Trying Something New at Daymark Tower
It's always good to expand your photographic horizons and so on a recent visit to Daymark Tower in Devon I decided to try some new techniques and styles. Read on to see how I got on!
Every Visit is Unique
Over the last few weeks I have been finding myself to a number of locations where I have previously taken some of my favourite images. There is of course nothing wrong with this as I'm a firm believer that even if a 1000 people have already placed their tripod legs on a particular spot, there are still new and exciting images to be had on every visit.
Most recently I wrote about my visit to Venford Falls in an effort to improve on a photograph I took there last year. Shortly after that I returned to the same location and was pleasantly surprised to discover a little more about that location by photographing Venford Brook.
The point I'm trying to make is that even if a location has been well photographed either by yourself or any other photographer, each visit to a location is unique and therefore you can get a unique image.
Returning to Daymark
I recently visited Daymark Tower to shoot on of my 5 Minute Photo Adventure videos. Though I didn't manage to get any portfolio class images from that particular shoot I knew that if I returned a few weeks later when the crops had grown a little more I could try again.
I had a number of goals for a return visit. Firstly I wanted to see if I could improve on one of my portfollio images from last year.
Could I improve on this image from last year?
The image above that I took last year benefited greatly from good light. The setting sun illuminated the tower nicely and added a warm glow to the crops swaying gently the breeze. It's rare that the image you have in your head before you go to a location is actually the image you get.
So what was I hoping to improve on? Well, to be honest, I'm not exactly sure. I think the main element I would like to have seen improvement in is the sky. A beautiful Devon sunset sky with pink or red clouds would have been lovely.
Unfortunately for this particular visit though, the sun disappeared early behind a bank of distant cloud so I never really got a chance to make the most of the golden hour.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 44mm, ISO 100, 1/60 second, f/13
Fly Away Drone
I mentioned earlier that I had a number of goals I wanted to achieve on this visit. Another goal was to take some aerial photographs of the tower and crops using my DJ Mavic Pro. This didn't go as planned! Being a coastal location there is always a little wind and though it was breezy on this particular evening, I thought it was within the limits of the drone.
Shortly after take off I soon realised that the wind was a bit stronger than I had thought. Despite turning around my drone and applying full power it was slowly drifting away from me. I had a fly away drone on my hands! As a private pilot I've learned not panic in these situations, so knowing that the wind would probably be weaker lower down I reduced to height of my drone to just above the crops.
The wind was indeed weaker lower down and I was able to return the drone back to its starting point. The aerial photos would have to wait for another day!
Something New
My final goal was to try and take some intimate landscape images. The crops in the field around Daymark Tower look beautiful as they gently move in the breeze. However, could I translate what I saw into a good image?
So while I'm reasonably happy with the result, I still have a lot of work to do to create compelling images in this style. This isn't a style of landscape photography I'm used to and I need to train my photographic eye a little more for this type of photography. However, it's always good to try something new and with a little more practice who knows what I can produce in the future.
Have you been to Daymark Tower? Do you photograph intimate landscapes? Have you had your drone fly away from you? Let me know in the comments below.
Summer Solstice in Devon
In this blog post, I share my Summer Solstice Landscape Photography in Devon video. Join me as I head to two classic Devon locations, Dawlish Warren beach and Dartmoor, and take images either end of the longest day.
Summer Solstice Plan
I'm always thinking about what my next YouTube video will be about. I keep all these ideas in a notebook so that when I'm looking for a fresh idea I have some inspiration. I was looking through the list the other day and I spotted something that I had added some time ago. The idea was relatively straightforward. On the day of the summer solstice, I would shoot one dawn photo and one sunset photo.
With sunrise on the day being around 5 am I needed to go somewhere local. I like to get to a location 1 hour before actual sunrise so wherever I was going to be I would need to be there for 4 am. Now, I like getting up in the morning as much as the next landscape photographer, but even I was going to struggle to get up that early in the morning!
So I looked at my custom Google locations map and spotted a favourite local location, Dawlish Warren beach. Sure I would still need to get up at 3:15 am, but the weather forecast was good and the sun would rise from a direction that would give me some good light (hopefully).
For the sunset location, I would also need to go somewhere local. I knew that when I returned from Dawlish Warren beach that I would still have the school run to do, then a full day of work, and then I had some family commitments. In all likelihood, it would be nearly 8 pm before I headed out. Even with sunset being around 9:30 pm, that didn't leave me a lot of time to get somewhere. To be honest, even if I was able to get out earlier I didn't want to have a big drive to do when I'd already been up since 3:15 am!
I'm really fortunate that I live near Dartmoor so this seemed like a great place to go. I was thinking about going to Bowerman's Nose, but as I had just recently shot a video there, I decided that a good option would be Emsworthy Tor. Though Dartmoor would be busy in the evening with people watching the summer solstice sunset, Emsworthy Tor is a little bit further off the beaten track so should be a little quieter. It's a classic Dartmoor location and if I were to get some good evening light I could be onto a winner.
So how did I get on? Let's take a look at the video:
As I said in the video you can take a look at the images (plus a couple of bonus ones) in a bit more detail below.
Dawlish Warren
5:12 am, Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 f/4 @ 30mm, ISO 100, 4 seconds, f/13, Lee Filters Circular Polariser.
5:41 am, Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 f/4 @ 19mm, ISO 100, 30 seconds, f/13, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and Little Stopper.
