morning of photography shooting Stob Dearg from Beinn a'Chrulaiste I was hugely satisfied with my morning's work. After breakfast though I thought I go and see if there was anything else I could shoot before the workshop started in the afternoon. I also thought it would be a good chance to properly test out my latest addition to my kit bag, the DJI Mavic Pro.
One of the locations I visited was the spot where you can photograph Stob Dearg and the River Coupall. As this is such a hugely popular spot for landscape photographers I was not surprised to see another couple of photographers there already. I didn't want to spoil these photographers experience of the location so I did ask if they didn't mind if I flew the drone around the area. It wasn't a problem and as the drone is often a talking point we also got chatting about drones and photography in general.
The conditions at the location were also ideal for stills photography. The snowy peak of Stob Dearg was clearly visible, there was some cloud in the sky and plenty of water in the river. All I had to do was walk the very short distance back to the car and get my DSLR. Except I didn't. I already knew that we would be visiting this very location in a couple of days during the workshop so why would I bother shooting it now. After all, I'll get the same shot when I return.
Having grown up in Scotland I really should have known better. After all, Scotland is well known for having weather that produces all four seasons in one day. Sure enough, when I did return with the workshop group the conditions were totally different. One of the main focal points of that spot is the visibility of Stob Dearg but when I returned it was covered in cloud. Though I waited and waited for the cloud to clear it never completely cleared, leaving me regretting my rather silly decision of not shooting the scene when I was there earlier! Lesson learnt.
An Epic Adventure
Even if I'd only had those 24 hrs in Glencoe it would have been a worthwhile trip. As I said in the intro of the video it's important to go on an adventure every now again and push the boundaries of your landscape photography.
It took time and effort to get up Beinn a'Chrulaiste at dawn to get those shots of Stob Dearg but it was worth every step to have the pleasure and simplicity of shooting up there. The previous few weeks shooting in my local area hadn't been hugely successful and this trip to Glencoe gave my passion for landscape photography a well-needed boost.
So if you are struggling with what to do next with your landscape photography take a few days off work, grab your camera and go somewhere where you've never been before. It will be time and money well spent!
So when was the last time you went on an adventure with your photography? What's the furthest you've driven to get a photograph? Let me know in the comments below.
Glencoe Adventure - Part 1, The Workshop
In this first of two special Glencoe blog posts I'll share with you my images and stories from the Dawn 2 Dusk Glencoe workshop that I attended recently. It was a fantastic few days of photography. Though the weather was typically Scottish at times, the variable conditions resulted in some awesome images.
The Importance of Adventure
I have talked about the importance of practising the art of photography on this blog a number of times. For me, and I expect this is the same for many photographers, most of this practice will take place in your own back yard. Not literally of course, but most of the time you are out with a camera it will be in your local area. For me, this is Devon with the occasional visit across the border to Cornwall or Dorset.
While there are many benefits to shooting locally, such as time and familiarity, there is nothing quite like the challenge of pushing the boundaries of your photography by going on an adventure! Adventure means different things to different people, but for me, it's the excitement of travel, of meeting new people and of course photographing something new. All these elements can really push your photography in a way that you sometimes just can't get locally.
Though I have visited Glencoe a number of times and even grew up not far away, this will be my first time in the area as a dedicated photographer. So while the area might be familiar, the prospect of photographing it was exciting, to say the least. Well worth the 3 days off work (plus the weekend) and the 10 hours drive each way!
This week, in the first of two Glencoe blog posts, I will be sharing my memories, thoughts and photographs of the Dawn 2 Dusk Photography Glencoe photography workshop that I attended. Next week, in part 2, I will be sharing the images and video that I took with some of the extra time I had in Glencoe.
Why Workshops are Important
So why didn't I just spend all the time I had in Glencoe doing my own thing? Well, for me at least, workshops provide a number of unique benefits that I can't get by shooting on my own:
Practical and Artistic Development - Tuition is still a big part of my development as a landscape photographer and for the Glencoe workshop, I had access to two of the UK's leading landscape photographers, Ross Hoddinott and Adam Burton. Having access to this level of photographer not only helps with the artistic side of my photography but also with some of the more practical aspects of photography (read how later in the blog post).
