Rippon Tor - A 5 Minute Photo Adventure on Dartmoor
In the blog this week I head up to Rippon Tor to shoot sunrise and I also share with you what I think the key to making a successful landscape photography video is.
Rippon Tor, Sunrise and Fog
There are few better ways to start the day than by grabbing your camera and heading up to one of your favourite viewpoints on Dartmoor to watch the sunrise. Fortunately, at this time of year sunrise is at a time where it doesn’t feel unnatural to be awake. I think back to some of the early alarm calls I had this summer to get up for sunrise. No one should be waking up at 3:30 am!
I’m fortunate to live close to Dartmoor so when the weather conditions don’t turn out how I expect them, I don’t feel I’ve wasted a lot of time. Even then, any morning up on Dartmoor is a positive experience regardless of how the photos turned out. My most recent visits to Rippon Tor hadn’t yielded the types of images I wanted to get from this location so when I saw fog was forecast one Sunday morning that was all the encouragement I needed to return.
I’d seen forecasts of fog for the Haytor area before but thanks to those micro-climates you find on Dartmoor, I’d often arrive there to find none. My most recent visit was slightly different though as there was a thick bank of fog in the valley below Emsworthy Tor. As exciting as this was, it wasn’t really in a position where I felt I could take a good photograph. If the conditions hadn’t looked more favourable up on Rippon Tor, I might have taken a risk and done some exploring.
As I approached the summit of Rippon Tor, I could see another bank of thick sea fog that would prevent me from getting the light just as the sun broke over the horizon. I had made the poor choice of leaving too early from Rippon Tor last time there was a lot of cloud and fog out at sea, only for the sun to break through as I descended. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake this time.
In this 5 Minute Photo Adventure, you can see how I got on on my latest visit and I also share with you what I think the secret is to creating a successful landscape photography video. Enjoy!
Do you find it difficult to get accurate fog forecasts? What’s your favourite type of foggy photograph to take? Let me know in the comments below.
Rippon Tor Photographs
Here are the images you see me capture in the video. Enjoy!
Rippon Tor at Dawn #1, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 28mm, f/11, 1.6 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL, 4:5 crop.
Rippon Tor at Dawn #2, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 25mm, f/11, 1.3 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL.
Rippon Tor at Dawn #3, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 15mm, f/11, 1 second at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL, 4:5 crop.
Rippon Tor at Dawn #4, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 15mm, f/11, 1/5th second at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL, 16:9 crop.
Bite-Size Blog Post #12 - Dartmoor Mini Adventures
In this bite-size blog post, I share with you some of the photographs I have captured on my recent ramblings around Dartmoor.
Exploring Dartmoor Locations New and Old
When autumn arrives and the number of daylight hours shrinks, I’m forced to focus my photography on local locations like Dartmoor. Well, I say “forced” but let’s face it, photographing Dartmoor isn’t exactly a hardship!
Now that autumn is over I thought it would be a good opportunity to look back on the Dartmoor locations I have photographed recently. I tried to balance my time between locations I know well and those that I know less well.
Of the locations I know, I’ve featured photographs from Rippon Tor and Holne Bridge. I haven’t captured anything spectacular or new from these locations, but they are firm favourites for me so I can’t resist the temptation to photograph them. Especially Holne Bridge. It’s such a nice location during autumn!
There are also some photographs from locations that I haven’t previously explored. Tunhill Rocks look like it could be a location worth exploring again. I think in the right conditions and light it could yield several good compositions. Bench Tor and Honeybag Tor are like Tunhill Rocks in that they will be worth visiting again.
Perhaps one of the most exciting locations I have visited recently is a new one for me and that is the area around Trendlebere Down. My first visit to the area was to walk the dog and it wasn’t my intention to check it out for photography. That visit coincided with the autumnal colours coming through and as I wandered about it soon became apparent that could be an excellent location for a spot of photography. The photographs below feature the stone bridges I found but the view higher up looking down on the woodland has plenty to offer as well.
Through my mini adventures around Dartmoor I’ve visited both old and new locations, but it’s the area around Trendlebere Down that I’m most looking forward to photographing next autumn.
East Dartmoor - A 5 Minute Photo Adventure
In this 5 Minute Photo Adventure I head out to east Dartmoor to capture some autumnal landscape photographs.
Discovering Dartmoor
I’ve been photographing Dartmoor for many years and yet I’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to exploring this amazing national park. There are some areas that I have yet to visit and some that I have explored and photographed numerous times. One of the locations that falls into the latter category is Haytor. There are many locations around the Haytor area worth photographing including Emsworthy Tor where I undertook a project to photograph it every month for a year (click here to see how I got on).