Emsworth Tor
9:14 pm, Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 f/4 @ 24mm, ISO 100, 0.8 seconds, f/13, Lee Filters Circular Polariser.
9:22 pm, Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 f/4 @ 18mm, ISO 100, 1 second, f/13, Lee Filters Circular Polariser.
I hope you enjoyed watching the video and looking at the images. Did you go out for Summer Solstice to do some photography? What's the earliest you've ever got up in the morning to take a photo? What's the latest time you've seen the sunset? Let me know in the comments below.
Plan B Photography
In my blog this week I talk about the importance of having a plan B. On recent visits to Hartland Quay and Trevose Head I ended up shooting something different from what I had originally planned. I might have come away with nothing if I hadn't had a plan B!
Always Have a Plan B
My recent trip to Porth Nanven in Corwnall was a very successful one and I managed to capture a new image for my portfolio. The weather gods had been kind to me that evening and the conditions were ideal for that location. With the weather looking reasonably settled for the next couple of weeks I hoped I could build on that success and get a few more portfolio shots at some locations I had been itching to get back to.
As is always the way with landscape photography though, things didn't go exactly to plan.
Trevose Head
My first and until recently, my only visit to Trevose Head, was a very successful one. On my previous visit had managed to get a number of great images of the the lighthouse in a variety of different lighting conditions using varying exposure lengths. It was one of those trips out with the camera where things just seem to go right for you.
However, even though I had some quality images from that trip, I still wanted to go back and try and get an even better image of the lighthouse and cliffs in even better, more dramatic light.
When I arrive at Trevose Head on my most recent visit things were looking good except that the wind was howling! This is hardly a surprise as Stincking Cove (where I was going to shoot from) isn't exactly sheltered so a bit of wind is to be expected. Not to be deterred though I got setup and got shooting.
It soon became obvious though that the wind was much stronger than my last visit. Even with my heavy duty tripod, and a relatively short exposure time, the camera was getting a battering from the wind. It was looking unlikely that I would get a stable image. There was no chance that I would be getting the Little Stopper out! This was a shame as the light was looking good. Time for plan B!
On my walk over to Stincking Cove I had noticed there was some thrift flowering on the cliff edge. It was a lot more sheltered over there so I decided to head back and shoot something different. I hadn't planned to go to Trevose Head and shoot the thrift but persevering with wind wasn't going to get me anywhere.
While the shot below might not be one for the portfolio, it's a pleasing image and I'm glad that I took it rather than I just went home feeling glum that I hadn't taken any decent photographs.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 @ 19mm, f/16, 1/13 sec., ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and ND Grad.
Hartland Quay
A very similar thing happened to me when I went to Hartland Quay about a week later. This time it was almost the reverse though. I had gone to Hartland Quay to photograph the thrift only to change my mind and shoot Screda Point. Unlike my trip to Trevose Head though, I was at least able to capture an image of the scene that I had originally thought about.
The image below of thrift and the bay at Screda Point is pleasing enough but forecasted cloud coverage wasn't there and so I feel the sky lacks interest. The colour and light are there, but it's just missing that something extra in the sky. Realising that things weren't going to improve, I decided to go for plan B!
Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35 f/4 @ 18mm, f/14, 0.5 sec, ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and ND Grad.
For my plan B image, I decided to put on my 24-70mm f/2.8 lens and go in tighter to focus more on the dramatic rocks of Screda Point. Though the sky still lacks the cloud coverage I would have ideally liked, I do prefer this image over my image of the thrift. I like shooting long exposures on the coast so maybe I'm slightly biased towards this image, but I like the lines of the rocks on the beach, the pastel colours of the sky and the simplicity of the image.
Unlike my trip to Trevose Head though, I probably would have left Hartland Quay happy with the photo of the thrift. However, I'm still glad I had a plan B!
So do you always have a plan B? Do you decide before you go somehwere or wing when you get there? Let me know in the comments below.
Daymark Tower
In the blog this week I share with you my video on shooting Daymark Tower on the South Devon coast. You can also read my top 3 tips on shooting at this fantastic location.
A Brief History
I started this blog back August 2016 and shortly after that, I posted my first video over on my YouTube channel. When I made that first video it was just something I wanted to do and I didn't really have a plan for growing and developing a YouTube channel.
However, after posting a few more videos I realised that I enjoyed the process of creating video content so I decided to keep it going. I then started getting some positive feedback and my subscriber count grew. I've always been committed to my website and blog, but I now also wanted to develop and grow my YouTube channel. Soon I had a long list of video content that I wanted to shoot.
I remain committed to my blog which is my primary output channel for my landscape photography stories and as long as I'm out taking pictures I normally have something to write about. Creating video is a different ball game though and while I have some grand ideas and themes for my videos, producing them takes time, so the rate of delivery is going be slower than the blog.
A New Video Series
So this brings us nicely onto this video I've just made on shooting Daymark Tower. I decided to shoot it as I've just had the following image used in Outdoor Photography this month (issue 208, June 2017, page 55).
I thought it would be useful if I shot a brief video on the location so other photographers could get a better idea of what the location is like before they visited it. It's only a short video and unlike most of my other forthcoming videos it will be about one location only so it will be quicker to produce. So this video marks the start of what I will hope will be a series of short videos that introduce photographers to locations they may not have visited before. A little dose of inspiration!