Being Social - The life of a landscape photographer can be a solitary existence, especially if you favour early mornings like me. However, every now and again it's just good to be around like-minded individuals. Just by chatting during the day you can not only learn about how your photography looks to others, but also learn from their photography. At night, normally around the bar, it is a great chance to share those funny, odd, or disastrous trips out with the camera.
Local Knowledge - There is only so much planning and preparation you can do on the computer. In order to maximise time with the camera when you arrive at a new location, it's sometimes useful to have access to some local knowledge. For me, workshops provide me with an introduction to the photographic possibilities of an area and while I could do this myself I don't always have the extra time.
So now that we've talked about the importance of adventure and the value in workshops, let's get into the most important aspects of this adventure, the photographs!
Day 1: Castle Stalker
The 2.5-day workshop started with a briefing at our base of the Clachaig Inn just outside Glencoe village. Adam and Ross managed to suitably embarrass me by remembering my birthday with a chocolate cake and singing happy birthday! After the very sociable start of coffee and cake, we all headed down for a sunset shoot at Castle Stalker on Loch Linnhe.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8, @ 200mm, f/8, 1/60th second, ISO 100, Lee Filters ND Grad, 16:9 crop.
As you can see from the shot above, the descending sun illuminates the side of the castle rather nicely. I was hoping to get a similar shot to this with water surrounding the island, but as the tide came in the light became flat thanks to some heavy cloud where the sun was setting.
It was still a good start to the workshop and we all headed back to the hotel for some well-earned food and drinks.
Day 2: Lochan na Fola and Stob nan Cabar
As you might expect with a landscape photography workshop it was an early start to the 2nd day. Fortunately, the drive to our next location of Lochan na Fola wasn't far from our hotel so the alarm call wasn't too early.
When we arrived at Lochan na Fola the water was beautifully still giving us some wonderful reflections of Stob nan Cabar. Just as we setup though some cloud rolled in blocking the view of the mountain. As we waited I decided to try out my new drone the DJI Mavic Pro. The arrival of the drone caused a bit of excitement amongst the group as I demonstrated some of its capabilities. While I couldn't get find a gap in the cloud to fly a little higher, I did get the chance to grab a quick group shot.
We didn't have to wait to long for the cloud to clear though and all of sudden it was battle stations as we were presented with some truly epic scenes!
Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 @ 18mm, f/11, 1/20th second, ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 @ 26mm, f/11, 1/20th second, ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser.
I can't decide which of the two images above I like the most. Both of them greatly appeal to me with their near perfect reflections and frosty reeds in the chilly lochan. It would have been so easy just to go back to the hotel and have an early breakfast when the cloud came in, but everyone was glad they stuck it out.
Day 2: Lochan na h-Achlaise and Loch Ba
After a very successful morning and a big Scottish breakfast, we headed up to Lochan na h-Achlaise. Shooting around midday is always challenging though and coupled with the bright blue sky I did struggle a little bit to get some images.
However, by exploring along the shore line of Lochan na h-Achlaise I did find this interesting composition.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 @ 34mm, f/13, 30 seconds, ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and Big Stopper.
Exploring just a little further I found this scene just off the road at Loch Ba. This is a more pleasing image thanks to the horseshoe arrangement of the foreground rocks and the reflection of the mountain in the water.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 @ 40mm, f/13, 2.5 seconds, ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and Little Stopper.
I also had just enough time to try and capture a panorama of the area using my DJI Mavic Pro.
DJI Mavic Pro - 7 images stitched and processed in Lightroom.
Day 2: Blackrock Cottage
Blackrock Cottage is probably one of the most photographed locations on Glencoe, but it would have somehow seemed rude not to photograph it. After all, we were passing it on our way to get coffee from the cafe at the ski centre.
I rarely convert to black and white but in this case, the image seemed to work better without colour. The texture on the mountain (Buachaille Etive Mor) really stands out.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62mm, f/11, 1/25th second, ISO 100.