Just a short distance from Haytor is an area known as Trendlebere Down. I discovered this area of east Dartmoor while looking for some new locations to walk my dog. On my first visit, I was instantly captivated by this beautiful location and it was made even more stunning by the vibrant autumn colours. How did I not know about this place before? I knew I would have to return with the camera.
Over the autumn period, I visited this location numerous times and I was also inspired to create one of my 5 Minute Photo Adventure videos. While filming the overcast and windy conditions made the photography challenging but I still wanted to share a small portion of what this location has to offer.
I hope you enjoy this 5 Minute Photo Adventure video and it will inspire you to look more closely at an area you know well. You never know what you might discover.
Autumn on Dartmoor Photographs
Here are the photographs you saw in the video. Enjoy!
Bridge Over the Bovey #1, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 17mm, f/8, 2.5 seconds at ISO 64.
Bridge Over the Bovey #, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 17mm, f/8, 0.5 seconds at ISO 400.
Autumn on Trendlebere #2, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 20mm, f/6.3, 1/4 seconds at ISO 800.
Developing Compositions on Dartmoor
Creativity breeds creativity. A recent idea for a video got me to explore a location I know well in a bit more detail.
Creativity Breeds Creativity
One of the side benefits of having a YouTube channel is that I find myself constantly thinking of new creative ideas for videos. These ideas often drive me to try different types of landscape photography or even different genres of photography. Most of all though it gets me to push the boundaries of my landscape photography.
I recently had an idea for a video that would challenge my photography and force me to think carefully about how I was composing my images. At a minimum, I was going to have come up with some new compositions from a location that I knew well.
I’m not going to reveal what this idea is at the moment but what I will do is share some of the images I captured while I was out developing the idea on Dartmoor (16th March).
Belstone Common
Anyone who has been reading this blog long enough will know that one of my favourite spots on Dartmoor to photograph is Belstone Common. With 360-degree views and lots of interesting rock formations, it offers a lot of choices when it comes to compositions. It should be the perfect place for my latest idea.
Belstone Tor #2, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30 f/4 at 16mm, f/13, 1.8 secs at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL.
When I looked back at my collection of images from Belstone one thing jumped out at me. Despite me knowing there are a wide variety of compositions to be had at Belstone, I’d only captured a few of them. I had unknowingly got myself into a creative rut. My latest idea would be the perfect opportunity to sort that out.
As I was going to head up to Dartmoor to do some exploring and to try out new compositions, I wasn’t that bothered about how the weather was looking. I would have gone up there even in grey overcast conditions but as it turned out the weather forecast was predicting average to favourable conditions. Not conclusive by any stretch but with a bit of luck I might get something that I could work with.
Belstone Tor #2, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30 f/4 at 15mm, f/8, 1/5th secs at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL. 4 Image focus stack.
Sunset on Dartmoor
Having shot Dartmoor mostly at dawn for the last 6 months the one thing I noticed straight away on my first sunset shoot there was that there were other people about! The locations I go to on Dartmoor rarely see other people first thing in the morning, so it was nice to go up there during the day and be greeted with smiles and hellos.
Belstone Tor #4, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30 f/4 at 20mm, f/8, 0.5 secs at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL. 4 Image focus stack.
Being up on Belstone Common without my mind focused on capturing one image I found myself more relaxed and open to exploration. I walked the entire length of the Belsone Tor ridge, once north to south, and then in reverse. I stopped several times to take photographs either finding new compositions or variations in compositions I had previously taken. It was a surprisingly creative time.
Belstone Tor #6, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30 f/4 at 19mm, f/13, 1/6th sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL.
While I did get the old glimmer of nice light, I didn’t get anything too dramatic. That doesn’t bother me too much though. The main thing was that I discovered new compositions that will suit my new creative idea nicely. All I need now is a window of opportunity to return to Belstone Common so I can execute my idea! Stay tuned to my blog to find out what it is.
Great Staple Tor
In the blog this week I head to Great Staple Tor on Dartmoor where I find I have to work very quickly to get even one shot.
Dartmoor, Here We Go Again
When I’m short of time, there are generally two places I’ll go to get my photography fix. If I’m in the mood for creating coastal images I’ll head to Dawlish Warren and if not, I’ll go to Dartmoor. I’m very lucky to live so close to Dartmoor, but I’m sometimes overwhelmed by the sheer number of different locations I could select to photograph.
Normally the weather will dictate which part of Dartmoor I will go to, but this time the forecast was generally clear all over Dartmoor. On clear days I like to shoot from Rippon Tor <insert URL>, but as I’d visited there recently I decided that I wanted another high elevation point to shoot from. After a little bit of thought, I decided that a visit to Great Staple Tor was in order.
