Julian Baird 04/01/2023 Julian Baird 04/01/2023

The Best Day for Landscape Photography on Dartmoor?

With a late sunrise, an early sunset, and a sun that stays low in the sky, the winter solstice is one of the best days for landscape photography on Dartmoor. However, as I find out, trying to do too much on the shortest day can lead to problems.

A Dartmoor Photography Adventure on the Winter Solstice

I learnt a few years ago that on or around the winter solstice is one of the best times to photograph Dartmoor. Sunrise isn’t too early, sunset isn’t too late, and the sun remains relatively low along the horizon during the day. This means that for the roughly 8 hours of daylight that you get, it is possible to shoot all day and still have a relatively short day out.

Another advantage of such a short day is that it is possible to reach some of Dartmoor’s more remote locations for sunrise and not have to set an alarm for 3am! This winter solstice I decided to take advantage of this by walking to Wild Tor for sunrise. It takes me an hour to drive to the car park, and then it’s another 1hr 15 min walk to Wild Tor. I was certainly glad that sunrise wasn’t until 08:10.

My plan was to photograph Wild Tor for sunrise, then walk back to the car and take in some other locations, hopefully benefiting from sun remaining low on the horizon. Then after my mornings work, I would get a late breakfast or lunch, and find somewhere else to photograph sunset.

A great plan for sure. However, I decided to try and squeeze in something else between my morning locations and afternoon locations. This led to a few problems. You can find out what and watch me capture the photographs you see below in this video.

I hope you enjoyed the video. Despite the challenges I had with finishing the video on location, there were still many more positives than negatives to take away from my day out with the camera.

Links Mentioned in the Video

Here are some of the links I mentioned in the video.

💳 Fotospeed Platinum Gloss Art Fibre 300 - https://fotospeed.com/platinum-gloss-art-fibre-300.html

💳 Fotospeed Platinum Etching 285 - https://fotospeed.com/platinum-etching-285.html

💳 Print mounts from https://pictureframesexpress.co.uk

💳 Ikea Mosslanda Picture Ledge - https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/mosslanda-picture-ledge-white-40291766/

🎥 My video on the Canon imagePROGRAF Pro-300 - https://youtu.be/QF3_JXuu_Ag

🎥 All my videos on printing - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJU6FMi6Tvo_kuUIioDAagRJ6zsvo1X3P

Landscape Photographs from Dartmoor

Wild Tor

A landscape photograph of Wild Tor on Dartmoor taken at sunrise on the winter solstice. — **Wild Tor #3, Dartmoor, Devon** - Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 19mm, f/13, 1/6 sec at ISO 64.

Oke Tor

Yes Tor

Julian Baird 21/06/2022 Julian Baird 21/06/2022

A Landscape Photography Project to Capture the Changing Seasons

Each season offers the landscape photographer something unique and wonderful. One of the best ways to discover those changes is to photograph the same location every season. Sounds like a great idea for a photography project, doesn't it? I thought it was, so I decided to photograph Holne Bridge on Dartmoor during summer, autumn, winter and spring. However, things didn't turn out how I expected them to.

The Value of Photography Projects

Undertaking a photography project can be a big commitment. In 2019 I began a yearlong photography project to capture a photograph every month from the same location and despite the tight brief, I still found it challenging. But a photography project should be challenging, shouldn’t it? I am also in the middle of my biggest ever photography project and despite 12 months passing by, I don’t feel like I’m making any significant progress.

Despite what I’ve said, a photography project is a wonderful thing, and every photographer should undertake one. They can be incredibly rewarding and stretch your skills as a photographer. The important thing is to make sure the project is achievable. There is no point in undertaking a 365 project when you know from the outset you won’t be able to capture an image every day.

A Failed Photography Project?

On the topic of completing photography projects, I have just completed a project that I’ve been working on for the last year. Well, I say completed, but that’s that not strictly true. Yes, it’s finished, but is it complete? I’ll explain everything in the video below.

What do you think? Is that a photography project failure? Let me know in the comments below.

Lastly, if you’re interested here is a list of gear and services, I used to create the print.

Photograph printed with the Canon imagePROGRAF Pro-300 - my video review
Paper from Fotospeed
Picture frames from Picture Frames Express

Project Photographs - Holne Bridge on Dartmoor

Here are the final 4 photographs.

A landscape photograph of Holne Bridge on Dartmoor during summer with trees and a fast flowing river. — **Holne Bridge, Dartmoor - Summer -** Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 20mm, f/11, 0.6 sec at ISO 200, Kase CPL.

A landscape photograph of Holne Bridge on Dartmoor during autumn with trees and a fast flowing river. — **Holne Bridge, Dartmoor - Autumn -** Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 19mm, f/11, 1 sec at ISO 800, Kase CPL.

A landscape photograph of Holne Bridge on Dartmoor during winter with trees and a fast flowing river. — **Holne Bridge, Dartmoor - Winter -** Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 22mm, f/11, 0.5 sec at ISO 200, Kase CPL.

A landscape photograph of Holne Bridge on Dartmoor during spring with trees and a fast flowing river. — **Holne Bridge, Dartmoor - Spring -** Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 18mm, f/16, 1/5 sec at ISO 64, Kase CPL.

Julian Baird 27/02/2021 Julian Baird 27/02/2021

Bring Your Photography to LIFE with the Canon imagePROGRAF Pro-300

If you're not printing your photographs, then you are missing out on an important part of the photography experience. In my latest video I look at what the Canon imagePROGRAF Pro-300 printer with Fotospeed papers could do for your photography.

Print Your Photography!

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know how passionate I am about printing my photography. For me, the photographic process isn’t complete until I’ve made a print! There is something hugely satisfying in watching one of your photographs come to life as it feeds out the printer.

When I took delivery of a Canon imagePROGRAF Pro-300 printer I thought it was an excellent opportunity to share a video that not only looks at the technical aspects of this printer but also show why printing your photographs is so important. Most of all I wanted to show that printing can be fun and rewarding.

It’s a jam-packed video and rather than repeat the content in text form here, I’ll let you enjoy the video.

Links, Products and Other Videos

I mentioned a lot of blog posts, videos, and products in my video, so I’ve decided to list them below for your convenience.

You can buy the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300 from Fotospeed here.
Here are the Fotospeed papers I used in this video:
I purchased my mounts and frame from Picture Frames Express
Ikea Picture Ledges

Here is a list of the other videos I mentioned:

Here is a list of the links I mentioned in the video: