Kilchurn Castle: A 5 Minute Photo Adventure (Special Edition)
In this blog post, I share with you the story, photographs and video of a near perfect morning at Kilchurn Castle on the banks of Loch Awe in Scotland.
More Landscape Photography on Holiday
In my recent blog post on Dalveen Pass, I talked about my desire to fit in some landscape photography while on an Easter holiday with the family. Dalveen Pass was easy to fit in as it was a short detour off the M74 while on the drive up to Scotland.
I was really looking forward to my family holiday but there was really no way I was going to spend a week in the highlands of Scotland and not do some sort of landscape photography! Fortunately, my family agreed (kind of) and so I was able to take a morning off from holidaying and take my camera out to capture some images. But where to go?
Kilchurn Castle
I was staying in a small village just outside of Oban in Argyll, so I could feasibly drive to any number of amazing locations. The obvious choice was to go to Glencoe. I had amazing photography adventure there last year, and normally I wouldn't hesitate to go back, but in the back of my mind, there was a location I wanted to visit even more.
Scotland has many amazing castles to photograph, but to me, Kilchurn Castle is one of my favourites. I grew up only a few miles away from Kilchurn Castle and so I had seen it from the road many, many times. I'd even visited the castle a couple of times. However, now that I am a landscape photographer I was desperate to revisit the castle to photograph it.
Picking the Right Day
With the exception of one day, I could pick any of my holiday days to visit Kilchurn Castle. A quick check of the weather forecast showed that the first full day of my holiday was for very light winds. This was ideal for the type of shot I wanted as there was a good chance that Loch Awe would be very still and provide some great reflections.
The only trouble was that I would need to get up very early and I would be tired from a long drive the day before. However, if the conditions were to be as predicted it would be so worth it!
Let's see how I got on.
As you can see the conditions were a bit of a mixed bag. I certainly got the glassy reflections on the loch, but these annoyingly disappeared for a while when the sun came up. The sky was also a little too clear. Some clouds would have added something a little extra to the images, but on the whole, it was a pretty special morning. Well worth getting up early for!
One thing you didn't see in the video was the other photographers that were there. I always enjoy having a chat with other photographers and the conversations I had were very welcome and good distraction from the cold. One of the photographers I chatted to, Dan Rooke, also has a YouTube channel, and I recommend you check it out here.
So have you photographed Kilchurn Castle before? Where would you have gone if you had just one morning to take photographs? Let me know in the comments below.
The Photographs
Here is a selection of the photographs I took that morning.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 VR at 50mm, 1/5th sec at ISO 64, f/11, Lee Filters Circular Polariser.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 VR at 38mm, 6 secs at ISO 64, f/11, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and 6 stop ProGlass IRND.
Bit of a bonus photograph for you. As I drove home from Kilchurn Castle I noticed the near perfect reflections on the Pass of Brander so I just had to share this image with you.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 VR at 24mm, 1/50th sec at ISO 64, f/11, Lee Filters Circular Polariser.
Dalveen Pass: A 5 Minute Photo Adventure
In this blog post, I share with you the story, photographs and video of my discovery of a great roadside location just off the M74 called Dalveen Pass.
Landscape Photography on Holiday
Family holidays are typically not a great time for landscape photography. After all, the point of being on holiday is that one should take a break and spend time with loved ones. However, it can be difficult for me to switch off my passion for landscape photography so I'm always thinking of new ideas and how to make opportunities to get out with the camera.
So when I arranged a holiday to the highlands of Scotland my mind was full of grand ideas for photography and creating content for my YouTube channel. Most of my grand ideas though would involve being away for hours and getting out the house at unsociable hours. All these photography based plans would essentially defeat the purpose of going on a family holiday, and to be honest, I actually needed a break so I decided to reign in my ideas.
M74
There was one idea that I came up with though that wouldn't impact my holiday. Though we would all be going to the same holiday destination, my wife and kids would be flying up, and I would be driving up to Scotland with all the bags, bikes, and most importantly the camera gear. With such a long drive I would need to stop a few times for a break so surely there would be some close by locations worthy of a bit photography.
I would be passing near the Peak District and the Lake District, but I wanted to visit somewhere a bit different, and closer to my final destination. So I picked up my copy of Photographing Scotland and spotted the location Dalveen Pass in Dumfries & Galloway. It looked ideal as it was just off the M74 and a couple of recommended viewpoints were on the roadside. It looked perfect. I could stop and have some lunch, and grab a few photos.