Like most tors on Dartmoor, Great Staple Tor needs good light to make the most of it. That probably wasn’t going to be an issue given the forecast so all I was going to need was a few clouds in the sky so I wouldn’t end up with just a blanket of blue. A little bit of action in the sky always works well when shooting the open moorland of Dartmoor.
Great Staple Tor
As I found on my recent shoot at Rippon Tor <insert URL>, what the weather forecast states and what the weather actually is on Dartmoor can be two very different things. Arriving at the car park on Pork Hill it soon became apparent that it was going to be a very overcast morning. Not to be put off, I started my ascent up and soon reached Middle Staple Tor.
Normally you can see Great Staple Tor from Middle Staple Tor, but all I could see this morning was cloud. In fact, I had to check my map that I was going in the right direction! I soon reached my destination though and the cloud started to lift a little and combined with a cup of coffee, my spirits also started to lift.
It was definitely going to be a morning of waiting. The cloud would clear a little, but then get heavy again. One minute you could see for miles, the next you couldn’t even see the next tor. As time ticked by and sunrise came and went, I thought that was it and I wouldn’t be capturing any images that morning.
Then all of a sudden there was a clear spell and I got some morning light on Great Staple Tor. I quickly took these two images.
Late Morning Light on Great Staple Tor, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikkon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 21 mm, f/13, 1/6th sec at ISO 64, Lee Filters ND Grad.
Dawn at Great Staple Tor, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikkon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 21 mm, f/13, 1/6th sec at ISO 64, Lee Filters ND Grad.
Within a few minutes though all that warm light had gone and the sun disappeared behind a bank of cloud. I would have waited longer to see if the sun would make another appearance, but the sky soon clouded over so I decided that I’d probably had the best of the morning conditions.
While it obviously wasn’t the most productive of mornings, I did at least manage to get a couple of images, so it was far from a wasted trip. Besides, even if I’d captured no images that morning, watching the day start from high up the moor with a cup of coffee is rarely a bad thing.
Have you ever photographed Great Staple Tor? Do you shoot a location where the weather can change quickly? Let me know in the comments below.
Unexpected Creativity from a Dreary Dartmoor
Sometimes landscape photography can be hard and this was certainly true of my most recent visit to Dartmoor in Devon. However, even when you are feeling creatively challenged, inspiration can appear to come from nowhere. Read on to learn how I got inspired on that dull, grey evening on Dartmoor!
A Quick Happy Birthday
Just before I tell you about my Dartmoor adventure, I just want to announce that this post comes on the day that this very blog celebrates its 2nd birthday! Two years ago today I decided to start documenting my photographic adventures.
As with any creative process, the writing has sometimes been easy and sometimes it's been hard. However, most of all it has been fun and its really helped me with my photography. I wrote a lot about the benefits last year when I wrote a post about the blog's first birthday.
Over the last 24 months, I've written a new blog post every week, and I see no reason why this won't continue into the future. Thanks to all the support and comments I get from everyone on this blog, and other social media channels, I feel inspired and motivated to keep this blog going. So thanks to everyone who has and continues to show support of my work. It is very much appreciated.
And now….
Landscape Photography is Hard
I love landscape photography. I have a real passion for it and there are few things as good as heading out into the wilderness with the camera to capture some landscape photographs. Sometimes the process of capturing those photographs is hard. The weather can be challenging or you can simply lack the imagination or creative energy to produce a good photograph.
For me, there is an additional factor that makes landscape photography hard, and that is time. I think most photographers, pro or amateur, suffer at the hands of the old enemy of time. The amount of time I can commit to my art is limited and more often than not I have to go out when the conditions aren't ideal.
Devon's Dreary Dartmoor
My most recent to Dartmoor is a great example of when I decided to head out with the camera when really I should have stayed at home. The weather forecast for most of the south-west was overcast and rain showers. The trouble was that if I didn't out that evening, it was going to be several days before my next window of opportunity and I had a real need to scratch that creative itch.
I wanted to go and shoot somewhere on the Cornish coast but I saw little point in committing to 3 to 4 hours of driving with the predicted weather conditions. I thought the best thing to do was to keep in local and head up to Dartmoor. The weather forecast for Haytor was looking poor, but it did predict a small break in the clouds that might yield some nice results. To be honest, I think I was being rather optimistic but I grabbed my camera and went out anyway.
Finding Something Out of Nothing
As I drove up the hill from Bovey Tracey to Haytor, things did not look great. While the clouds were at least above the hills, it all looked rather uninspiring. I decided to drive a little further on and park up for Emsworthy Tor.
As I wasn't in a particular hurry I decided to make the walk to Emsworthy Tor at a slower pace. As I walked I made sure I took the time to look for compositions. Occasionally I would hold my eye up to the camera to see what an image would look like, but nothing seemed to capture my imagination.