Day 2: Glen Etive
Towards the end of day 2, we headed down the long and windy road of Glen Etive towards the head of Loch Etive. Here the stunning mountains reach right down into the sea loch and it's an ideal location for capturing the last light as it touches the tops of the mountains.
As I waited for the light I was still able to capture some striking images of the north east shore of Loch Etive.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 26mm, f/11, 198 seconds, ISO 100, Lee Filters Big Stopper, ND Grad and Circular Polariser.
As I've written on this blog before it's always important to see what is going on behind you. It appeared that the sun was shining on the mountains diretly behind me!
Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 150mm, f/8, 1/5th second, ISO 100, Lee Filters Big ND Grad.
In my hurry to get to the head of the loch to capture last night on the mountains I completely missed another great composition. It wasn't until I was heading back to the car that I found a few of my fellow photographers shooting this interesting scene.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 @ 19mm, f/11, 20 seconds, ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and ND Grad.
I had actually walked by this location in my hurry to get to the head of the loch. Perhaps I should have taken just a little more time to explore this area before settling into my chosen location.
Day 2 was certainly a busy one. Would day 3 be just as good?
Day 3: The Study
After the successes of day 2, the weather had a change of heart and went typically Scottish. Lots of low clouds, and lots of rain. Our initial plan was to do a pre-breakfast shoot of Buachaille Etive Mor. We would go down to the river Coupall to shoot the waterfalls with the mountain in the background. Only trouble was you couldn't see the mountain or anything really. Reluctantly we headed back for an early breakfast and discuss our next move.
With the weather forecast predicting a stop to the rain, our tutors suggested we shoot from The Study, a slightly elevated viewpoint with excellent views of the mountains (The Three Sisters). Sure enough, the rain stopped and we were back in business.
I don't often shoot panoramas but this viewpoint seemed like the ideal location to do so. Fortunately, Adam Burton was on hand to give me some excellent tuition on how to setup the tripod correctly and the best way to rotate the camera. Taking my new found knowledge I managed to capture this image of The Three Sisters.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm, f/11, 1/100th second, 10 vertical images stiched and processed in Lightroom CC.
I then decided to opt for a much tighter composition giving me one of my favourite images from the workshop.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 90mm, f/11, 1/40th second, ISO 100, Lee Filters ND Grad.
Day 3: Stob Dearg and the River Coupall
There is no doubt that this location has been photographed a lot. However, that doesn't make it any less worth shooting. There are always new compositions to be had, different weather conditions to manage and personal style to put into an image.
The key element for this location is a visible Stob Dearg (Buachaille Etive Mor), something that was missing that afternoon. This made my decision a couple of days earlier not to photograph this very scene because "I'll be back in a couple of days", even more heartbreaking.
However, with probably an unjustified amount of optimism, I put on my wellington boots, got into the river and set up my shot. All I needed was for the cloud to clear from the mountain. So I waited, and waited, and waited. It came so very close to being completely clear, but as the sky darkened I knew it wasn't going to happen.
Though you can't see the whole of the mountain in this image, I still like the end result.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 @ 19mm, f/13, 0.8 seconds, ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and 0.3 ND Grad.
Though it had been a challenging day with the weather, it was still a successful day out with the camera.
Workshop Summary
At the start of this blog post, I mentioned the three things that I look for on a workshop; personal development as a photographer, social interaction, and local knowledge.
There is no doubt that my artistic eye has developed a little bit more and that I'm now better prepared to shoot panoramas. I also got to spend a couple of days with a great group of people who shared my passion for landscape photography. We all shared some great stories in the bar! And finally, thanks to some excellent planning and local knowledge, the weather and conditions rarely caused a problem with the flexible itinerary.
I've come away with some great images and some even better memories, so it was definitely worth a few days off work and a very long drive!
In Part 2...
In part 2 of my Glencoe Adventure blog post, I will tell you about the images I took during the spare 24 hrs I had before the workshop started, including a video of my very early and snowy ascent of Beinn a'Chrulaiste!