Photographing Davleen Pass
The morning of the drive I set my alarm nice and early so I would have plenty of time for the drive, make my planned stop, and still reach my destination in time to meet my family off the plane. Despite it being Easter weekend the traffic was light and I made it to Dalveen Pass in plenty of time. When I got there I decided that I would also make video of my experience so I'm very happy to share with you my latest 5 Minute Photo Adventure from Dalveen Pass.
As you can see I didn't exactly have the best conditions for photography. The grey overcast skies don't matter so much for the waterfall shots, but those beautiful hills would have been lovely with a bit of light and drama in the sky. However, I very much enjoyed my time on Dalveen Pass. This location has a lot of potential and with it being just of the M74 I'm sure to stop off again on my way up or down from Scotland.
Have you photographed Dalveen Pass before? Do you have any recommendations for great locations near motorways? Let me know in the comments below.
PS. There will be more landscape photography videos from my holiday in Scotland so stay tuned to my blog or even better make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel and remember to click on the bell icon so you receive a notification as soon as I post up a new video.
The Photographs
As promised in the video here are the photographs that I captured from Dalveen Pass.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 VR at 62mm, f/11, 1/4 sec at ISO 64, Lee Filters Circular Polariser.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR at 70mm, f/11, 1/30th sec at ISO 64
The Photography Show 2018 Community Meetup
In the blog this week I share with you a video that I created when I met up with people from the landscape photography YouTube community at The Photography Show!
It's All About Community
I love going to The Photography Show. I've been every year and it just bigger and better each year. I love going to look at all the gear and picking up a show bargain. However, this year was a little different. Since starting my YouTube channel I started developing relationships with both my viewers and with other content creators. So this year we all organised a little meetup at the show.
It was a fantastic opportunity to meet so many people that regularly leave comments on my videos or who create videos that I watch myself. We only had a short time together but the conversation was lively and engaging. It was almost as if we already knew each other! For me, the meetup was one of the highlights of the show.
As a bit of fun, fellow content creator Chris Sale asked anyone who turned up to the meetup some quick-fire questions. I was there to film the responses so I thought you might enjoy watching peoples responses, including my own!
I hope you enjoyed that short video and you found some of the responses interesting or amusing!
If you want to see more work from the people featured in the video, just click on one of the images below.
One Million Minutes
In the blog this week I celebrate some personal YouTube milestones, give you a channel update and share with you some outtakes from the channel.
Milestones
It was only 13 months ago when I posted up a channel update video on my YouTube channel. In the video, I was celebrating the fact that I had just reached 100 subscribers. I was well chuffed! Fast forward to now and I've reached two milestones that I didn't think I'd achieve. Not only do I have more than 5000 subscribers now, but people have now watched over 1 million minutes of my content!
This totally blows my mind! It's also very encouraging and inspires me to keep creating new videos. To help celebrate these milestones I have created a quick thank you video which you can see below. In the video, I also share with you some of my outtakes from my previous videos. While you only see the final, edited version, you don't get to see how often I get it wrong. I rarely get things right on the first take!
So thank you again for your support and enjoy the outtakes.
PS. Now the spring has hopefully sprung I'll be back to creating blogs and vlogs of my landscape photography adventures. :-)
Lee Filters Little Stopper vs 6 Stop ProGlass IRND
In this blog post, I look at the differences between Lee Filters Little Stopper and their 6 stop ProGlass IRND. They are both 6 stop neutral density filters so what are the differences and which one should you buy?
Lee Filters
I'll be upfront with you. Ever since I bought my first filter set in 2007 (when I had a Nikon D80), I've only ever bought filters from Lee Filters. When I first started looking for a filter system, everything I read said that Lee Filters were the best. Pricey, but the best.
Over the years I've built up a reasonable size collection of filters from Lee. Up until now the only filter I have replaced was the original circular polariser for the new, slightly thinner landscape circular polariser. I've never had to replace a filter because of a fault and I still use the filters that I originally bought in 2007. So if you are looking for a comparison to filters from other manufacturers, I'm afraid this isn't it.
Goodbye Little Stopper and Big Stopper
With all that said I have just sold both my Little Stopper (6 stop ND) and Big Stopper (10 stop ND). These are filters I have used a LOT. So did I not need them anymore or did I buy ND filters from a different manufacturer? Of course not! All I have done is simply replace them with 6 stop and 10 stop ProGlass IRND filters from Lee Filters.
Apart from being more expensive than their Stopper equivalents how do these ProGlass IRND filters differ? Should you sell your Stopper filters and replace them? Do you need both Stopper and ProGlass IRND filters? In the video below I aim to answer all those questions!
Hello ProGlass IRND
As you'll have seen in the video my conclusions about whether these new ProGlass IRND filters are a must buy aren't clear-cut. It's difficult to give a general conclusion as everyone's needs and budgets are different. The fact that the ProGlass IRND filters don't actually replace the Stopper range also adds a little complexity to the decision.
So all I can really do is talk about my own decision to sell my Stopper filters and buy the ProGlass IRND filters. For me, it has very much been money well spent. I particularly like the lack of colour cast and vignetting. While both these can be corrected or enhanced in post-processing, I much prefer seeing a more neutral/accurate representation of the scene on the back of the camera at the time of capture. I also like the fact that calculated exposure times are far more accurate.
So have you bought any of the new ProGlass IRND filters? Would you consider replacing your Stopper filters? Do you use something other than Lee Filters? Let me know in the comments below.
Comparison Photographs
Here are the images from the video should you wish to take a closer look.
60 Second exposure with the Little Stopper. Unprocessed.
60 Second exposure with the 6 Stop IRND. Unprocessed.
60 Second exposure with the Little Stopper. Processed
60 Second exposure with the 6 Stop IRND Processed.
8 Things I Love About the Nikon D850
In my latest blog and video, I tell you what the 7 things are that I love most about the Nikon D850 and share with you some of my favourite photographs that I've taken with this amazing full frame DSLR over the last 6 months.
A 6 Month Review of the Nikon D850
It was 6 months ago to the day when I received my much anticipated Nikon D850. I was one of the lucky ones as demand for Nikon's latest DSLR was very high with most retailers selling out in advance of stock delivery.
Not one to keep the excitement buried though, I shared my initial impressions of the camera in the in the video: Nikon D850 Exposed - Unboxing, Capture, Process and Print. It wasn't long before the follow-up video On Location with the Nikon D850: Froward Point was also published.
Since then I've been putting the Nikon D850 to good use. With the exception of the photographs captured in the article Shoot, Print, Surprise!, the D850 has been with me on all my photographic adventures.
So now that I've had the camera 6 months I thought I'd create a quick video to tell you what my favourite features of this amazing DSLR are. Want to know what they are? Well, check out the video below.
As I said in the video, the Nikon D850 doesn't necessarily make me a better photographer (just read my article Shoot, Print, Surprise!), but it does make the process of capturing images a little easier. Now that I have it, I wouldn't be without it. Well, not until the next model is released anyway!
Which camera do you shoot with and what is your favourite feature? Let me know in the comments below.
My Favourite D850 Images... So Far...
Shoot, Print, Surprise!
In this blog I head to Dawlish Warren to shoot a video I'm calling Shoot, Print, Surprise! But what is the surprise? Well, you'll just have the watch the video to find out!
Back at Dawlish Warren
In my latest video, I headed to Dawlish Warren to shoot some dawn seascapes. For those of you who have been following my blog for a while now, you may well be wondering if that is the only location I've ever photographed! I admit it though, I do like going there to capture images.
There are two good reasons for this. Firstly, it's close to home for me. This means that during the winter months when my time is particularly short, it's nice and easy for me to get to. It also offers a variety of different compositions to suit different conditions. With 15 or so groynes of different styles, and long beach it works well with both high and low tides. So, you can virtually go there in any conditions and get an interesting image.
I've mapped out the 15 groynes in a custom google map. It's still a work in progress, but the custom map also has recent images of each groyne so you can see what they look like before you get there. You can view the map here, and you can see how to make your own map here.
Shoot, Print, Surprise!
So back to the topic of the video. Well, the title should give you a good idea of what the video is about. In the video, I head out to Dawlish Warren to capture some dawn seascape images and then I head home to print some of them off. But what is the surprise? Well, you'll just have to watch the video to find out!
Well, I do hope you enjoyed that video, and of course the surprise element. Did you enjoy the surprise? What are your thoughts on the surprise topic? Let me know in the comments below.
The Photographs
As always here are the photographs that were featured in the video.
Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 @ 34 mm, f/11, 57 seconds at ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser, ND grad and 3 stop IRND.
Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 @ 24 mm, f/11, 1.3 seconds at ISO 100, Lee Filters Circular Polariser, and ND grad.
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.
Photographing The Cobb in Dorset: A 5 Minute Photo Adventure
In the blog this week I head to Lyme Regis in Dorset to photograph The Cobb. You can also watch one of my 5 Minute Photo Adventure videos so you can see how I captured the images featured in this blog.
Finally...A Break in the Weather
After what feels like an age, the weather forecasts finally started to show some better weather. January had been a challenging month for my photography. It was the normal combination of lack of time and poor weather, that resulted in not a lot of photography. For anyone who has read my blog for long enough, you'll know that January has historically always been a challenge for me.
It's not just the photography I've been missing, but also going out there and creating new videos for my YouTube channel.
Off to The Cobb
One of the locations that I've always wanted to make a video from is The Cobb in Lyme Regis. It's one of my favourite locations to shoot coastal images. I did actually try and make a video there last year, but I failed to prepare my gear properly. You can read all about that trip here.
So when the weather, and importantly the tide looked good for a dawn shoot at The Cobb I was super excited to finally make one of my 5 Minute Photo Adventure videos there. Here is the result:
I do hope you enjoyed that video and it has inspired you to photograph The Cobb. It's such a great location to photograph if you like shooting seascapes. Just remember to get there early in the morning (it can get busy with photographers), and watch out for those crashing waves!
Have you photographed The Cobb before? What is your favourite coastal location? Let me know in the comments below.
The Photographs
Here are the photographs you saw in the video, plus a couple of extras.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 @ 19mm, f/13, 2.5 seconds at ISO 64, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and ND Grad.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 @ 22mm, f/11, 1/8th second at ISO 64, Lee Filters Circular Polariser and ND Grad.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 VR @ 65mm, f/8, 60 seconds at ISO 64, Lee Filters Circular Polariser.
And finally...
Just a word of caution when visiting The Cobb...
Obama - An Intimate Portrait by Pete Souza - On My Bookshelf S01E03
In this episode of On My Bookshelf, I take a look at something a little different with Obama: An Intimate Portrait by Pete Souza.
Something a Little Different
In previous episodes of On My Bookshelf, I looked at 5 Great Landscape Photography Books and Masters of Landscape Photography. This time though I'm looking a photography book that has nothing to do with landscape photography. Obama: An Intimate Portrait by Pete Souza is a collection of photographs taken by the chief Whitehouse photographer of Barack Obama over his 8 years as US President.
So why as a landscape photographer would I be interested in such a book? Well as much as I love landscape photography I'm also a fan of photography and it's many different genres. While I'm not big on politics, US or otherwise, I got this book because of the amazing photographs inside it. They are powerful, thought-provoking, and sometimes humorous. More than that though it's a great example of the power of the photograph and of a photographer at the top of his game.
Let's take a look:
Though this book wasn't on landscape photography, I do hope you managed to look past the title (especially if you're not a fan of politics and/or Obama) and you saw that this book was really a collection of amazing portraits by a very talented photographer. I also think we can all learn to improve our own photography by looking at the work of others, even if their genre of photography is completely different.
Do you have any non-landscape photography books on your bookshelf? Who is your favourite non-landscape photographer? Let me know in the comments below.
How I Post Process My Landscape Images in Lightroom
In the blog this week I share a video on how I post process my landscape images using Adobe Lightroom.
As Requested!
Over the last few months, an increasing number of my YouTube followers have asked about my post-processing technique and would I do a video on the subject. Well, I finally found a suitable gap in my schedule to create a post-processing video and you can watch it right here:
As I said in the video, what I do is not necessarily the right way or the only way to do post-processing, it's just the way I do. Hopefully, even if you already know Lightroom you might have picked up on something new that you didn't know about.
Anyway, just a really short blog post from this week. I just wanted to share that video.
Are you interested in how I backup my data? Would you like to know how I manage my Lightroom catalogue? Let me know in the comments below.
Let's All Embrace the Grey!
In the blog this week I'm challenging the photography community to #EmbraceTheGrey !
Poor Weather Photography
Winter can be a miserable time for landscape photographers. It can, of course, also be a wonderful time, especially if it snows. However, if you are located in the UK, it can be a season of grey and overcast weather. Depressing as this weather can be, it can also be an opportunity to shoot landscape images with a difference.