When I reached Emsworthy Tor I just stood there and wondered why on earth I even bothered coming out. Don't get me wrong. I love Dartmoor. It can look spectacular in many different ways, and it's rare that I can't find something to appreciate. The view in front of me was indeed impressive but that doesn't mean it was going to translate into a good photograph.
It soon dawned on me that the viewpoint I wanted to photograph wasn't going to work in these conditions. As I sat there looking at the great expanse that is Dartmoor, I thought about going home. In the distance was a large dark cloud that was sure to bring a heavy shower. Perhaps it was time for an early exit and a glass of wine.
Just as I was about to pack up and go I had a moment of inspiration. As I looked east there was a small break in the cloud, and from the north was that stormy looking cloud. I know from previous experience that approaching storm clouds can look dramatic when shot with a wide angle lens. So I quickly got the camera out and shot this image:
Approaching Storm on Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 16 mm, 0.5 seconds at ISO 64, f/11, Lee Filters ND Grad.
I had to work fast to get the image because the cloud was rolling in fast. While the image would have greatly benefited from some scattered light on the distant tors, it does show Dartmoor as it was that evening, and perhaps reflects my mood a little.
I then wanted to fine tune my composition a little. I like the rocky tors in the foreground of the first image, but I felt that they were a too close to the bottom of the frame. I also felt that the clouds were a more important element of the photograph, so I decided to point the camera up more to give me this composition.
Storm Clouds over Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 18 mm, 0.6 seconds at ISO 64, f/11, Lee Filters ND Grad.
I'm not sure which image I prefer. The sky in the first image is more appealing as the dark cloud hasn't covered all of the skies yet, but I prefer the overall composition of the 2nd image. To be honest, I'm just really happy to have captured anything. I was sure I was going to go home empty-handed and a little unhappy (creatively speaking).
It was a challenging evening but aside from the pleasing images, I can always take away two positives. Firstly, it's always great to be outdoors. Even if I took no photographs, spending the evening on beautiful Dartmoor is rarely a bad thing. Secondly, it was good to be out with the camera. That time out with the camera gave me more photographic experience and practice that I can put to good use when I really need it. You can be in the most amazing location with the most amazing light, but if you don't how to use your camera properly or know how to read a scene, you might come away with nothing.
Have you ever been out with the camera on a seemingly pointless adventure? Which of my two images did you prefer? Let me know in the comments below.
My Photography is Not a Priority
In the blog this week I tell you why photography is not a priority for me!
Burnt Out?
I love creating videos for my YouTube channel. I was already passionate about landscape photography and creating videos about my time out with the camera was a natural extension of my desire to share my photography.
However, there is no doubt it is a lot of hard work. Sometimes my ideas are a bit grand and a little over adventurous. These ideas sometimes pay off, but I normally have to put in a lot of extra effort. It was after one of those "go the extra mile" videos that I decided I need a little rest.
Landscape Photography Not a Priority
I wasn't burnt out. I just needed a rest. I had spent the previous day driving all over the country taking photographs, but I still had the following day free. I wanted to use that spare day to create another full-on landscape photography video, but I decided that I would benefit more from not making photography a priority.
So I headed out for a walk up Conic Hill near Loch Lomond on a beautiful summers day. I still took my camera, but it wasn't my goal to even get it out of the bag. Relaxing from the photography got me thinking and I decided to share my results in this video:
So just a short video. A bit of a brain dump and a chance to try my hand at some cinematic style video. I hope you liked it. Did the message resonate with you? Let me know in the comments below.
Loch Lomond Panorama
As I said in the video, I did take one image and here it is:
Loch Lomond from Conic Hill - Super Wide Panorama on a Super Sunny Day: Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70 mm f/2.8 at 52mm, 1/160th sec @ ISO 64, f/11, 12 image panoramic stitch.
Photographing Britain's National Parks
In the blog this week I’m very happy to share with you the story of my latest adventure. Check out the images and video I captured as I travel to three different national parks, across three countries and all in one day!
Grand Ideas
One of the primary goals of my YouTube channel is to share my landscape photography adventures. By sharing my adventures I can hopefully provide a little inspiration to my fellow landscape photographers or even encourage people to get out there and see the great outdoors.
Sometimes my adventures are unplanned, but every now and again I come up with a plan for a grand adventure! The problem is that these grand plans aren't exactly simple to execute. Time is the normally the limiting factor for me.
However, when I read about National Parks Week, I thought it was the perfect excuse to execute one of those grand adventures. My idea was simple. I would visit 3 national parks, in 3 different countries and do it all in one day. Would it even be possible? Let's find out.