My website and my blog will always be my home and I will continue to produce regular content there as I have done before, but by producing more frequent video content I hope to share my landscape photography journey with an even wider audience.
The Daymark Tower
So onto my first location in this new series, The Daymark Tower.
I hope you enjoyed that video and that it's given you a better idea of what it is like to shoot there. Here is the final image I captured there in a bit more detail:
Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-70 mm VR f/2.8 @ 45 mm, f/13, ISO 100, 1/15 sec, 4:5 crop.
Unfortunately I didn't get the light I was after to produce a really stunning shot but hopefully, you've seen enough from my images and the video that you too will be inspired to visit this great location. If you do decide to go, here are my top 3 tips for shooting the Daymark Tower:
Shadows - While shooting at sunset will work at most times of the year you will be casting a long shadow if it is behind you. So if you want to include the path in your composition, check which direction the sun is setting so your shadow isn't cast along the path. Something which I failed to check in my planning for this video!
Wide Angle Correction - If you are shooting with a wide angle lens be aware that the tower may be distorted in the frame. This is generally easy to correct in post production, but it normally involves the image being cropped. So be sure to include some extra room around your composition so you don't lose anything critical when the image is corrected and cropped. Though I spend 99% of post processing life in Lightroom, I found the wide angle correction feature in Photoshop to be much better at correcting the distortions in the tower.
Timing - My preferred time of year to shoot Daymark Tower is when the crops are approaching harvest. I shot the video a little early which still works very well, but by around, mid-May the crops swaying in a gentle breeze looks very nice indeed.
I hope you enjoyed reading about and looking at the Daymark Tower. Hopefully by the time you read this I will have already shot the video for the 2nd location. I should also be well on my way to shooting some of those bigger videos that I have planned. If you want to know when those videos are published you can of course subscribe to my YouTube channel or you can follow me on the Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Google Plus where I will also post notifications when new video content is posted up. The video and additional content will always be available here on the blog as well.
Do you include man-made elements in your landscape photography? Are there are any locations in the South West that you would like me to make a short video on? Let me know in the comments below.
Prawle Point with a Point and Shoot
Can you shoot good seascape images with a compact camera? In my latest blog post and video I go out to explore the coastline around Prawle Point in south Devon to capture some seascape images. I also leave all my DSLR gear at home and decide to shoot only with a compact camera. Read more to see how I got on!
Packing Light and Exploration
I've photographed Start Point <insert link to previous blog post> on the south Devon coast a few times but I've never really ventured further west towards Prawle and Salcombe. My father-in-law had suggested a few times that this area of the coastline was worthy of investigation, so when a free Sunday morning came up I decided to do just that.
Summerleaze beach in Bude. The manual controls on the Sony RX100 M4 allowed me to create this long exposure.
After deciding that I would go to Prawle Point I also considered if I should pack all my DSLR gear and go for a sunrise shoot. I have to admit that going somewhere new and trying to find a composition for sunrise was exciting, but my head overruled my heart. The weather forecast was for high winds and 100% cloud coverage so I decided I would take a more leisurely approach and have breakfast first and go out after sunrise.
I already knew the conditions weren't going to be ideal for seascape photography but I didn't want to go out with no camera at all so I decided to go out with my light weight setup of my Sony RX100 M4 and Manfrotto BeFree carbon fibre tripod. The Sony RX100 M4 looks like a point & shoot camera, but this little compact camera can be a real powerhouse. It has lots of manual controls, and while it does have it's limitations, it is capable of capturing some wonderful images.
So with a new area to explore, and very lightweight setup, I decided to make a video to see if I could capture a good seascape image while out exploring Prawle Point. I was going to test the theory The Best Camera is the One That's with You. Check out the video below to see how I got on.
Results and Conclusions
As I said in the video I'm certainly not about to give up all my Nikon gear but that's not to say that I can't capture good images with a compact camera. Yes, I was off to a little bit of a head start with advanced capabilities of the Sony RX100 M4 but it is more about understanding your gear and having a good technique that allows you to get results.
Sony RX100 M4, 8.8mm (24mm @ 35mm equiv), 1/4 sec @ f/11, ISO 80, in-camera ND filter on. Processed and converted to black & white in Lightroom CC.
Sony RX100 M4, 8.8mm (24mm @ 35mm equiv), 1/4 sec @ f/11, ISO 80, in-camera ND filter on. Processed in Lightroom CC.
A reference shot facing east from Prawle Point lookout. Taken with my Nexus 6p phone.
While I'm not considering these images for my portfolio, given the weather conditions and the fact it was a new location for me I'm relatively happy with the results. While there is no doubt that my Nikon camera, lenses and Lee Filters provide me with a superior level of control and quality, I'm still confident I could capture good images with my Sony RX100 M4 if I needed to. It's also nice to travel light every now and again!
I'm also very much looking forward to exploring to the east of Prawle Point. The coastline seems more dramatic and there are a couple of very nice looking beaches. Once I've got some locations marked out I'll return with my Nikon and also shoot some video there with the drone.
So, do you prefer to go out with a light weight setup? How important is gear? Is good photography technique just as important as the camera? Let me know in the comments below.