If you've watched my Winter Solstice and Bad Weather Photography videos, you'll have heard me say that sometimes you've just go to embrace the grey. Judging by the comments in my videos, this phrase seemed to have resonated with people. So this got me thinking. Perhaps we should all be embracing the grey.
A Community Challenge
So between now and springtime, I'm challenging the photography community to go out in that grey and overcast weather and create some great images and vlogs. I want to see how creative the photography community can be! I'll then select some of those images and vlogs and feature them in a showcase video to highlight the great work everyone will hopefully create.
So here is how you can participate:
Shoot a vlog or create an image based on the grey / overcast theme.
Post it on social media using the tag #EmbraceTheGrey
Tag me in on your social media post - links to all my social accounts are in the icons at the bottom of this page.
Or you can send me an email using the contact form on this website to let me know where you've posted.
Around spring time I will select a range of photos and vlogs to feature in a showcase video that I will publish on my channel for the whole community to see.
To help kick things off, I created this introductory video which features me taking some long exposure photographs down at Brixham in Devon on a grey and overcast day.
So I really hope you'll participate in my #EmbraceTheGrey challenge! It should be fun and it will hopefully inspire you to get out there and take some great landscape images...even if the weather is rubbish!
My Images from Brixham
Long Lens Landscape Photography
In the blog this week I share with you my long lens landscape photography video. It was all inspired by my fellow landscape photographer Chris Sale who set me the challenge of capturing three long lens landscapes.
The Wide View
If I take a look at my Lightroom catalogue the most commonly used lens I have is without a doubt the Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 VR. This is hardly surprising given that it was the first full frame lens I bought and that I love shooting my landscapes wide.
About 18 months ago I bought a used Nikkor 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR. I purchased it after renting one a few times to help with my live music photography when I was shooting at bigger events. I soon discovered though that I could use it for my landscape work as well.
Since then, I have shot landscape images with the 70-200 mm but I probably don't use it as much as I should have. So when fellow landscape photographer and YouTuber Chris Sale set me the challenge of shooting 3 images with my 70-200 mm I really had to get my creative brain into gear.
As we are both YouTubers I also set Chris the challenge of creating some wide angle landscape images. You can see how we both got on in the video below:
Well, I hoped you enjoyed watching that video. For me, it was a really good experience. It actually got me to think a little differently! It's opened my eyes a little more to creating landscape images with a longer lens, and I'm sure the 70-200 mm will be making a more regular appearance in my camera back.
Do you have a favourite lens? Do you prefer to shoot wide or tight? Or do you mix it up depending on the scene? Let me know in the comments below.
The Long Lens Images
In case you want to have a closer look at the images featured in the video here they are:
Nikon D850, Nikkor 70-200 mm f/2.8 at 112 mm, 0.6 seconds at ISO 64, f/11.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 70-200 mm f/2.8 at 100 mm, 0.6 seconds at ISO 64, f/11. This didn't actually make it to the video, but I do really like it!
Nikon D850, Nikkor 70-200 mm f/2.8 at 70 mm, 1/6th second at ISO 64, f/11.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 70-200 mm f/2.8 at 135 mm, 75 seconds at ISO 64, f/2.8, Lee Filters Big Stopper and 3 stop ND.
Winter Solstice Adventure
In the blog this week I share with you the highs and lows of landscape photography as I head out on winter solstice to capture some images.
The Longest Shortest Day
Back in June of 2017, I headed out with the camera to create some landscape images on the summer solstice. You can see the images I created that day along with the video I made by clicking here.
I really enjoyed that day so I knew that when winter solstice came along in December I was going to spend the day out with the camera. Being the shortest day of the year it shouldn't have been nearly as tiring as the summer solstice.
Unfortunately when winter solstice did come around the weather was grey and overcast. I had checked the weather forecast the night before and had planned my locations to suit the weather. I'm all for "embracing the grey", but a full day might well be a challenge too far even for me!
As with summer solstice, I spent the day capturing images and filming my experiences. It was definitely a tough day. Maybe I was tired, maybe I was feeling challenged, but one thing is for sure, it sure did feel like a long day. However, saying all that I did have some great experiences, and if you watch all the video you'll see something special happen right at the end.
Enjoy!
A Winter Solstice Gallery
As always I do hope you enjoyed watching my adventures. I tried to make the most of the weather conditions and the images I took that day both reflect my varying moods and the conditions I had to work with.
