Blog, Vlog, Dorset Photo Locations Julian Baird Blog, Vlog, Dorset Photo Locations Julian Baird

Keep Calm and Embrace the Grey

Big sunrises, amazing light, and epic skies.  These are just some of the elements that have helped shape some of my best landscape photographs.  But what do you do when you don't have those things?  What if the conditions are grey, overcast and still? 

It’s All About the Light

Over the years some of my best photos have been shaped by the light. I’m always seeking the type of light that will lift my compositions from looking a little dull and flat into something with texture, dimension and contrast. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you can’t get good images in flatter light, but the images that I like creating often require good light to make them a little more special.

Winter in the UK can be a challenging time for photography. The weather can be rather unsettled and grey flat days tend to be the norm rather than the exception. With so much overcast weather I decided it was once again time to #EmbraceTheGrey and I knew just the place to go.

Right Subject for the Conditions

Back in December 2018, I had visited The Cobb and the image that I captured changed the way I viewed that location. Rather than a location I would only visit when the waves were big and the sky glorious, I really wanted to capture a photograph when it was all still, flat and overcast. I almost got what I was looking for on that visit but I actually wanted it to be even more overcast! I wanted it to be even greyer!

For some time now I’ve been hoping to get those very conditions so I could make the photograph that I had in my mind’s eye. When a recent weather forecast predicted the conditions I was looking for, I thought it was finally time to head back to The Cobb.

In my latest video below I will share with you the experience of going back to The Cobb to try and capture the image I had envisioned all those months ago. I’ll also show you how I post-processed it and how I printed it.

I do hope you enjoyed the video. Though I’ll always be chasing that glorious light, hopefully, this video has shown you that having a subject or location that you can embrace the grey with is not only useful but can also lead to some very pleasing images.

Do you have a favourite location where you #EmbraceTheGrey? Let me know in the comments below.

And finally, here is that image you saw me capture, print and frame.

Embracing the Grey at The Cobb, Lyme Regis, Dorset - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 16mm, f/13, 182 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL and 6 Stop ND

Printing Notes

In case you didn’t catch everything in the video, here is what I used to print the image:

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Blog, Vlog, Printing Tips Julian Baird Blog, Vlog, Printing Tips Julian Baird

Printing and Framing a Special Landscape Photograph

Some landscape photographs just need to be printed and hung on the wall.  In this blog post, I take a very special image, print it, frame it, and give it a permanent place on my wall.

 

Success in Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year

Entering big photography competitions can seem like a waste of time.  Some of these competitions can attract 1000's of entries, sometimes even 10,000’s of entries .  Getting shortlisted can seem like an achievement sometimes.  How do you create a winning image though?  There's no easy answer to that question.  Judging, even in the same competition, can vary from year to year.  Just look at the winning images from Landscape Photographer of Year since it started.  It's really hard to "know" what the judges are looking for.  

However, there is one thing I do know.  If I don't enter I certainly won't win anything!  There is also one piece of advice I can share , and it's a piece of advice given to me by a photographer and photography competition judge.  He told me that if you think you have a strong image then keep entering it into competitions year after year.  Even if it doesn't get placed in one competition, it might in another.  It's also worth entering the same image in the same competition a different year.

I've always remembered this bit of advice, so ever since I took the image of Stob Dearg (Buachaille Etive Mor) you see below, I've been entering it into competitions.  This perseverance has finally paid off and the image has received a commended award in the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year competition.  It's the 2nd time I've entered it into this competition, and 4th time in all competitions.  So if you have a good image that you think could win an award, don't be put off by the first failure.  Keep trying!!

First Light on Stob Dearg, Buachaille Etive Mor, Glencoe - Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-70 mm f/2.8 VR at 28 mm, f/11, 1/25th sec at ISO 100.

Printing and Framing

The image is one that I am immensely proud off and it brings back many happy memories of my adventure to Glencoe (which you can watch here).  While it will be a real privilege to see it in the yearbook from the competition, I really wanted to make my own print of it, frame it, and give it a permanent place on my wall. 

In the video below I show you how I went about printing the image, selecting a paper, framing it, and eventually hanging it on the wall.

If you are interested in doing something similar yourself, here are the products I used in the video:

I hope you enjoyed this video and blog post.  Do you have any photography competition tips?  How do you go about displaying your prints?  Let me know in the comments below.

 

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