A Technical Footnote
The video I shot at Prawle Point was also an opportunity to test out my new audio/video rig. Audio is a critical component of good video, and I've struggled to get good audio for my videos. The Sony RX100 M4 captures wonderful 4K video, but without a mic input, I've had to depend on onboard audio which isn't great. Now that I'm using an external audio recorder and a lavalier mic I can consistently capture high-quality audio. In fact, I wouldn't have been able to capture good audio at Prawle Point without my new rig as the wind was so strong.
If anyone is interested in the setup let me know in the comments and I'll either do a blog post of video on my personal setup. However, I do have to thank Ted Forbes and his YouTube channel The Art of Photography which originally showed me how I could use a Sony RX100 M4 and an external audio recorder in a single rig setup.
And thanks to Ted, I also learnt how to sync the audio as well.
Please do subscribe to The Art of Photography. It's a wonderful photography channel that discusses so many aspects of photography from technical side of things (as above), to the artistic side of photography.
And of course, don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Storms, Sunset and Start Point
In this blog post I tell you about how a passing storm at Start Point in Devon forced me back to my car but in the end it added a new dramatic element to my composition.
Favourite Location, New Viewpoint
In my video Top 5 Locations in Devon to Shoot Landscape Photography I took you to Start Point on the south Devon coast. I've shot there numerous times and thanks to the coastal weather I've come away with a wide variety of images. All my visits to Start Point do have one thing in common, they have been shot at dawn and all, roughly speaking, from the same viewpoint.
Just recently though I was inspired to shoot Start Point from a slightly different location. I've written about the power of inspiration on this blog before and how important it is to my development as a photography. However, it was a post by one of my favourite local photographers Matt Davis on Instagram that showed me a viewpoint that I hadn't considered before. It was still clearly Start Point, but you could see more of the rugged coastline and it was ideal for shooting at sunset. I had a plan!
Incoming!
It's about 1hr 15m drive from home to Start Point and while it's not that far as the crow flies, it does involve the navigation of a few of the smaller country roads that Devon has to offer so it often feels like a longer drive. With the weather forecast predicting cloud at different heights I felt the drive would be worth it for a great sunset and some drama in the sky.
Watching the storm approach from the west.
I arrived at the Start Point car park, got my bag, and headed down to the view point. As I looked west and out to sea I could see a very large rain shower coming my way. I knew from the forecast there might be the odd bit of rain but this looked a little more than just a shower. I stuck to my location, kept my camera in the bag, and waited. Firstly the wind picked up, then the rain started, and then the rain got very heavy!
Determined not to be put off though I decided to shelter on the other side of the ridge that runs down to Start Point lighthouse. It was a lot less windy by still wet. I got my phone out and checked my favourite rain app, Rain Today. All I could see over my location was a big, dark blue blob, indicating heavy rainfall. the good news was that it was only forecast to last 30 minutes, and once it had passed I would still have 30 minutes before sunset.
So I did the sensible thing and went back to the car, had a cup of coffee and ate some chocolate.
Run Julian, Run!
As I sat in my car drinking my coffee I could see what was going on in most directions. To the east, the direction the storm was going, it was looking very dark. To the west, it wasn't really looking much better. I was beginning to think I might not even take a single frame. Then the thunder and lightning started and it was at that point I was very happy to have made the decision to wait it out in the car.
Spectacular conditions immediately after the storm had passed. I had to be quick just to grab this shot with the phone.
As forecast, I could eventually start to see a break in the cloud to the west. I waited to the rain had stopped and then I grabbed my stuff and went for it again. As soon as I got outside I spotted a double rainbow out to sea. It looked spectacular. Photographers often say you get some of the most dramatic conditions for photography just after a storm and from what I could see this was certainly the case.
I knew these conditions wouldn't last too long so I instinctively grabbed my phone and grabbed a shot. I then got to work getting my DSLR out and all the associated gear. As I feared, by the time I actually got all setup the best of the action had gone. Not to worry, I still had time to get back to my original viewpoint and shoot the lighthouse and dark sky, but I would have to run. Which isn't that easy with the amount of gear I had and the muddy ground but if I didn't get there in time I would only regret it.
Drama Everywhere
I got to my view point and frantically got to work getting my shot ready. There was still plenty of drama going on. The sky was still dark and brooding, and the rugged cliffs along Start Point were getting pounded by the sea. Over to my right (to the west) the clouds were breaking and the low sun was producing some lovely colours. That particular bit of action was still just out of frame, so while I had a long exposure running I grabbed a quick panorama with my mobile phone.
I managed to grab this quick panoramic using my Nexus 6p phone. It's not perfect but it shows the scene as it was.
I kept shooting, varying my compositions slightly but the break in the cloud was just too far over to make for an interesting composition. In hindsight, I probably should have shot a panorama with the DSLR, but there was a lot going on and I didn't have much daylight left. However, I was still very happy with the moody shots I was getting like this one.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 40mm, f/11, 129 seconds, ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser, Lee Filters Little Stopper.
I Must Be Mad
I have to admit that when the rain really started to chuck it down and I went back to the car to wait it out, I did question my sanity. It was looking like it was going to be one of those days where not only do I not get a decent image, but I don't even get the camera out of the bag. However, having read so many times about how some of the best images were captured right after a storm I decided to hold out. And I'm so glad I did.
