Seascapes by Neil Burnell - On My Bookshelf S04E05
In this episode of On My Bookshelf, I look at Seascapes by Neil Burnell, a collection of long exposure and fine art coastal photographs.
From Woodlands to Coastlines
Last year I published an episode of On My Bookshelf in which I talked about Neil Burnell’s previous book, Mystical. I thought it was a stunning collection of woodland photographs. So, when Neil announced that he was producing a book focusing on his coastal photography, I jumped straight in and pre-ordered a copy.
That was a little while ago now, but this has allowed me to spend some quality time looking through Seascapes before bringing you this latest episode of On My Bookshelf.
If you’d like to pick up a copy of Seascapes, you can do so directly from Neil’s website here.
6 AMAZING Landscape Photography Books to Inspire Your Photography
Looking for a little inspiration for you landscape photography? Here are six amazing books on landscape photography that are sure to inspire your photography.
A Chance to Review What is On My Bookshelf
Over the last couple of months, I’ve had the chance to spend a lot time with my collection of photography books. While I would have much preferred to be out and about with my camera, getting the chance to look at some of my favourite photography books again is far from a waste of time.
Even on the second read, or in some cases third or fourth, I can still find inspiration and knowledge for my landscape photography in these books. This normally indicates that there is something special about them.
As I suspect I might not be the only person with a little more home time on their hands at the moment, I thought I might compile a list of my six favourite books on landscape photography and share it with you.
All the books in this list have already featured in episodes of On My Bookshelf (OMBS) so there’s a video to go with each of my recommendations.
Let me know in the comments below if you have any of the books. Happy browsing!
Beara by Norman McLoskey
Read the original blog post for this episode of OMBS here.
The Landscape by Paul Wakefield
Read the original blog post for this episode of OMBS here.
Tides and Tempests by Rachael Talibart
Read the original blog post for this episode of OMBS here.
Mystical by Neil Burnell
Read the original blog post for this episode of OMBS here.
Northwest by Alex Nail and Scotland’s Finest Mountains by Colin Prior
Read the original blog post for this episode of OMBS here.
Mystical by Neil Burnell - On My Bookshelf S03E09
In this the 20th episode of On My Bookshelf I look at Mystical by Neil Burnell.
A Mystical Journey
It’s always nice to see a local photographer do well, particularly one you know. In Neil Burnell’s case, he’s been doing very well. He’s already had one book published and his list of awards continues to grow, including a category win in LPOTY this year. The recognition of his work is completely justified though. Just look at his website and you’ll understand why. His work stands out in a crowded Instagram feed as I’ve often found myself scrolling through the feed only to be stopped in my tracks by an image that I already know is Neil’s, such is the strength of his style.
I first found out about the Mystical collection of photographs when Neil gave me a sneaky look at the video below.
I was impressed by not only the quality of the images but also the style and consistency. I’ve tried (and failed) to create a series or collection of images before and it’s REALLY hard. To create such an extensive body of quality work takes lots of dedication and time.
Neil had already started selling prints from the Mystical collection, so it was only a matter of time before he was going to produce a book. As soon as he said he was doing so I knew I wanted a copy! So just like everyone else I ordered and paid for my copy. (I think it’s important to support your fellow photographers whenever you can, even if you know them).
I’m pleased to say that I now have my copy of the book and I’m also one of the lucky ones who managed to get hold a first edition (which is now sold out). Don’t worry though, you can order the 2nd edition here, but I suggest you order one soon as these will sell out quickly. If you need a little more convincing, then why not check out the episode of On My Bookshelf below.
Celebrating 20 Episodes of On My Bookshelf
Finally, I just want to highlight that this episode of On My Bookshelf is the 20th episode! When I filmed the very first episode of On My Bookshelf, I never thought that I’d get to twenty episodes. While the episodes are a bit of niche market in the content that I produce I still love making them. There are few things better than sitting down to read a good photography book on a cold and wet Sunday afternoon. Judging by the comments these videos get I appear to not be the only one.
Thanks to everyone who has watched an episode and left a comment. Just for fun, here is the first episode I made.
Starting My Journey into the World of Macro Photography
In the blog this week I finally head out with the Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro and start my journey as a macro photographer!
First Steps
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you may remember that I tried macro photography for the first-time last year. You can see some of the results here. Regardless of the quality of those first few steps into the world of macro photography, I was sure of one thing and that was I wanted to do more of it!
Just over a year after that last blog post I’ve finally given it another try. Why wait so long I hear you ask. Having used a dedicated macro lens for those first few attempts I knew that I also wanted my own dedicated macro lens. As with many of my purchasing decisions I needed to wait until I had sufficient funds to cover the purchase cost. As I had many other commitments around that time, I decided that the purchase could wait until early 2020. That way I would have the new macro lens just in time for spring.
Around September 2019 I changed from the Nikon DSLR system to the Nikon Z mirrorless system. If you want to know why then check out this blog post here. As part of that change I decided that wherever possible I would only purchase a new lens if it was a native Z mount lens. As the Nikon Z lens line up was and still is limited, my options for a macro lens were extremely limited.
Common Blue, Berry Head, Devon - Nikon Z7, Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro, 1/500th second at ISO 500.
Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro
The Nikon Z mount lens roadmap does include a 105mm macro but with no release date that was not going to be an option. Then I heard that Laowa were going to make a native Z mount version of their well rated 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro. Though the lens is manual focus it can be purchased for a reasonable £469. I thought given the price, focal length, native Z mount and the good reputation of the lens I was worth pre-ordering it.
It was originally due to arrive around mid-March but then the world started to suffer from the coronavirus pandemic. Not that the delay in the arrival of the lens really mattered anyway as I wouldn’t have been able to go out and use it because of lockdown.
Fortunately for me the delay in the lens wasn’t that long and it arrived in April. I tried it out by shooting various still life subjects in the house, but I really couldn’t get passionate about photographing flowers in my office.
Common Blue, Berry Head, Devon - Nikon Z7, Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro, 1/160th second at ISO 200. Please note: While I placed and setup my own camera for this shot, the original composition was thought out by Neil Burnell. Neil is a super talented photographer and if you want to learn how he works his magic then be sure to check out his 1-2-1 sessions or workshops here.
Returning to the Outdoors
As soon as the UK Government started to ease the restrictions on being outside, I decided that one of the first things I was going to do was try out my new macro lens. As I’d had so much fun last year at Berry Head photographing the butterflies, I thought this would be an excellent place to start.
I contacted my friend and fellow photographer Neil Burnell as he is a bit of a local expert and super talented macro photographer. We knew we could still maintain good social distancing and as we were in a wide-open coastal location, we felt it was safe to meet.
Small Blue, Berry Head, Devon - Nikon Z7, Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro, 1/50th second at ISO 1000.
We were both incredibly pleased to find Berry Head full of the expected small blue and common blue butterflies. Neil soon got to work doing what Neil does best I got on with the job of just trying to get things in focus!
Lot’s to Learn
Throughout this blog article you’ve seen the images that I took that evening (and some the following week). Sure, they won’t win any awards, but they are enough to remind that I made the right decision with the purchase of a macro lens and this is an area of photography I wish to develop my skills in.
Small Blue, Berry Head, Devon - Nikon Z7, Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro, 1/125th second at ISO 400.
There’s a lot to learn but this is also what makes it so exciting. I will at some point make a video of my experiences of macro photography but for now I need to concentrate on the job at hand. I’ve got a plan on how I will increase my skills and I will share my progress here on the blog.
I hope you enjoyed the images in this blog. Are you a macro photographer? Are you thinking about taking up macro photography? Let me know in the comments below.
Small Blue, Berry Head, Devon - Nikon Z7, Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro, 1/250th second at ISO 1600.
Creative Exploration
In the blog this week I head off to the south Devon coast to not only explore a new area but also to try a slightly different style of long exposure photography.
Creative Inspiration
My landscape photography is a constantly evolving thing and what I look for in my photographs changes over time. Some of this change comes as I discover my personal style but it also comes from being inspired by the work of other photographers. Recently one such source of inspiration has been the work of fellow local photographer Neil Burnell. You may remember me highlighting Neil's work on a blog post last year where I took a look at his book Seascapes.