As you saw in the video, it is indeed possible. I wouldn't exactly recommend it though. It was a lot of driving and a very long day. But I sure did enjoy it! The locations I visited were stunning, and that was only 3 of the 15 national parks in Britain.
If you haven't visited a national park before, or it's been a while, I really recommend that you check out the National Parks website as there is sure to be one near you. I'm really lucky as I have Dartmoor on my doorstep. The national parks are a valuable resource, so if you have some time it's also worth considering spending some time on your local national park as a volunteer. You can see how I got on one year volunteering on Dartmoor here.
I really hope you enjoyed this video. If you are looking for a bit more detail on the locations I visited and the photographs you saw, you'll find them below.
So are heading out for National Parks Week? What is your favourite national park? Let me know in the comments below.
Wales - Snowdonia National Park
For more information about Snowdonia National Park, click here.
Snowdonia National Park - near Plas y Brenin, Wales: Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 25 mm, 1/20th sec at ISO 64, f/13, Lee Filters Circular Polariser.
England - Lake District National Park
For more information about The Lake District National Park click here.
Haweswater Reservoir - Lake District, England: Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 17 mm, 1/20th sec at ISO 64, f/13, Lee Filters Circular Polariser.
Scotland - Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park
For more information about the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, click here.
A Pastel Sunset at Ben A'an - Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park: Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70 mm f/2.8 at 70 mm, 1/5th sec at ISO 64, f/13, Lee Filters 2 Stop ND Grad.
Looking North from Ben A'an on a Beautiful Summers Evening - Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park: Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70 mm f/2.8 at 48 mm, 1/3rd sec at ISO 64, f/8, Lee Filters 2 Stop ND Grad.
A Summer Sunset At Ben A'an and Loch Katrine - Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park:: Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 at 18 mm, 0.5 sec at ISO 64, f/18, Lee Filters 2 Stop ND Grad.
OnePlus 6 Landscape Photography: A Mobile Phone Photography Challenge with Chris Sale
Can you capture a good landscape image using a mobile phone? Well, that's the challenge fellow photographer Chris Sale set me. In the blog, I share with you the video I captured when I headed out to Dartmoor National Park with my new OnePlus 6 mobile phone to capture some landscape photographs.
Landscape Photography Challenges
I like to challenge my landscape photography skills. This could be by doing something new, trying a different bit of kit, or even trying an old bit of kit (see my video Shoot, Print, Surprise). So when my friend and fellow photographer Chris Sale contacted me and suggested a new challenge for us both I immediately asked him to tell me more!
Our previous photography challenge had been a great success. Last time Chris challenged me to ditch my wide angle lens and head out with my 70-200 mm. You can see how I got on here. For this challenge though, Chris asked me to leave my DSLR at home and head out with a mobile phone! This perhaps sounded like a step too far, but I was up for the challenge. Obviously, I sent the challenge back and told Chris he had to do the same.
OnePlus 6
The challenge came at an interesting time as I was actually in the market for a new phone. My heavily used and loved Google Nexus 6p was on its last legs and it couldn't seem to survive much longer than a couple of hours without needing a charge.
I'm not going to bore you with all the reasons why I bought the OnePlus 6, but it was the phone that suited my needs to best. Funnily enough though, camera specs weren't top of my list of things I was looking for in a new phone. I have my Sony RX100M4 as my portable camera so I only ever expected to use the OnePlus 6 to capture the odd photo here and there.
So without knowing too much about the camera capabilities of the OnePlus 6, I head out to Dartmoor National Park to start my challenge. You can see how I got on in the video below:
As I mentioned earlier in the blog, Chris also undertook the same challenge. To see how he got on, check out his video:
Mobile Phone Photography
So can you capture good landscape images with a mobile phone? Sure you can! You can capture landscape images with just about any camera. I'm not saying the camera is irrelevant, but without good light and composition it doesn’t matter what camera you have with you, you might still end up with a dull photo.
So would will I be giving up my Nikon D850 anytime soon? Of course not. While it is perfectly possible to capture good landscape images with a mobile phone, the controls, versatility and image quality of a larger camera will (likely) always be better. As you'll have seen in the video, the dynamic range of the OnePlus 6, is not match for my Nikon D850. But given the price difference, that is hardly surprising is it!
So do you ever take landscape images with your mobile phone? What mobile phone do you have? Did you buy it for its capabilities as a camera? Let me know in the comments below.
The Photograph
Mr Bowerman please meet OnePlus 6 - Bowerman's Nose, Dartmoor, Devon: OnePlus 6, ISO 100, 1/125th sec, f/1.7, DNG processed in Lightroom CC Classic.
PS - The product links used in this article are Amazon affiliate links. By buying through the links I may receive a commission for the sale. This has no effect on the price for you.