The Benefits of Tuition and Mentoring
Tuition and mentoring has had a massive impact on my photography. Read more about this part of my photographic journey in this blog post.
In the beginning...
One of my early landscape images taken in Glen Coe in 2008.
I bought my first DSLR in 2006 when I purchased a Nikon D80. Previous to that I had a Minolta DiMAGE A1 so this was a big step up for me. It was at this point that I started to want to learn more about the craft of photography. So as many people do I went to my the nearest newsagent and picked up a photography magazine. And so started a journey of several years of reading a lot about photography.
The problem was I wasn't actually taking that many pictures. Sure I was inspired by what I was reading and saw, but despite having considerably more free time back then I didn't practice the craft of photography as much. (Read my blog post on Practicing the Craft of Photography). I also wasn't that focused on a specific genre of photography. Most photography magazines have a broad range of articles from portraits to macro so I would often spend time trying these things out. Don't get me wrong, I did go out with my camera, but looking back I don't think I was trying hard enough to really learn about photography.
Changing My Approach
This changed back in 2013, when I decided to go full frame and buy a Nikon D600. I promised myself that if I was going to invest all this money in a camera (and lenses!) I was for sure going to learn how to improve my photography. By this stage though I was fairly sure that my heart lay with landscape photography.
Some early lessons about composition with David Nightingale.
I decided that the best way to make progress was to actually go out and shoot more, and to engage the services of a professional for some 1-2-1 tuition. At the time I was following the work of Blackpool based photographer David Nightingale and so I booked a whole weekend of tuition and got to work on improving my photography. The weekend went well and it was a bit of an eye opener for me. Firstly, I actually didn't know as much about my camera as I thought. While I knew some of my composition skills were lacking, I thought I knew my camera well but this wasn't really the case! It all goes back to practicing the art of photography, something I hadn't been very good at!
Up till this point I had wondered if it were actually possible to teach someone about composition and how to make a beautiful photograph. As many of my previous photographs had been average at best, I was beginning to think that you couldn't really learn an art, you had to have a natural talent for it to start with. While many people do find creating art easy, for me I had to learn about it. Fortunately David reassured me that I could learn the art of photography. So for that reason alone that weekend was a success.
Making Progress
A year later I had kept to my promise of going out more with my camera. I was still bound by my work and family commitments but I was at least using my spare time to go out and shoot. In 2014 I went on a Dawn 2 Dusk Photography workshop on Dartmoor where not only did I have a lot of fun with some like minded photographers but I also learnt a considerable amount about landscape photography. On the workshop I also met Ross Hoddinott, one of the tutors. I had been looking for a local tutor to help with my learning journey and Ross seemed the ideal person.
Learning about timing and waiting for the light on a 1-2-1 with Ross.
A few months later I met Ross for a 1-2-1 session and in that one day I probably learnt more about composition that I had done since I purchased my first DSLR 2006. Not only did I become inspired from that session but I also became more confident with my photography. Since that first 1-2-1 session with Ross I have regularly met with Ross for further 1-2-1s and portfolio reviews and this has had a significant impact on my photography. Each session I learn something new. Sometimes it's a really small change in how I might compose an image, but it often has a big impact.
So this brings me to the point of this blog post. If you are struggling with your photography or you've reached a plateau then I can strongly recommend that you find a tutor or mentor to help with your photography. Find someone close to home or who's work you respect. Most photographers offer some kind of tuition on a 1-2-1 basis now. Or if that seems a little much as a first step try a photography workshop such as those offered by Dawn 2 Dusk Photography.
We spend so much money on gear (something I'm definitely guilty off) but the one thing that has had the biggest impact on my photography is the time I've spent with a professional photographer. No matter what stage you are at with your photography journey I believe a little mentoring and tuition can be very beneficial. Of course I still read photography magazines, Outdoor Photography being my personal favourite, but when it comes to developing as a photographer 1-2-1s for me are invaluable.
Do you have a photography mentor or favourite tutor? What do you think of 1-2-1 days with professional photographers? Let me know your thoughts.