Breathtaking Views from Yes Tor - Dartmoor National Park
A risky winter sunrise trip onto Dartmoor led me through thick cloud to the summit of Yes Tor, where brief, breathtaking glimpses above the cloud made the view unforgettable.
Top of the World
The weather here in the UK this winter has been miserable and has made my life as a landscape photographer a bit of a challenge! The longer the bad weather continued, the more risks I was willing to take on a weather forecast that would normally have me hitting the snooze button.
After what had seemed like weeks since I’d been out and captured a good photograph, I decided that the following morning’s weather forecast was worth a punt. Yes, there was lots of low-level cloud forecast, but the base of that cloud was very low (foggy) and there was no medium-level cloud forecast. Should I take a risk and see if I could get above it?
Getting above cloud on Dartmoor is tricky. Even its highest points are only around 600m above sea level, so the cloud level has to be very low and not too thick. Looking at my map, I decided to get up early and head to West Mill Tor. At 541m above sea level, it was a good balance between walking effort and the opportunity to get above the cloud.
Leaving Exeter, it was remarkably clear, but as I approached Okehampton, things got a little foggier. By the time I got to the parking area for West Mill Tor, I really didn’t hold out much hope.
As I stood on West Mill Tor questioning my life choices, I thought about whether it would be worth making the decision to continue my walk up to Yes Tor. At 619m it’s Dartmoor’s highest tor (if you don’t count High Willhays at 621m), so if there was any daylight to be found it would be there.
Was it worth the extra effort to get to Yes Tor? Well, yes and no. No in the sense that I never truly got out of the clouds and the photographs you see below are as clear as it got (but it was just enough to get a little light on the tor). But it wasn’t the photograph that made it worth the effort — it was the view. But Julian! You said it wasn’t clear? True, but there are times when even if you can’t make a great photograph, what you see can still take your breath away.
A Foggy Sunrise on Yes Tor #1, Dartmoor National Park, Devon - Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 14mm, f/13, 1/50 sec at ISO 800.
The wind was blowing hard on the summit of Yes Tor, so the cloud was moving quickly. Every now and again you would get a tantalising glimpse of the surrounding view. Not only would I see the beautiful orange glow of the rising sun, but I would also see the top of the cloud bank that was covering the landscape. I couldn’t see any land, just cloud, and it looked spectacular. If only I had been a few metres higher, I probably would have had a constant view of the area.
It was like standing on top of a mountain looking down on a temperature inversion. It took my breath away. But the glimpses were brief and infrequent, so rather than desperately trying to make a photograph, I just stood there, freezing in the wind, waiting for a light break in the cloud. It was magical! I’d never seen anything like it on Dartmoor before and, given the set of circumstances where the base of the cloud is low enough but the height of the cloud is lower than Dartmoor’s highest point, I might never again.
It’s hard to convey what I was seeing and pictures don’t do it justice, but hopefully the small video clip will give you an impression of what it was like.
I’m glad I took the risk to go out, and then take a further risk to get myself up to Yes Tor, because sometimes the best things come to those who take a risk. Let me know in the comments below if you’ve had a similar experience.
A Foggy Sunrise on Yes Tor #2, Dartmoor National Park, Devon - Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 14mm, f/13, 1/160 sec at ISO 800.
Bite-Size Blog Post #24 - Yes Tor
I'm on a journey to expand my creative toolbox to include black and white photography. Find out in this blog post why my Dartmoor photography is changing.
Are My Tastes Maturing?
My kids have a limited palette when it comes to the foods they eat. There was a phase that if the food wasn’t yellow and it hadn’t came from the freezer, they wouldn’t eat it! I was certainly no different at that age, living on a steady diet of turkey drummers. But as I got older my tastes changed, and by the time I had a “proper” job I was eating at restaurants and drinking wine. Ginger beer and heavily processed turkey breaded drumsticks were not on the menu.
Much in the same way my food palette has expanded, it looks like my photographing style is expanding to include black & white photography. I’ve always been able to appreciate a good black & white landscape photograph, but I’ve never been able to effectively translate the style into my own photographs.
Yes Tor, Dartmoor National Park, Devon - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 14mm, f/13, 1/15 sec at ISO 64.
Life Without Colour
Recently though I’ve started taking more black & white photographs, especially of my local area, Dartmoor National Park. I admit, my first few black & white Dartmoor photographs were hasty conversions in an effort to save a mediocre shot, but I have now started to look at what the world would look like without colour.
I would classify myself as a classic landscape photographer and this I believe is reflected in the photographs I capture of Dartmoor. Lots of big open views taken during the golden hours. I like to think of these photographs as showing off Dartmoor in its best light. And while these photographs a true representation of Dartmoor, those conditions can be rare. Frustratingly rare!
It’s from that frustration that my interest in photographing Dartmoor in black & white has come about. Being able to see Dartmoor in a way that suits the conditions has freed me a little from the constraints of only being pleased when there is a certain type of light.
Cosdon Hill, Dartmoor National Park, Devon - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 56mm, f/13, 1/20 sec at ISO 64.
Previsualtion
One of the reasons I am starting to photograph Dartmoor more in black and white is the effectiveness of Picture Controls on my Nikon Z8. In particular the Picture Control “deep tone monochrome” has become invaluable in helping me previsualise a Dartmoor photograph in black and white. Being able to previsualise the scene in black & white on my camera has freed me from the guilt of believing I’m only converting as a last resort
And now that Lightroom also has that profile built in, I have to do a lot less guess work in getting the photograph to look the way I saw it on the back of the camera when I captured it.
Hunt Tor, Dartmoor National Park, Devon - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 24-10mm f/4 S at 120mm, f/13, 1/20 sec at ISO 64.
The End of Colour in My Dartmoor Photographs?
As much as I have and will continue to enjoy taking Dartmoor photographs in black and white, this does not mean the end of colour for me. Far from it. Getting up early in the morning and experiencing the joy of a glorious sunrise is something I will always love to witness and to photograph.
What black and white gives me though is another tool in my creative toolbox. Something that I have in my portfolio of photography styles, rather than something to fall back on. I know what all you hardcore black and white photographers are saying…what took you so long! All I can say is, it doesn’t matter how long it took me to get here, the point is that I’m here, and I love it.
Yes Tor, Dartmoor National Park, Devon - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 24-10mm f/4 S at 26mm, f/13, 1/20 sec at ISO 64.