30 Minutes at Great Mis Tor
In the blog this week I head to Great Mis Tor to capture some snow landscape images of Dartmoor. The trouble was I only had 30 minutes to do it!
Tight Timelines
When my friend, who also happens to be a photographer, called me to tell me snow was forecast for Dartmoor and would I like to join him on a morning shoot, I just had to say yes. What better way to start the day than a quick hike up to Great Mis Tor to capture some morning light, and hopefully a little snow.
As is sometimes the way, the timing of this too good miss offer wasn't great. I had commitments that morning that I could not miss. So I decided to work out all the timings to see I could fit it all in.
I would need to get up at 05:30 to meet my friend at 06:30. It would then be a short drive of about 20 minutes to get to the car park near the start of the walk. It's then about another 20 to 30-minute walk up to Great Mis Tor.
Sunrise was going to be about 08:04, and I would need to be back in the car no later than 09:00. It was going tight that was for sure!
Beautiful Dartmoor
On the morning of the shoot, things started off as expected. We started our walk up to Great Mis Tor with great enthusiasm and chat about the recent Star Wars film and the lack of Game of Thrones in 2018. As we walked up there was a distinct lack of snow, but as we approached Great Mis Tor we found the ground covered with a light dusting of snow. It looked beautiful.
I'd never been to Great Mis Tor before and I surprised by how large an area it was. With only about 15 to 20 minutes before sunrise, I was going to have to work fast to work out what compositions I was going to shoot. I could spot different weather conditions all around me so I also knew things could and probably would change rapidly.
Go Go Go!
After a little scout about, the action started fairly quickly. I was mostly relying on my instincts as I went from spot to spot capturing images. I was glad that I was well versed in the workings of the D850 so I was able to setup and shoot with the camera with ease, allowing me to concentrate on compositions.
As predicted the weather and conditions changed rapidly. We had everything from pink clouds to snow showers to beautiful light on the surrounding hills. It was fun and exciting, but hard work. Here are the photos that I captured:
In retrospect, I wasn't able to make the most of my time there and I perhaps could have captured stronger images. It was always going to be a challenge though given the amount of time I had there, and my lack of experience with the location (and it's many viewpoints). Did I regret my visit? Of course not!
There is almost always something to be gained from a trip out with the camera. Firstly I got to visit a new location. Great Mis Tor is definitely a location I will photograph again. It was also great being up on Dartmoor. A walk on Dartmoor is always a special thing, but when it snows it can be magical. (If you want to see what I mean check out my vlog from Belstone Common). And finally, it was great to have the opportunity to catch up with a friend. Overall, time well spent in my opinion!
So have you had the chance to shoot any snowy landscapes this year? Do you take every opportunity to squeeze in time with the camera? Let me know in the comments below.
Landscape Photography Adventure in the Lake District - Part 3
In this special blog post, I share with you the final part of my landscape photography adventure video from the Lake District.
If you watched part 1 and part 2 you'll know that I didn't have the best of luck with the weather. For two days I had grey, flat light, and while I was capturing nice images, they just lacked the dramatic light that I know the Lake District can produce. Then, and I'm not joking here, the light broke through the clouds in the last 15 minutes of my adventure. I was just about to pack up and leave as I need to get back to my hotel to check out when all the action happened.
As long as I could go away with one great image I would have been happy. It just happened that on this trip I needed to wait until the very end of my trip!
Overall I had a really good time in the Lake District. While the photography was challenging at times, it was also a lot of fun. As is often the case with these trips the enjoyment comes from more than just photography. I'm a big fan of the outdoors, so just being outside and wandering about some of these great spots and locations is a wonderful experience. I also met some great people on my adventure. From fellow photographers, hill walkers, and even a fell runner. I guess I like to talk as much as I like to take photographs!
I hope you enjoyed this three-part blog and vlog on my recent Lake District adventure. I'm already making plans for more adventures next year, so remember to stay tuned.
So have you ever photographed the Lake District? What has been your favourite 15 minutes of photography? Let me know in the comments below.
Landscape Photography Adventure in the Lake District - Part 2
In this special blog post, I share with you the 2nd part of my landscape photography adventure video from the Lake District.
In the blog last week I shared with you part 1 of my Lake District photography adventure. This week I'm very happy to share with you part 2 of that adventure. I'm not going to write much else this week as let the video and the images below tell the story.
I hope you enjoyed part 2 of my Lake District adventure. Remember you can see part 1 here, and the 3rd and final part will be published next week right here on the blog.
Landscape Photography Adventure in the Lake District - Part 1
In this special blog post, I share with you the 1st part of my landscape photography adventure video from the Lake District.
Adventure
I love a going on a landscape photography adventure! Don't get me wrong, I'm very lucky to live in the south west of England. I've got easy access to two national parks and more coastline than I could ever photograph. Every now and again though you need to spread your wings, push your photography and get out there and visit somewhere different.
