Capture or Editing - Which Has the Biggest Influence on Landscape Photography?
How much of a photographer’s vision is realised in post processing? Is the look of a landscape photograph fixed at the point of capture? Can one raw file produce two different photographs? In this post, I aim to answer this question by editing another photographer’s raw file in Lightroom.
Virtual Collaborations
Collaborations can be a great way to discover more about your photography. They can also be a lot of fun. That being said I don’t do them that often. I tend to only do them with photographers I know and trust, and when the idea is unique or interesting. They require a fair bit of planning and coordination, but they can be rewarding if they benefit everyone involved in the collaboration.
Time is perhaps the biggest enemy of collaborations, but in recent months it’s been a very different issue. I don’t need to go into too much detail here. I’ll just mention the word “lockdown” and you’ll know exactly what I mean.
With travel not possible I found myself a bit stuck for collaboration ideas when I was chatting to my mate and fellow photographer Chris Sale the other day. We were both looking for something we could do together that didn’t involve travel. I’ve worked with Chris a few times on various projects, such as the documentary I made about him recently, but whatever we’ve done, we’ve normally done it in person.
How Important is Post-Processing?
As I chatted with Chris, I came up with the idea of editing each other’s raw files. This would be something we could do without meeting up, but it would still hopefully prove to be interesting. Neither of us would normally let someone else edit one of our raw files, but we’ve been friends for a while now so we both felt we could trust each other with our precious digital negatives.
The question we were aiming to answer in our collaboration was how much influence does post-processing have on the final image? If you give one raw file to two different photographers, how different will the results be? Is the output of the image fixed at the time of capture, or does the photographer's post-processing style have a significant impact on the output? You get the idea!
In the videos below you’ll find Chris editing one of my raw files, and me editing one of Chris’ raw files. At the end of each video, we’ll present our results back to each other, and compare them to the photographer's original edit. How different will the photographs look? Find out below.
Did the results surprise you? Would you ever let someone edit one of our raw files? Let me know in the comments below
My FREE Landscape Photography Locations Map
What will your next landscape photography location be? Are you looking for a little bit of inspiration for your next adventure? In this video, I share with you my FREE landscape photography locations map.
A Map of My Blog
When I started this blog back in 2016, I committed myself to publishing regular posts of my photography adventures. I’m proud to say that I have kept that commitment and now my blog is packed full of stories, adventures, photographs, and videos.
With so much content for even me to navigate I decided to create a custom Google Map with pins in all the locations I have photographed and written about. Once it was complete it occurred to me that it would a wonderful thing to share with the people that regularly visit my website!
In the video below I talk more about my map of landscape photography locations and how to use it. So, if you’ve ever wanted to know where to shoot on Dartmoor, or you are just looking for some photography inspiration I hope you will find the map useful.
Subscribe and Get Access
As I said in the video it’s really easy to get access to my locations map. All I ask that you do is subscribe to my newsletter. As soon as you confirm your subscription you will receive a link to the map in your email.
Thanks for your support, it is very much appreciated.
Start Point - A 5 Minute Photo Adventure from the South West Coast Path
Grab yourself a cup of coffee because it's time for another 5 Minute Photo Adventure! In this episode, I head to one of my favourite South West Coast Path locations, Start Point Lighthouse in south Devon.
The Challenge of Getting There
There’s only one problem with going to photograph Start Point on the south Devon coast and that’s the effort required to get there. It’s not so much the 50-mile driving distance (37 miles as the crow flies), but more with the time it takes to get there. The journey time for me takes around 90 minutes and while I’m no stranger to making such journeys for the benefit of my landscape photography, it’s the roads that make the journey more challenging.
Once I leave the A38 and start driving towards Kingsbridge the quality and width of the roads start to reduce. Nothing to bad (for Devon standards) but after Kingsbridge things get dull. Lots of small villages with low-speed limits and that last five miles just seems to take an age. It’s not so bad when you are shooting sunrise as there is a lot less traffic, but during the day when you can get caught behind a tractor or a broken-down cement truck and it all becomes very boring.
However, all those complaints about the roads all disappear when you park your car and step out to one of the finest views along the South West Coast Path. Once I’m there, breathing in that glorious sea air I couldn’t care less about how long it took me to get there.
Risk vs Reward
With the apparent extra effort it seems to take to get to Start Point, I don’t go there as much as I might like to. Unlike some other coastal locations where I’ll just take a punt, I’m always looking for favourable conditions before I commit to the drive. Even with a good forecast, there is no guarantee of interesting conditions. There is always an element of risk vs reward. This is especially true when the conditions are a bit stormy or unsettled. In terms of capturing photographs, heading out in these types of conditions is risky, but the rewards can be amazing.
Back in December, I decided that I wanted to return to Start Point and capture some photographs looking at the peninsula from the west. I had checked out this viewpoint a couple of times, but the forecast was predicting some unsettled weather and the opportunity to capture this location with setting sun and some big clouds were too tempting to ignore.
Knowing very well that I could spend 3 hours in the car to end up with not a lot to show for it at the end, I packed my camera bag and set off regardless. Here is how I got on.
I hope you enjoyed my 5 Minute Photo Adventure to Start Point. While the conditions weren’t as dramatic as I might have hoped, I still came away with some images that made the trip worthwhile.
Do you have any locations that seem to be “harder” than others to get to? Let me know in the comments below.
Start Point Photographs
As always here are the photographs you saw me capture in the video. Enjoy!