Perhaps the only thing I should have done would be to have left the car when I had started to see the sky clear, and not when the rain had stopped. This would have given me a bit more time to get back to my location and start shooting immediately after the storm had passed. However, given that I still wouldn't have been able to get a break in cloud or light from the setting sun into my scene I was pretty happy with the results.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 27mm, f/9, 60 seconds, ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser, Lee Filters Little Stopper.
Have you ever stayed out in horrible weather only to be treated for your perseverance? Do you sometimes think that landscape photographers are a little mad? Let me know in the comments.
My Field Guide to Using ND Filters
In this blog post and video I take you out on a shoot to Froward Point in South Devon to take you through my workflow when using Neutral Density (ND Filters). It doesn't matter what strength of ND filter or even who makes it, my process is the same. Read the blog post and watch the video to find out more!
Control
Modern cameras are wonderful and amazing bits of technology. They allow us to turn our creative visions into beautiful images that we can connect with. We have a lot of control. We can change shutter speed, aperture, focus, ISO, and position, all with the aim of capturing that moment. One thing we can't control is mother nature and so sometimes we need a little extra help "control the light".
This image required an exposure time of 72 seconds. Generally speaking it would not have been possible to get an exposure of this length without an ND filter.
This is where filters come in. Now, there are such a dizzying array of filters available it would be slightly foolish of me to try and cover them all here, so I'm going to concentrate on the use of ND (Neutral Density) filters or to be more specific how I use ND filters.
Though I use ND filters in my landscape work, it is probably in my seascape work that I will use them the most. They allow me to creatively control how the water looks in the image. It could be that I want to lengthen the exposure to 1 or 2 seconds to show the path of a wave, or even 3 or 4 minutes to smooth out the texture of a choppy sea. Sometimes you just can't get exposures times like that just with the camera alone.
The Process
I have a range of ND filters in my bag, all made my Lee Filters (my filter manufacturer of choice). I have a 3 stop, 6 stop (Little Stopper), 10 stop (Big Stopper), and 15 stop (Super Stopper). The Super Stopper is a recent addition to my kit bag and you can read how I got on with it on my first trip out with it here.
No matter which ND filter I use, the setup and execution process I go through is the same. To show you what my process is I've created in this field guide video which takes you through my process while out on a shoot.
To recap from my video the process I follow is:
Composition - first things first, I need to have a composition. Get this right first!
Base image - take a shot with no filters. Check composition again, image sharpness and exposure. If needed adjust, shoot and check again.
Add other filters - if needed, add ND graduated filters or a polariser. Shoot the image again and do all the same checks.
Add ND filter - finally, add ND filter of choice and take the image. Do all the same checks again.
Once processed the final image looks like this:
Final image. Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 VR @ 28mm, f/13, 202 seconds, ISO 100, Lee Filters ND 0.6 (2 stop) graduated filter, Lee Filters Big Stopper (10 stop ND), cable release.
I hope the reading about my process for using ND filters has been useful. Do you follow the follow the same process? Do you do things a little differently? Are ND filters part of your creative workflow? Are you considering getting some ND filters? Please let me know in the comments below.
Using the Super Stopper in Sidmouth
The Lee Filters Super Stopper isn't exactly a filter you would use every day but it does have its uses. Read about how and why I used for a shoot in Sidmouth in my this blog post.
Free At Last
In my last couple of blog posts I may have mentioned that I'm finding it difficult to adjust to the short winter days. Opportunities to get out with the camera seem to be few and far between. Last weekend was different though. I didn't have too much on and the weather was looking favourable for some landscape photography.
Sidmouth Inspiration
My first challenge was to find a suitable location that I could shoot. In reality it didn't take too long. My decision to shoot the coast at Sidmouth in South Devon was driven by two things. Firstly I was inspired to shoot there. I've spoken about the importance of inspiration before on my blog before and how useful it can be.
My inspiration to shoot Sidmouth came from two photographers, atmoorehead and Neil Burnell.. Both of them had been shooting the curling stone groyne at the east end of the beach. I liked the images they had created so I wanted to go there and put my own spin on the location.
Super Stopper Time
The 2nd reason for choosing Sidmouth was that it was a coastal location that would be ideal for testing out my recently purchased Lee Filters Super Stopper. I'm a big fan of Lee Filters and use the Little Stopper and Big Stoppers in a lot of my images. When the Super Stopper was first announced I have to admit that I didn't really see the point but after seeing some of the images produced by Mark Bauer with the Super Stopper I pulled the trigger and picked one up.
My original plan was to shoot some midday long exposures during a recent Lake District trip but given the challenging weather it wasn't really the best time to try out this 15 stop monster. However, as I was planning my trip to Sidmouth it soon became apparent that this could be the perfect time to give the Super Stopper a go. I would be arriving around 2.30pm when there is still plenty of light, the tide would be coming in, and the light from the west would be illuminating the groyne. My only slight concern was the lack of cloud in the sky. It was apparently going to be very clear but I could live without the perfect conditions!
Setting Up For a Very Long Exposure
When I arrived at my location in Sidmouth things were looking favourable. The sun, which was already relatively low in the sky, was illuminating the inward curve of the groyne rather nicely and the tide, which was due be high at 16:08, was already a good way up the beach. I was glad I had got there early as the area was busy with people and where I was going to shoot from was a bit of a one tripod only location.
Base image with no filters. (Image unprocessed).