Earlier this year I had a fantastic adventure in Glencoe so I was keen to go on an adventure for autumn. But where would I go? Well, there aren't many better places to go in the UK for autumn than the Lake District.
I had given myself two and half days of photography in the Lake District. In that relatively short time, I had a list of locations that I wanted to shoot. These were a combination of locations that I had marked on my custom Google map over the years, some from my previous visit last year, and some from the excellent book Photography the Lake District.
As with my Glencoe adventure I knew I wanted to record my time at the Lake District using both photographs and videos. So in the next few blog posts not only will I be sharing with you the images that I captured but I've also created a 3 part video series so I can share the story behind the images.
Part 1 - Buttermere, Ashness, and Ullswater
Here is part 1 of the video in which you will see me photograph the lone tree on Lake Buttermere, Ashness Bridge, Ashness Jetty and Ullswater.
I hope you enjoyed the video and the images I captured. Here are the images again if you want to see them in a little more detail.
I hope you enjoyed part 1 of my Lake District adventure. I will be publishing part 2 next week so you won't have long to wait!
Nikon D850 Exposed - Unboxing, Capture, Process and Print
In this special blog post and video, I take a look at the new Nikon D850. I unbox it and take it out to Dartmoor to capture some images. Back home I process and print the images and give you my first impressions of the camera.
A Little Camera History
My first full frame camera was the Nikon D600 which was released in September 2012. As many people know this camera had a few problems with oil leaking onto the sensor. Despite a number of product recalls the product was eventually replaced by the D610 in October 2013. I was lucky though as Nikon replaced my D600 with a new D610 under warranty.
In July 2014 Nikon announced the Nikon D810 and this was followed up by the release of the D750 in September of the same year. After only a short time with the D610 I decided that I was going to upgrade again. I looked at both cameras but at the time I felt I couldn't justify the cost of the D810, nor would I probably benefit from what it offered.
The D750, on the other hand, had a few of killer features. It had the flippy out LCD screen, high ISO capabilities, and WiFi built in. While the latter two would only really benefit my music photography, the flippy out LCD would be great for my landscape work. So I sold my (almost new) Nikon D610 and purchased the D750.
It's Finally Here
The D750 continued to be my main camera for the next three years until the D850 appeared on my doorstep the other day. I had been considering an upgrade for around a year but there was nothing really to upgrade to. The Nikon D810 was still a great camera, but I would miss some of those great D750 features.
I wasn't going to change camera systems either. Sure the Sony mirrorless technology is very attractive, and the new Fuji mirrorless medium format camera is a landscape photographers dream, However, the transition to either system would be costly and neither was that well suited to my music photography.
So when I saw the D850 announcement and looked at the specification list it ticked all my boxes. When pre-orders became available I was ordering within minutes! This was going to be a significant investment for me but I feel I'm at a point in my photography journey that I can justify the upgrade. Thanks to part-ex with WEX I can offset some of the cost by trading in my D750.
Using the D850
So now that I have the D850, what is it like? To document my experience from unboxing to capturing my first landscape image, processing it and finally printing it I have created this video.
I would have like to have used the camera for the first time in better circumstances but the weather was just proving too problematic. Venford Falls was a good option but looking at the images a lot of foliage is being blown about by the wind. The falls really look their best in spring time when everything is green, fresh and lush.
However, even with the challenging conditions, the camera was able to produce images with great tones, colour, and contrast.
A metered exposure of 30 seconds gives great results.
This image is the same as the previous image but at 8 seconds this image was deliberately underexposed. However, there was no apparent loss in quality when the darker areas of the image were recovered.
I really liked the handling of the camera it made the capturing of images just a little easier than it is in the D750.
More to Learn, More to Shoot
I've only had the D850 for a few days so there is so much more to learn about this camera. There will be the enhanced features over the D750 as well as some new capabilities that I can learn about. I guess it will take a while before I really start leveraging what the D850 has to offer, but it's going to be fun learning.
So will the D850 make me a better photographer? Of course not! Only by practising the craft of photography will I become a better photographer. The D850 is a tool and it will help me capture my images, but it can't improve my creative eye. As David duChemin says, "Gear is good, but vision is better".
So have you bought or considered the new Nikon D850? Have you recently replaced your camera? Have you changed camera systems before? Let me know in the comments below.
Volunteering on Dartmoor National Park
In this blog post I discuss the day I spent volunteering with a ranger on Dartmoor National Park and why it was important as a photographer to give something back to one of my favourite locations.
All those locations...
I live in a wonderful part of Britain. Even if I wasn't a photographer, it would still be wonderful. Living in Devon I can access virtually any part of the South West Coast path in less than two hours, Dartmoor is on my doorstep, and Exmoor is a stones through away. I can't really complain that I don't have anywhere to shoot. In fact my two main enemies are time and the weather, but I suspect these are common complaints for most landscape photographers.
It's all too easy to take all these amazing locations for granted. Aside from the very rare car park charge it doesn't cost me a penny to roam the coast and moors. As if by magic there are convenient car parks, clear pathways, signposts, miles of litter free land and even the odd well placed café.
It's amazing, but it takes work
The problem is that it's not magic. All our national parks and AONB's (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) require a significant amount of effort and money to maintain. It's not just important to keep these places going for visitors, but a great many people live and work there, as well as it being home to a huge number of species of wildlife. It’s all very complex and expensive, and very easy to take for granted.
Volunteering
For those of you who read my first blog post you will know that photography isn't my primary source of income. I have a full time job in IT and when my employer told me that everyone in the company was entitled to take one day a year to go volunteering I jumped at the chance. The only slight problem I had was where to volunteer. There are no shortage of organisations looking for volunteers, but I wanted to do something that was related to the environment. After all, as a landscape photographer I have a great passion for the outdoors and the environment around me.
I made the decision to volunteer for Dartmoor National Park after speaking to one of their rangers. I was at a local village show and I spotted a Dartmoor National Park van. It really stood out as it had a wonderful Adam Burton image on the side of it. I got chatting to ranger Pete and soon we had exchanged contact details. As a regular user of Dartmoor, volunteering for the National Park seemed the right choice.
Getting Involved
So a few months later, on a beautiful autumn morning on Dartmoor, I met up with ranger Pete for my volunteering day. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect but I was fairly sure I'd have to put some effort in. Sure enough I was quickly put to work replacing a couple of old footpath signs. This involved a bit of digging and though I wasn't used this kind of work it was very satisfying. After all, I've followed a few of these signs before so I knew how useful they can be! Besides, the work didn't seem so hard when you are working in such a wonderful location.
Job done! Replacing a footpath post.
Next up we visited the iron age Cranbrook Castle site where we checked to see if any more work was required to clear the ground. Fortunately it didn't and I was rewarded with some stunning views of Dartmoor and beyond.
The Cranbrook Castle site.
Next up I helped clear some low hanging branches from Rushford Steps. Here I used a very interesting extendable branch cutting tool. Got to love the power tools!! Even though we only cleared a few branches it made a world of difference to the location.
Clearing branches at Rushford Steps.
Rushfords Steps are now a bit easier to cross.
Our next location was a woodland path just outside the village of Drewsteignton. The ranger had received reports that the path was difficult to pass through so we got to work cutting, raking and sawing. This was hard but satisfying working. I could really see the difference our work was making.
Clearing a walkers path.
It also highlighted the need for some lunch which we did by driving up a rough access road to get views of the stunning Teign valley at Fingle Bridge. Never had lunch tasted so good or been eaten from somewhere so scenic.
The Teign Valley - a place I love to photograph.
After lunch we completed the path clearance and headed off to clear some more overgrown bushes in the village of Drewsteignton and near Castle Drogo.
We drove some stunning autumn tracks.
Towards the end of the day we decided to take a drive up to Fernworty Reservoir where my eagle eyed ranger spotted a stranded 4x4 up on the moor. It was just as well we were in a Land Rover because the trip up to investigate the stranded vehicle certainly qualified as off road. Fortunately no one was in the vehicle and the owner was quickly identified.
High up on the moor. No problems for the Defender.
As the end of the day approached and we headed back we did a bit of litter collection. As you can see people seem to drop everything from slippers to crisp packets.
Leave nothing but foot prints!
When Pete finally dropped me at my car again I was tired but happy. What a day on Dartmoor!
What difference does a day make?
But can volunteering for one day really make any difference? If only one person, one day a year volunteered then yes the difference would be small, but if lots of people donated a day each year all of that can add up to a big difference.
In fact lots of people do volunteer on Dartmoor each year and I'm happy to say that now I'm one of them. I've already decided that I will do the same again next year and if I can I might try and make it two days. I have limited time but it is important for me to give something back to the area that I like to photograph the most.
Good for my photography?
While my day of volunteering might not impact my photography directly I do now have a better understanding of the land and the effort that goes into managing that land. It's all very well taking lovely pictures of places like Dartmoor but without really understanding a location can you get the most out of it? Perhaps a more detailed knowledge of Dartmoor will allow me to create images that are more personal or portray the land in a more intimate way. Only time will tell.
Do you do volunteering? Is it for your favourite photographic location? Does volunteering directly or indirectly impact your photography? Let me know in the comments.