You'll have seen these images in the video, but here they are again in case you want a closer look.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 VR at 19 mm, 180 seconds at ISO 64, f/11, Lee Filters circular polariser and Big Stopper.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 VR at 19 mm, 180 seconds at ISO 64, f/11, Lee Filters circular polariser, ND grad and Big Stopper.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 VR at 18 mm, 180 seconds at ISO 64, f/13, Lee Filters circular polariser, ND grad and Big Stopper.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 VR at 18 mm, 8 seconds at ISO 64, f/13, Lee Filters circular polariser, ND grad and Little Stopper.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35 mm f/4 VR at 17 mm, 4.8 seconds at ISO 64, f/13, Lee Filters circular polariser, ND grad and Little Stopper.
Well, I do hope you enjoyed those images and my winter solstice video. Did you head out for winter solstice? Have you had days where landscape photography has been both a joy and a drag? Let me know in the comments below.
My 5 Favourite Images of 2017 and How to Find Yours
In the blog this week I take a look at my 5 favourite images from 2017. I also tell you why you should find your 5 favourites and show you how.
The How and Why
At the end of each year, I like to look back at the photographs I have taken. This reminds me not only that I had some challenges with my photography, but also that I had some successes. By putting these successful photographs into an annual collection it helps focus my mind for the following year and gives me plenty of inspiration and encouragement.
In the video below I share with you the process of how I select my 5 favourite images so that you can do the same.
My 5 Favourite Images of 2017
As with my image review from last year, this review has given me a lot of inspiration to take through into 2018. I went out over 50 times with the camera in 2017 and drove over 6000 miles, and it was great to see all that effort wasn't wasted!
So which one of my 5 images was your favourite? Have you gone through a similar process as well? Let me know in the comments below.
Developing a Passion for Printing
In the vlog this week I expand my printing skills by printing a panoramic image on panoramic paper and then mounting it into a custom-made panoramic frame. I also take a look at some different paper types to try and see what impact each one has on an image.
Discovering the Joy of Printing
Back in April of this year, I wrote about how I purchased a new Canon Pixma Pro-10S printer while I was at The Photography Show in Birmingham. You can read why bought a printer and watch the video I made on my first experiences of printing, in my blog article Discovery the Joy of Printing.
Ever since then I've been printing my images. A lot. And I have to say it's been a lot of fun. I've enjoyed the experience of going out to make an image, post-processing it, and then creating a print at the end.
Developing a Passion for Printing
I have however been keeping things relatively simple. I've been using standard paper sizes, using Canon's Platinum Pro glossy paper. The results have been great. Prints match what is on the screen and the whole workflow is straightforward.
However, there any many different paper types from many different paper manufacturers, so I thought it was about time to expand my printing horizons. In the video below I take one of my favourite panoramic images and print it on some panoramic paper from Fotospeed, and then mount it in a custom frame from Picture Frames Direct. I also take another one of my favourite images of the year and print it on some different paper types.
These are the images I printed in the video.
Nikon D750, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 VR at 20mm, 1/3 sec at f/11, ISO 100, 7 image panorama.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 @ 18mm, ISO 100, 5 sec @ f/13, Lee Filters circular polariser and ND grad.
Well, I hope you enjoyed my follow-up video on printing. As you can see I've still got a lot to learn, but I'm really enjoying the challenge. I get a great sense of satisfaction on owning the entire process from capture to print.
Have you recently taken up printing? Are you an experienced printer? Do you have any advice on printing? Let me know in the comments below.
Masters of Landscape Photography - On My Bookshelf S01E02
In this blog post, I take a look at the book Masters of Photography.
Masters of Landscape Photography
Back in October, I introduced you to a new series of videos that I was going to create called On My Bookshelf. The first video was called 5 Great Landscape Photography Books and it feature 5 of my favourite landscape photography books.
Well, I'm very pleased to share with you the latest episode of On My Bookshelf which looks at the book, Masters of Landscape Photography.
You can see my thoughts on this book in the video below:
I do hope you enjoyed that episode of On My Bookshelf. If you'd like to pick up a copy of this book then you click here and it will take you straight to Amazon.
I'm also very interested to hear your feedback. Is this type of content of interest to you? Was this episode too long or too short? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Snow on Belstone Common
In this blog post and video, I head up to Belstone Common on Dartmoor to catch the first snow of the winter.
Snow!
I think most landscape photographers like a bit of snow. It's rare to see here in the south west of England, so when it does come it can transform the winter landscape from dull and boring, to crisp and white. It can really change the look of a location and provide opportunities to shoot something a little different.