So with my tripod out I got to work on my composition. I had originally thought I would go for a vertical composition but it soon became apparent to me that a horizontal composition would work best as it provided more room for the groyne to curl out into the sea and into some empty space. With my composition locked in I took my base image. My base image is the image I take with no filters so I can easily check it for sharpness and exposure. Being a coastal location I reached for my Lee Filters Polariser as this would not only take off some reflections from the surface of the sea but it also removed all the reflections from the groyne where the water had been splashing.
The addition of the polariser reduces the reflections on the groyne and brings out a little more detail in the sky. (Image unprocessed).
However, the addition of the polariser always lengthens the exposure by a few stops so I had lengthen my shutter speed from around 1/80 sec (at f//11) to 1/25. Though I was happy with the effect the polariser was giving I was already concerned about how long the exposure was going to be when I added the Super Stopper. Using the Lee Filters app on my phone I worked out that a 1/25 second base exposure with a Super Stopper would require a 21 minute exposure. For my first use of the filter I felt this might be too long, but a Big Stopper would only give me 40 second exposure (which was not long enough for the image I wanted)
I had two options. I could either open up the aperture or increase my ISO. While opening up the aperture would have decreased my exposure time, I would have lost the depth of field I was looking for so I increased my ISO to 400. This effectively gave me a Super Stopper exposure time of around 8 mins. Much more manageable.
The Results
With everything set I got to taking some really long exposures. I modified my composition a couple of times which meant going through the whole setup process again but using the Super Stopper was never going to be a fast process. I also had to gradually increase my exposure length as the amount of light decreased. However there is a certain sense of excitement with really long exposures. I was investing 8 to 10 minutes for each exposure and the sense of not knowing exactly how the image would look was exciting.
Final image (processed in Lightroom). Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 at 26mm. 641 seconds at f/11, ISO 400.
A Small Critique
I'm very happy with the end result and it's the image I had envisioned when I started planning this shoot. However, it's not perfect. Though I was shooting at a time very close to high tide, it wasn't quite high enough. I would have liked there to have been no beach visible in the lower right side of the image. There was a high tide of 4.06m so on my next visit I will try and plan it for when it's a little higher.
However, tide height aside, all the other elements came together nicely. The time of day and time of year were perfect to allow the golden light of the sun to reflect of the west side of the groyne. It's very rare that everything is perfect so for a Sunday afternoon shoot I'm still very happy.
Why Not Just Use a Big Stopper?
You might be asking yourself why I didn't just wait for sunset and then use a Big Stopper. Why purposely shoot earlier so you can use a Super Stopper? Well, it all had to do with the light. As the sun set the quality of the light reflecting off the groyne was nowhere near as nice as it was 45 minutes before. In order to realise my vision of a long exposure I need to have that 15 stop ND filter. So yes, while it was a specific set of conditions that required the use of the Super Stopper, it would have been an image that would have either not been possible to get or would have been more difficult. The Super Stopper is probably never going to be a filter that I use a lot, but now that I have it and have seen how I can put it to use, I'm glad I have it.
So are you a fan of long exposures? Do you own the Super Stopper? Are your creative ideas driven by the location you are visiting or by a vision of the image you want to create? Let me know in the comments below.
My New Winter Friends
In this blog post I discuss the importance of having a close by location that you can shoot so that you can scratch that photography itch during the winter months and why it's still important to do a bit of discovery.
Winter Restrictions
Landscape photography in winter has a few advantages. Sunrise is later, sunset is earlier, and it might just snow. (Oh please let it snow on Dartmoor this year, please, please, please!). However, while sunrise and sunset are at much more sociable hours the days are very short and so are my windows of opportunity for photography. During the summer months I can spend all day at work, casually jump into my car, drive to Lands' End and still be there in plenty of time for sunset. I can go out photographing virtually any day of the week.
With winter things are very different. I still have to work and I still have a family life, but now I can't just pop out in the evening to go out and take photographs. The shorter days that come with winter are no different from any other year but this year I'm feeling the restriction more than any other year. I think this is largely due to the level of commitment I have given my landscape photography this year. This year I have committed more time than any other year to improving my art. Now all of a sudden I can't get out as much and if the weather is very bad I sometimes don't get out all in a week. I'm starting to find it frustrating!
My Old Friend
It's not all doom and gloom tough. It's not as if I can't get out with a camera, it’s just I can't get out as much. As with most working parents I have the school run to do. My responsibility is to get the kids to school every morning, except Friday. So if I'm organised and the weather is looking favourable I can just about get out for a dawn shoot on a Friday and still be back in time for work. This means that I have to go somewhere local and this is where my trusty old friend Dawlish Warren beach comes in.
Dawlish Warren is only about 25 minutes' drive from my house and as I said in my video My Top 5 Locations to Shoot in Devon, it's also one of my favourites. I've photographed the beach and the groynes many times but each visit offers something different. With variable weather conditions, changing direction of sunrise and tidal waters, each time I go I need to think how I'm going photograph it that morning.
When I visited Dawlish Warren last week it was probably at the lowest tide I had seen so I had access to shoot some of the groynes I've never been able to access before.
Given the proximity of Dawlish Warren and my desire to still practice my photography as much as possible during the winter, I expect to be visiting my old friend a lot this winter.
My New Friend
While visiting on old friend is all very good, particularly when I'm really short of time, I also need to stretch my photographic wings a little. Though time at the weekends is really family time there are windows of opportunity and they need to be put to good use. There is the temptation to visit locations I've been before but winter is also a good time to go out and do a bit of discovery.
