Fingle Bridge
In the blog this week I head to Fingle Bridge on Dartmoor to shoot some autumnal woodlands but some unexpected weather causes a change of plan.
Discovering Fingle Bridge on Dartmoor
I first learnt about the woodlands around Fingle Bridge on Dartmoor in Outdoor Photography magazine in their Locations Guide section (one of my favourite features in the magazine). I can't remember which issue it was in, but I do remember seeing the photograph and then putting the location straight onto my custom Google map.
This was a couple of years ago and since then I've only been back a couple of times, and generally without much success. I filmed one of my earliest YouTube videos there, so if you want to see how much I've improved my videos you can check that video out here.
Remembering Fingle Bridge
My original plan for the morning was to head up to the open moorland of Dartmoor and perhaps shoot Great Mis Tor or Great Staple Tor. The problem with that plan was the weather forecast. The morning sky was going to be largely clear with no cloud. Without some interest in the sky, I wasn't sure it would be worth photographing those Dartmoor locations.
I wasn't however, going to pass up the opportunity to get out with the camera just because of a clear blue sky. A quick scan of my custom Google map and I remembered all about Fingle Bridge. Perfect I thought! I could shoot the woodlands from the top of the valley for sunrise and then head down into the woodland as it gets lighter.
Misty Dartmoor
Arriving at Fingle Bridge it was still dark with only a hint of light from the sun. With sunrise still at least an hour away, I put on my head torch and started the walk up the Hunters Path. It was an interesting walk through the dark woodlands. When I pointed my head torch into the woodland I could several pairs of eyes staring back at me. I assumed they were deer and not some sort of wild beast or cat that prowls Dartmoor!
As I approached the top of the valley and got above the tree line I could see the valley and woodland stretch out before me. In the distance towards Hunters Tor I thought I could make out some low lying mist. We all know how attracted to mist landscape photographers, and I'm no different, so I decided to go an investigate.
Hunter's Tor is at the other end of the valley from Fingle Bridge so it was further than I had planned on walking. I'd given myself plenty of time that morning though so was able to extend my walk without missing sunrise.
Being Indecisive
Arriving at Hunter's Tor I could see a beautiful blanket of mist to the west. There were two small problems though. Firstly, it wasn't covering the woodland, and secondly, it was very thick and you couldn't actually see much of the land below.
It was at this point I got a little indecisive. I thought I could hang about Hunter's Tor and wait for it clear a little, or I could head back along the valley and shoot the mist from further away, or revert back to my original plan. I decided to head back along the valley.
By the time I got halfway back along the valley path the mist had started to clear, so I decided to head back to Hunter's Tor! Even though the sun hadn't risen, the mist was clearing fast so I had to run! Back at Hunter's Tor, I decided to make the most of the frosty conditions and mist, and captured these images:
Hunter's Tor on a Frosty Morning, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 16 mm, f/13, 15 seconds at ISO 64, Lee Filters ND Grad.
Frosty Fingle, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 22 mm, f/8, 0.8 seconds at ISO 64, Lee Filters ND Grad, focus stacked image.
Autumnal Colours along the River Teign
After capturing those images I decided that I would head back down to Fingle Bridge and maybe capture some shots of the River Teign. As I packed up and started the walk back I bumped into local photographer Neil Porter. I hadn't met Neil before but I was aware of his excellent work and we soon got chatting.
Neil offered me a lift back to Fingle Bridge which I gratefully accepted. The heated seats in his car were very welcome after standing on that frosty tor for an hour!
Arriving at Fingle Bridge we headed along the river and into the woodland to find the autumnal colours looking glorious. Neil has a lot of experience in shooting this area and he informed me that the colours would get even better over the next week or so. I made a mental note that I would need to come back to Fingle Bridge again very soon.
Autumn at the River Teign, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70 mm f/2.8 VR at 42 mm, f/11, 3 seconds at ISO 64, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and ND Grad.
Soon after capturing that image we started to see a few more photographers arrive. Happy with what I got, and with the need to get home, I left Neil and the other photographers to carry on shooting this beautiful autumnal location.