Neil, who recently won Amateur Photographer of the Year, is best known for his long exposure and minimalistic photography. As someone who takes long exposure photographs myself, I find Neil's work compelling and he has a very distinctive style. Neil's ethereal and minimalistic style is very different from my style of long exposures with big views. It's not only the processing style of his images that I find fascinating but also his choice of locations.
Exploration
As I mentioned earlier, Neil is a local photographer living only a few miles down the coast (well, as the crow flies that is!). Much of his long exposure coastal work is taken on the south Devon coast but unlike my work from the same area, it's not easily identifiable as being so.
Looking at Neil's work from the south Devon coast I realised that I really needed to explore the nooks and crannies of this part of the coastline a lot more. While locations like Start Point and Dawlish Warren are firm favourites of mine, there was obviously a whole other world out there to discover on my local coastline. So that's exactly what I decided to do one evening.
Going Minimal
Some of south Devon's coastal locations like the aforementioned Dawlish Warren and Start Point are nice and easy to access, while others require a reasonable amount of effort to get to. The location I decided to go and shoot was one of the latter. I'd seen photographs of this location before but it took a little bit of effort to work out where exactly it was and how to get there.
I also knew that I would probably be taking long exposure images but I also knew that this location would also suit a much more minimalistic type of image akin to the images that Neil takes. So this trip out with the camera would not only be an opportunity to do some exploration of a new location but to also explore my creativity.
Treacherous #1, Devon - Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70 mm f/2.8 at 70mm, f/11, 100 seconds at ISO 64
Arriving at the location I could see where the inspiration for some of Neil's work came from. Rather than go straight for the wide angle lens I opted for a longer focal length lens and go to searching for compositions that might make for some interesting long exposure, minimalistic images.
Some photographs look like they are easy to create, and one might be mistaken into thinking that minimalistic long exposures would fall into that category. I was certainly under no illusions that this was the case and my experience of capturing those images only reinforced that. The location was certainly inspiring with the jagged rocks of the cliffs and the small rocky islands, but actually picking out a composition was tricky. Even when I spotted a composition, there was the very real challenge of getting into a spot to set up your tripod. There was no doubt that this location has some treacherous areas and I had to be very careful where I was standing and where I placed my tripod.
Treacherous #2, Devon - Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70 mm f/2.8 at 40mm, f/8, 200 seconds at ISO 64
Challenges aside though, the whole experience was a lot of fun. Exploring a new location and trying something a little different with my photography was very rewarding. I've got a long way to go before I become proficient in this style of photography but that doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the experience. I really enjoyed sitting about and soaking up the scene while I waited for my exposures to complete. I even had seal pop it's head up a couple of times to say hello!
Treacherous #3, Devon - Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70 mm f/2.8 at 70mm, f/8, 240 seconds at ISO 64
I also enjoyed the post-processing of the images. My normal post-processing technique is fairly straight forward and involves reducing the highlights, increasing texture and clarity, but I enjoyed experimenting with selectively increasing highlights and reducing clarity and texture in these images. Overall it was time very well spent and this is definitely a style of photography I want to develop. It was also a great reminder that I need to get out and explore a bit more!!
Do you have a personal style? How do you go about developing it? Have you been inspired by the work of others to try something a little different? Let me know in the comments below.
Seascapes by Neil Burnell - Kozu Books - Landscape Editions Volume 11 - On My Bookshelf S01E04
In the latest episode of On My Bookshelf, I take a look a book called Seascapes, a collection of fine art long exposure images by Neil Burnell. Should this book have a place on your bookshelf?
Great Things Can Come In Small Packages
I've been following the work of Neil Burnell for some time now. Not only does he shoot my local area but the images he creates from these locations are simply stunning. I like to shoot long exposure images myself, but the fine art long exposure images that he creates are another level altogether.
So when I found out that Neil was doing a 2nd edition of his very popular Seascapes book, I ordered one immediately. When this small, but perfectly formed book arrived, I was instantly captivated by how good the images looked in print. I knew I had a book packed full of inspirational photographs.
But is this a book for you? Well, let's take a look.
I do hope you enjoyed this episode of On My Bookshelf and if you want to pick up a copy of this fantastic book then you can buy directly from Kozu Books by clicking here.
But be warned this is a limited edition book so you'll need to hurry! If you do miss out you can check out Neil's work and see all his social media links on his website.