Last weekend I got up early and went to North Tor and Bench Tor on Dartmoor. These two tors are very close together and offer all round views of Dartmoor. I actually discovered this location by accident. I was looking through some old issues of Outdoor Photography and came across Bench Tor in the Locations Guide section (which is a great source of inspiration and ideas). I knew roughly knew the area as it's very close to one of my other favourite Devon locations to photography, Venford Falls.
Arriving at the car park in the dark I put on my head torch and began the relatively short walk up to Bench Tor. As with most dawn shoots in the cold I questioned my sanity but a blast of hot black coffee soon put me in the correct frame of mind. As most landscape photographers know it actually starts to get light around an hour before official sunrise so as I wondered about Bench Tor and nearby North Tor I could start to see lots of possibilities for compositions.
Very much an exploratory shot but as this was a new location for me I wanted to try and get a few shots for reference.
With so many possibilities, including options for sunrise and sunset shoots I think I have found a new friend for winter. Though I expect the best photographs will be had during spring and autumn months I think I will spend a bit of time up there working out how to make the most of it when winter finishes. That is unless it snows in which case the big views up there will be amazing.
So do you struggle to find time during the winter to get out with the camera? Do you have a go-to location that is nearby? Do you use the winter months to get out and discover new locations? Let me know in the comments below.
My Favourite / Top 5 / Best Landscape Photography Locations in Devon
In this special blog post and video I take you on a mini tour of my 5 favourite landscape photography locations in Devon.
A Personal Selection
As a landscape photographer living in Devon I am spoilt for choice when it comes to shooting locations. I have access to Dartmoor National Park, large areas of the South West Coast Path, and everything in between. I shouldn't really ever run out of places to shoot.
Even though I have all this variety I can't help but have a few favourite locations. So in this video I'm going to take you on a mini tour of my five favourite locations to shoot landscapes in Devon. I've chosen a mixture of coastal and inland locations as well as choosing to shoot at dawn and dusk. Some shoots were more successful than others but I'm hoping the video will give you some ideas and inspire you to visit and photograph those locations yourself.
So why not check out the video below and let me take you on a tour of Devon...
If you need a little more information on the locations I have visited or just want to see the images in a bit more detail then please do read on!
Dawlish Warren
The groynes along the beach at Dawlish Warren offer some great lines for your composition. Long exposures often work well at this location as well, especially in poor light.
Don't forget to shoot the beach huts.
Venford Falls
Venford Falls as shot on the video. A polariser is very handy to control the reflections.
Spring is my favourite time to visit as all the moss is at its best.
Emsworthy
Both the rocks and the tree are great elements to include in your composition. This location is good to shoot at both dawn and dusk.
Turn 90 degrees and you'll find a few other compositions to shoot.
Froward Point
Shooting at sunset will typically provide the best light but what ever time you visit please be careful on the rocks!
If you've got good light shoot Daymark Tower as well.
Start Point
The classic Start Point composition. Shame about the weather!
Sometimes it pays to hang around a little longer. There is just a splash of colour in the sky in this image.
In Summary
Hopefully this video and blog post has given you a little inspiration to not only shoot these locations, but also the wider Devon. It really is a fantastic part of the country with huge variety in locations and conditions.
So what are you favourite locations either in Devon or further afield? Did you find this video useful or inspiring? Is there a location in Devon or the south west that you recommend I visit? As always let me know if the comments, and remember to like and share this post! See you next time.
1 Location, 2 Cameras, 3 Photographers and Force 4 Wind
In this blog post I write about a recent trip to The Valley of the Rocks where I nervously flew my drone in strong winds and shared a cliff top perch with two other photographers to photograph Ragged Jack.
Last of the Midweek Shoots
Autumn is open us and though the amazing autumnal colours haven't reached their peak yet in Devon, the nights are closing in rapidly. During the spring and summer months my photography benefits greatly from the long evenings. Photography during the week becomes practical as I can grab my camera and head out straight after work and travel all over Devon and Cornwall and still make sunset.
Over the last few weeks though that window of opportunity has been shrinking and my ability to travel long distances before sunset reduced. So when I was looking at my location map and decided to go to The Valley of the Rocks, I knew this could be one of the last of my longer mid-week trips for a while.
1 Location, 2 Cameras
With my one location locked in for the evening I got to checking out the conditions and planning my shoot locations (see my blog post on Planning). On my last visit to The Valley of the Rocks I took some time to have a walk about to see if I was missing anything. (Check out my blog post on Location Scouting to read why I do this). Well, I was glad I did as I discovered a whole new aspect to The Valley of the Rocks and was inspired with some new ideas!
My plan was to not only take out the big guns (Nikon D750) but to also take out my DJI Phantom 3 4K so that I could get some aerial shots of the dramatic coastline and rock formations. I've recently been discovering the joys of drone photography and I thought this would be an ideal opportunity to do some more work in that area (see blog post on Drone Photography). My plan was to shoot with the drone while the light was good, and then switch to the DSLR for last night. So with my one location locked in and my two camera's packed I set of for the north coast of Devon.