When my wife casually mentioned that snow was forecast my first reaction was for disbelief. It was November and probably a little early for snow. However, I'm not one to miss an opportunity so I checked the Will It Snow forecast and was happy to see that there was a 57% chance of snow on Dartmoor.
I got my thinking hat on and thought the higher up I went on Dartmoor, the greater the chance of snow there would be. I then remember Belstone Common, a location that I've photographed before. It's close to home, easy to access and importantly over 400m above sea level.
Despite the 50/50 odds on it snowing, I couldn't miss this potential opportunity, so I got my gear ready and made plans for an early start the next day.
You can see how I got on in my latest 5 Minute Photo Adventure video below:
The Images
Here are the images that I captured that you will have seen in the video.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 at 18mm, ISO 64, 3 seconds at f/13, Lee Filters 0.6 ND graduated filter.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 at 18mm, ISO 64, 1/5th second at f/13.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 at 18mm, ISO 64, 1/5th second at f/13, Lee Filters 0.6 ND graduated filter.
Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 at 19mm, ISO 64, 1/8th second at f/13, Lee Filters 0..6 ND graduated filter.
I hope you enjoyed the video and the images I captured. I certainly had fun up on Dartmoor that morning, despite the freezing temperatures. It really is mornings like that I look forward to. A lot of action, changing conditions, and plenty of opportunities to capture images.
So have you photographed any snowy scenes this winter? What is your favourite season to photograph? Let me know in the comments below.
Landscape Photography with the Mactrem AT64C Tripod
In the blog this week I take the Mactrem AT64C Carbon tripod on location to shoot some landscape images to see how it copes with real-world situations. Join me in my video review as I photograph long exposures at Dawlish Warren, use a long lens at Colmer's Hill, and take panoramic images from Pilsdon Pen. Finally, I give you my thoughts on this tripod. Is it worth buying?
Reviews On Location
When Mactrem reached out to me to review their AT64C carbon tripod I thought it would be a great excuse to go out and do some landscape photography. Not that I really need an excuse. I fairly well self-motivated when it comes to landscape photography!
For this review, I didn't want to just unbox the tripod and discuss the technical specs from the comfort of my home. That would be a bit boring wouldn't it? So I thought I would do my review a little differently. I would put the tripod to use in some real-world scenarios, capture some images and share my thoughts on both the photography and the tripod.
By doing this I would not only educate the viewer on the tripods performance on location but for anyone just interested in landscape photography there would be something there for them as well.
Reviewing to Mactrem AT64C Tripod
So regardless if you want to know more about this tripod or you just want to see me shoot some landscapes, I hope you enjoy this video:
I do hope you enjoyed this video and that you either found the review helpful or just liked the photography bit.
If you want to purchase one of these tripods then you can purchase one from Amazon.co.uk by clicking on this link here. Also, until 15th April 2018, if you enter the code UWSN5IQD at checkout, you will receive £15 off the price of the tripod.
So what tripod and head do you use? Would you like to see me do more product reviews on location like this one? Let me know in the comments below.
PS. Keep reading as below I'm going to share with you the images that I took at all the locations, along with some shots of me using the tripod.
Landscape Photography Adventure in the Lake District - Part 3
In this special blog post, I share with you the final part of my landscape photography adventure video from the Lake District.
If you watched part 1 and part 2 you'll know that I didn't have the best of luck with the weather. For two days I had grey, flat light, and while I was capturing nice images, they just lacked the dramatic light that I know the Lake District can produce. Then, and I'm not joking here, the light broke through the clouds in the last 15 minutes of my adventure. I was just about to pack up and leave as I need to get back to my hotel to check out when all the action happened.
As long as I could go away with one great image I would have been happy. It just happened that on this trip I needed to wait until the very end of my trip!
Overall I had a really good time in the Lake District. While the photography was challenging at times, it was also a lot of fun. As is often the case with these trips the enjoyment comes from more than just photography. I'm a big fan of the outdoors, so just being outside and wandering about some of these great spots and locations is a wonderful experience. I also met some great people on my adventure. From fellow photographers, hill walkers, and even a fell runner. I guess I like to talk as much as I like to take photographs!
I hope you enjoyed this three-part blog and vlog on my recent Lake District adventure. I'm already making plans for more adventures next year, so remember to stay tuned.
So have you ever photographed the Lake District? What has been your favourite 15 minutes of photography? Let me know in the comments below.