New Dartmoor Video
I hope you enjoyed the photographs from this location. If you did you might be pleased to know that I also did some filming while I was taking those images. The video from Fingle Bridge will feature in a Dartmoor video that I'm currently producing. I'm not sure when it will be out, but stay tuned to the blog, and be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Have you photographed Fingle Bridge before? What is your favourite autumnal location? Let me know in the comments below.
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!
Exploring Colmer's Hill
In this blog post, I talk about my 2nd visit to Colmer's Hill and how I learnt to look for the wider perspective. I also look at the importance moving around to find different compositions of the same subject.
A Change of Plan
One of my photographic goals this year is to explore more of Dorset. I'm very lucky to live in Devon as not only do I have a lot to shoot in my local county, but I also have Cornwall and Dorset as neighbours. For no particular reason, I seem to have spent more time shooting in Cornwall than Dorset. So after reading Mark Bauer's new book Photographing Dorset, I was very much inspired to photograph more of Dorset in 2017.
My original plan for the shoot was to head to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage. However, the weather forecast wasn't concrete for the conditions I wanted. As it is a 2 hr drive there and a 2 hr drive back I didn't feel it was worth the risk on this occasion so I opted for something a bit more local. I had visited Colmer's Hill late last year and with it's close proximity to home I thought that would be a better option.
A Hint of Colour
I arrived at my location in plenty of time for sunrise. Arriving a good hour before official sunrise allows plenty of time to get set up and maybe even have a quick cup of coffee. From my vantage point, I could clearly see Colmer's Hill and the surrounding landscape which had some low lying mist on it and just a splash of colour in the sky. However, the only cloud in the sky was a thick blanket of low cloud far down the coast, exactly where the sun would rise. So unless conditions changed I would have a cloudless sky for my composition and the first light of the day blocked by some coastal cloud.
A New Perspective
The location I was shooting Colmer's Hill from typically requires a long lens to shoot with so the hill can be isolated. So the first few shots I took were with Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8. Shooting at around 150mm provided me with the composition I was looking for, but the light was very flat and hazy so the shots weren't very inspiring.
As I often do when I'm waiting though I decided to take a few shots with my phone for my Instagram feed. Taking an image from my phone immediately made me realise that I was missing a very different composition. The phone gave me a much wider perspective of the scene and I realised that rather than just including Colmer's Hill I should be including the wider landscape.
A wider perspective. Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 at 42mm, f/11, 1/15 sec, ISO 100.
By opting for a wider composition I could include the distant hills which were surrounded by mist. The sun had risen above the distant cloud by this time so there was just a little colour on the side of the hills and in the sky.
The tight composition I was so focused on getting had prevented me from looking around to see if there was a better composition to be had. If I hadn't decided to take an image with my phone I might well have missed out on a better image.
Same Location, Different View
While it is important to sometimes change lens to give a better composition, it is also important not to stay put in one spot. With some locations that can't be helped, but you can get a number of different views of Colmer's Hill by simply walking about.
A slightly different view of Colmer's Hill.
Based on the advice from Mark's book I took a little walk northwards to find some undulating ground which again, given the right light, would make for some interesting foreground for a wide angle composition.
Though the sun was quite high by the time I set my shot up at this location I could see how it might work on another day. I would just some higher cloud and possibly a few less sheep!
I'll Be Back
It's not been the greatest of starts to the year for my photography. It's starting to feel like it's been a long time since I managed to capture a great image. However, I do need to remember that I can really only go out shooting when I have time, not when the conditions are optimal, so I can't expect great results every trip out with the camera.
As always, I will look for the positives from each trip out with the camera. Firstly I learnt not to get too focused on one composition using one lens. Getting the mobile phone out really helped me to see a different view! I've also learnt more about a location that I will probably visit a lot in 2017. It's good to have multiple spots from one location so you can move about a bit to suit the conditions.
Have you had a good start to your photography this year? Have you got some new locations you want to visit this year? Let me know in the comments below.