Force 4 Wind
The drive to my location wasn't exactly inspiring as the rain continued to come down and as I reached some of the higher parts of the route the fast moving cloud got lower and lower. However, I had checked the weather forecast and it had promised to clear up around sunset so I was remaining optimistic. By the time I had got there things had much improved so with a sense of excitement I got to my first spot and got the drone out.
It was at this point that I did get a little nervous. If anyone has been to the north Devon coast will testify it can get a little windy. I've had to extend my planning routine recently to take into account flying the drone, particularly along the coast. I now check the coastal weather forecast to see how strong the wind will be. The drone does have a maximum horizontal speed and flying in wind speeds that exceed that could see my drone drift out to sea!
I had done a number of calculations and worked out that I could safely fly it in the predicated conditions of a force 4 wind. However, what is OK on paper may not actually be OK in real life. So while perched on a cliff side with a very long drop I cautiously started up the drone. Hovering at 1.5m I could see the drone working hard to stay in one place. Putting caution to the wind (excuse the pun), I decided to fly it away from the cliff side as I thought it might be a bit less blustery. Though the drone was still working hard, it had settled down a bit and my confidence grew. I still had a worry that it was going to get caught by a gust of wind and go out to see or crash into a cliff, but I was feeling bold (or daft) and managed to capture some dramatic images.
3 Photographers
After about 45 minutes with the drone I had got the images I had come for. Well, most of them anyway. There were a few shots of some rock arches that I wanted but I really wasn't brave enough to get them given the conditions! So with sunset approaching rapidly I headed off to a spot that I had noticed earlier with the plan of shooting Ragged Jack with my DSLR. As it was a Tuesday evening in late September I thought I might have the place to myself but as I turned the corner I found another photographer setting up on the cliff side.
The spot we had both picked to shot was relatively small but Steve (the other photographer), kindly let me share it and we got chatting. It was the normal stuff, gear, technique, processing, but all very enjoyable! Just as we got shooting another photographer turned up. So two became three and we all waited for that magical sunset moment….which to be honest never actually happened. I took a handful of frames trying different combinations of filters but sometimes the conditions just aren't quite right. The third photographer soon walked on and I continued to enjoy my chat with Steve. We both continued to take a few frames but soon we were packing up also.
Time Well Spent
Though my final image taken with my DSLR isn't one for the portfolio I still count my trip to The Valley of the Rocks as a success. Firstly I managed to capture some nice images of the location with the drone. I really like the extra dimension that the drone has brought to my photography. I try and take the same approach to composition with the drone as I do with the DSLR, but this doesn't always work so I'm still learning how to compose when shooting at 200 ft!
It's also good to just get out and practice the art of photography (see my blog post on Practicing). Sure the conditions didn't turn out to be perfect but just getting out with the camera is always a pleasure.
It is the unexpected that can also make these trips worthwhile. It was great to meet and chat to a fellow photographer. Landscape photography can be a solitary pastime, and while I greatly value the solitude, it's also great to meet people, especially other photographers.
So overall it was time well spent. Any time with the camera is time well spent! I might still squeeze in a couple of mid-week evening shoots but I'm already starting to plan out my dawn shoot locations for the next few months. During autumn and winter my opportunities for photography are limited to weekends and sunrise shoots minimise any impact to my family commitments. But do you know what, I kind of like those cold mornings perched on top of a tor on Dartmoor, freezing cold, drinking coffee, waiting for the sun to rise and bath the world in light.
Planning a Landscape Shoot at Dawlish Warren
In this video blog post I show you some of the planning tools I use to help increase the chances of a succesfull trip out with the camera. After that I take you on a trip to shoot seascapes at Dawlish Warren to see if all the planning was worth it!
Plan, Plan, Plan
I like a plan. Plans are good. Plans don't always go to plan, but I like having one none the less. As a private pilot I definitely like to have a plan when I head out to the skies. And though photography is arguably less risky than flying I still want my trips out with the camera to be worthwhile and successful. After all, there is no point in heading out for sunrise only to arrive at your location as the sun comes up. This has happened to me before and trust me, after the hour and half it took me to get there it was a painful lesson.
So to prevent missed sunrises, badly timed tides, and gale force winds, I like to plan my shoots so I can maximise my chances of success. In this video I will use:
These are the tools I use the most and I've found them to be very effective and accurate in the past. So let's see them in action along with my shoot down at Dawlish Warren beach:
Success
As you can see from the video, I had a successful trip and I've come away with an image I was very happy with. By checking out what the conditions were going to be like before I headed out I could be reasonably confident that my image would meet my vision for that location.
Not as calm as it looks. Nikon D750, Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 VR, 195 secs at f/11, Lee Filters ND Grad, Polariser, and Big Stopper. Processed in Lightroom CC.
Audio Quality
As I mentioned in the video, though the photography went well I had a few problems with the video. When I had the camera facing into the wind I lost all the audio of my voice over the wind noise so I had to ditch a lot of the clips. Being a landscape photographer this won't be the last time I will have to deal with this issue so I have purchased a Rode smartLav+ external mic (and some added furs for extra noise reduction). Though I will have to sync up the audio in post using Premiere Pro CC (my Sony RX100 M4 doesn't have a mic input), the improvement in audio quality will be worth it. So expect to hear my dulcet tones much improved in the next video!
Do you plan?
So do you plan your trips out with the camera? Or do you chuck the camera in the car and go for it? Let me know in the comments. And if you have a couple of minutes please like and share this blog post. Till next time....