Mentoring and Porth Nanven
I'm constantly striving to improve my skills as a landscape photographer and in this blog post I tell you about my latest meet up with my mentor and share with you the photographs I took while we were at Porth Nanven in Cornwall.
Long Overdue
I have previously written about how important it is to continue developing my skills as a photographer. Sometimes I do this by attending a workshop or by getting some 1-2-1 training. Though I had been on a workshop recently it had been nearly a year since I had a 1-2-1 session with my photography mentor. I had been very busy with my landscape photography over the last year so I had a lot to discuss and a good number images to review.
So we got a date booked in the diary and as the day got closer the weather forecast was scrutinised carefully. After all, we couldn't possibly meet just to discuss photography, we would definitely have create some images as well.
Image Review
For the first part of the day we went through the best of my images I had taken since our last session. This is a really important part of the session for me as it's probably the only time I can really get some honest and open feedback about my images. But it's not just about the feedback around the composition but I also get useful feedback on the processing. "Have you tried a square crop", or "try cooling this image down". Critique is often just one person's opinion but getting other people's opinion or view of your images allows you to see them in a different way which should mean you grow as a photographer.
All this reviewing of images is hard work so we did it over lunch at Strong Adolfos, a fantastic cafe on the A39. So if you are ever in the area it's highly recommended!
Life as a Photographer
On our way to Porth Nanven, our chosen location for photography that evening, we discussed all things photography. We chatted about everything from other photographers work, to the state of the photography market, and to our gear. One thing we were both keen on seeing was some new FX (full frame) Nikon bodies. Our camera bodies (D810 and D750) are 3 years old now and we're ready for some new tech!
Aside from just chewing the fat over the world of photography it was really good to talk about my continuing journey as a landscape photographer. Since our last session I had started this blog and created my YouTube channel so there was a lot to talk about. Both these forms of self publishing are hard work but I enjoy producing content for them.
However I have recently been concerned that they might be impacting my development as a photographer. Was I focusing more on delivering content rather than creating images? Was I going to locations that suited my content plan rather than where I would get the best images? It was good to talk about these concerns and how it might impact my goals as a landscape photographer.
After much discussion on photography we headed to Porth Nanven so we could create some fresh new images.
Porth Nanven
I first photographed Porth Nanven in March of 2015 and since then I've been back once. So when the conditions looked good for a sunset shoot at this popular location I was keen to go back. Porth Nanven is near to Lands End so it's a bit of drive, but sometimes you need to go that extra mile if you want to get some extra special. Due to the limited number of spots to shoot the beach of Porth Nanven we decided we would get there early as being a Friday evening it was sure to be a popular location for photographers.
Arriving some 2.5 hrs before sunset we found what we thought the ideal spots would be and started to eat our doughnuts and pasties as we chatted about Star Wars and Game of Thrones. After all, sometimes there is only so much photography you can talk about!
As the sun began to set more photographers arrived so we were glad that we had made the decision to get there early. We started getting our gear setup and discussed compositions. Anyone who has been to Porth Nanven will tell you about the wonderfully large, smooth boulders that cover the back of the beach. Using these boulders and the water from the stream flowing out to sea seemed to be a great first composition of the night.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 @ 16mm, 4 sec, f/16, ISO 100, Lee Filters 0.6 medium grad.
As the tide continued to go out some beatufiful patterns started to appear in the sand so we moved from shooting the more traditional boulder shot to a more minimalist composition.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 @ 24mm, 10 sec, f/16, ISO 100, Lee Filters 0.6 medium grad, 3 stop ND.
I was really happy with these last two compositions. Porth Nanven is known for its big boulders so if you look up the location on Flickr for example you will see most of the shots will include boulders. So I found it really satisfying and interesting to make images that are a little different. As I mentioned in my recent post about Colmer's Hill, it can take many visits to really get to know a location. Next time I visit Porth Nanven I will now have a number of different compositions that I could shoot allowing me to vary my plan on the fly.
Satisfied with our shots we started the long drive home.
A Good Day
Overall it was a fulfilling day. As always it was really useful to have a portfolio review and to review my progress and goals as a landscape photographer. My personal development as a landscape photographer is more than just about creating beautiful images. Having a mentor allows me to develop not only my creative skills but my skills in the business of photography. It was almost a bonus to capture some lovely images from Porth Nanven!
Have you photographer Porth Nanven before? Have you ever had a 1-2-1 session with a photographer? How do you develop your skills as a photographer? Let me know in the comments below.
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.