Julian Baird 12/07/2020 Julian Baird 12/07/2020

Back to Bowerman's Nose - Part 1

In part one of a two-part blog I return to Bowerman’s Nose on Dartmoor to capture some sunset images and prepare for my return at sunrise.

Bowerman’s Nose - An Old Friend

Amongst all the Dartmoor tors, Bowerman’s Nose must be one of the most unique there is. I’m not claiming to have seen all the tors, but for the tors I have seen none come close to the size and shape of Bowerman’s Nose. Since I discovered it, I have been trying to capture an image of the tor that makes the most of its uniqueness and the surrounding landscape.

I have come close to getting a shot that matches my vision but there always seems to be something that isn’t quite right. That could too much cloud, not enough cloud, lack of light, or even direction of light. Maybe I’ll never be 100% happy with my shots from there. Maybe I don’t care, and I use this as an excuse to keep returning. I like shooting Bowerman’s Nose and over the years I have come to think of this location as an old friend. There is a certain comfort in returning to this unique location.

Planning for Sunrise

I hadn’t considered shooting Bowerman’s Nose at sunrise until I had spoken to friend and fellow Dartmoor photographer Neil Porter. Neil has captured some spectacular photographs of Bowerman’s Nose at sunrise and he recommended that I give it a try myself.

Photographing Bowerman’ Nose at sunrise isn’t an all-year-round option though. The hills behind the tor block the sunrise at certain times of year meaning that some planning with TPE is required. Using my local knowledge, some data from TPE and some handy tips from Neil, I worked out the rough window of opportunity to capture the tor at sunrise.

One thing was clear from the window of opportunity was that I was going to have to get up early in the morning! Even though I don’t live too far away, with a sunrise time of around 5 am, the alarm call was still going to be unsociable. I’m a morning person but a 3:30 am alarm call is still something I don’t go for without good reason.

Shooting Sunset

Weather planning aside I decided that I should head back to Bowerman’s Nose for a sunset shoot first so I can plan for my sunrise shoot. It would be a good opportunity to refamiliarise myself with the details of the location and plan out where I might place myself for sunrise. A bit of planning is rarely a bad thing and as a bonus I might even get some nice sunset pictures.

Bowerman's Nose Sunset #1, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 23mm, f/13, 1/8th sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 circular polariser. — **Bowerman's Nose Sunset #1, Dartmoor, Devon** - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 23mm, f/13, 1/8th sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 circular polariser.

It appeared that luck was on my side this time and I did indeed get some bonus pictures. While the shots I captured weren’t necessarily good enough for my portfolio I’m still pleased with them. They are a good representation of what I saw, and they remind me of how pleasant Dartmoor can be when you get nice conditions.

Bowerman's Nose Sunset #2, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 22mm, f/13, 1/10th sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 circular polariser. — **Bowerman's Nose Sunset #2, Dartmoor, Devon** - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 22mm, f/13, 1/10th sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 circular polariser.

It was not a wasted trip. Not only did I get some pleasing images, but I also now had a good idea of what and how I was going to shoot Bowerman’s Nose at sunrise.

Bowerman's Nose Sunset #3, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 18mm, f/13, 1/6th sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 circular polariser, four image stitched panorama. — **Bowerman's Nose Sunset #3, Dartmoor, Devon** - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 18mm, f/13, 1/6th sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 circular polariser, four image stitched panorama.

I hope you enjoyed these sunset images of Bowerman’s Nose and if you want to find out how I got on then check out part 2 of Back to Bowerman’s Nose.

Julian Baird 13/12/2019 Julian Baird 13/12/2019

Holne Bridge - A 5 Minute Photo Adventure

In the blog this week I head to Holne Bridge with Panasonic Lumix S1R to capture the last of the autumnal colours on Dartmoor.

More Time with the S1R

If you a regular reader of my blog you'll know that I've had the Panasonic Lumix S1R on loan for the last few weeks. I've been putting it to good use and I've shot the autumnal colours at Fingle Bridge and produced a video called In The Footsteps of Colin Prior. With those bits of content produced I was ready to (sadly) send the camera back to Panasonic. However, the very kind folks at Panasonic Pro Services said I could keep it for a little longer.

Autumn at Holne Bridge

With the extra loan time I wanted to put the S1R to good use and make another video. As much as I'd loved to have produced another video on the scale of In The Footsteps of Colin Prior I'd have to produce something a little more close to home and within tighter time constraints. As I hadn't made one of my 5 Minute Photo Adventure videos for a while I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to do so. Though the best of the autumn colours were coming to an end I thought I might still be able to capture something interesting at Holne Bridge on Dartmoor.

Holne Bridge is one of my favourite locations to shoot autumnal colours and it was looking great when I visited there a few weeks before this trip (you can see the photos from that blog post here). I was a little unsure how the recent bad weather had impacted the leaves on the trees but fortunately for me local (and very talented) photographer Neil Porter drives through the area on a regular basis. He was kind enough to give me an update and as it was looking positive we both decided to meet up for spot of landscape photography.

A 5 Minute Photo Adventure

It was a great morning of photography and it was great to be joined by Neil. He knows a lot of good spots along the river there and he introduced me to a couple of new ones which I was very grateful for. Anyway, I don't want to spoil the video too much so here it is:

I hope you enjoyed the video and all the content I've made with the Panasonic Lumix S1R. I've really enjoyed using the camera and hope to use one again in the future. I also have to say that the folks at Panasonic Pro Services (who organised the loan) have been fantastic. Really friendly and easy to work with. Should I ever decide to purchase any of the S1 cameras it's good to know that Panasonic have the support services network in place.

I've got some exciting content coming up over the next few weeks including the return of On My Bookshelf, and some special new year videos, so stay tuned!

The Photographs

As always, here are the photographs from the video plus a couple of others that I captured after filming.