Sunset at Start Point #1, South West Coast Path, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 24-200mm f/4-6.3 at 44mm, f/11, 1.6 secs at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL and ND.
Sunset at Start Point #2, South West Coast Path, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 24-200mm f/4-6.3 at 39mm, f/11, 2 secs at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL and ND.
Sunset at Start Point #3, South West Coast Path, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 24-200mm f/4-6.3 at 44mm, f/11, 13 secs at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL.
Winter Landscape Photography On Dartmoor and Vallerret Gloves
In my latest video I head to Belstone for some Dartmoor snow and to capture some wintery landscape photographs. I’ll also tell you all about my new Vallerret photography gloves.
Dartmoor Snow
There can’t be many landscape photographers who are familiar with Dartmoor National Park that don’t excited about the possibility of snowfall. I’m certainly one of them and this was confirmed a few weeks ago when I found myself checking the weather forecast a lot more than usual! The forecast had been predicting varying levels of snowfall but it always seem that at the last minute, the forecast would change.
This went on for a few days. After spending days looking at my packed camera bag, I finally decided enough was enough, and to hell with the forecast, I was going to head out the following morning. I didn’t necessarily need a complete blanket of snow to capture the images I was hoping to get. I just needed Dartmoor to look a bit wintery.
Belstone Common
The forecast for the following morning was for light snow showers, but more importantly than that were the forecasted sub-zero temperatures. To maximise my chance of getting those wintery conditions I needed to go somewhere on Dartmoor that had an elevated viewpoint. For me, Belstone Tor at 479 m is a great balance between elevation and journey time (driving and walking time).
In the video below you can see how I got on and how I went about capturing the photographs you can see in this blog post.
Vallerret Skadi Zipper Mitt Review
In the video, you will have also seen me talk about an essential item of photography gear for winter, the Vallerret Skadi Zipper Mitt. I’ve always suffered from cold hands and these gloves have been a welcome addition to my kit bag, especially on frosty Dartmoor mornings! As it was such a wintery morning when I was shooting this video, I thought it was a good time to share my thoughts on them.
If you’d like to pick up a pair of these gloves, then just click the link here.
Dartmoor Landscape Photographs
Below you will find the photographs I captured in the video. As a bonus, I’ve also included the first image I captured just before sunrise, so you can see the difference the morning light from the sun makes. I have to say though, even without the golden light I still really like that first photography.
A Snowy Dawn at Belstone, Dartmoor National Park, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 20mm, f/11, 0.5 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL and ND grad.
Sunrise and Snow at Belstone #1, Dartmoor National Park, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 19mm, f/11, 1/4 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL and ND grad.
Sunrise and Snow at Belstone #2, Dartmoor National Park, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 16mm, f/11, 1/4 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL and ND grad.
Improve Your Landscape Photography Skills
Over the years I’ve done several things that have helped improve my landscape photography. In this blog post, I share with you what some of those things are.
Things I’ve Learnt on My Way to Becoming a Better Photographer
How do you become a better photographer? It’s not an easy question to answer, and to make things more complicated there certainly isn’t just one answer. Everyone follows a different path and importantly that journey never ends. No matter what level of experience you are at with your photography there will always be ways to improve.
In the video below I share with you some of the things that worked for me. This isn’t a prescriptive video in which I’m saying you must follow every idea. It is more about providing you with some suggestions. People learn and improve in different ways so not all these tips will be suitable for your photography journey. Hopefully though one or two of my suggestions will be useful and you might put them to the test to see if they can help you.
Useful Links I Mentioned in the Video
For 1-2-1 tuition and workshops take a look at:
Try these YouTube channels and podcasts:
The Art of Photography - YouTube channel by Ted Forbes
Sean Tucker - YouTube channel
A Beautiful Anarchy Podcast - David Duchemin
Check out all my printing videos in this playlist.
Snowdonia Landscape Photographs
Aberglaslyn Pass, Snowdonia National Park, Wales - Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 at 14mm, f/13, 1/8th sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL.
Afon Glaslyn from Pont Aberglaslyn, Snowdonia National Park, Wales - Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR at 51mm, f/13, 1/4th sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL.
Waterfall near Cwm Bychan, Snowdonia National Park, Wales - Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 at 18mm, f/11, 1/8, 0.4 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL.
Lake District Landscape Photographs
Derwent Isle, Lake District National Park - Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 at 37mm, f/11, 1/8, 30 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL and 6 stop ND.
Derwent Water from Crow Park, Lake District National Park - Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 at 29mm, f/8, 0.5 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL, 9 image panoramic cropped at 6:17.
Strandshag Bay, Lake District National Park - Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR at 200mm, f/8, 0.8 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL, 9 image panoramic cropped at 6:17.
Rippon Tor - A 5 Minute Photo Adventure on Dartmoor
In the blog this week I head up to Rippon Tor to shoot sunrise and I also share with you what I think the key to making a successful landscape photography video is.
Rippon Tor, Sunrise and Fog
There are few better ways to start the day than by grabbing your camera and heading up to one of your favourite viewpoints on Dartmoor to watch the sunrise. Fortunately, at this time of year sunrise is at a time where it doesn’t feel unnatural to be awake. I think back to some of the early alarm calls I had this summer to get up for sunrise. No one should be waking up at 3:30 am!
I’m fortunate to live close to Dartmoor so when the weather conditions don’t turn out how I expect them, I don’t feel I’ve wasted a lot of time. Even then, any morning up on Dartmoor is a positive experience regardless of how the photos turned out. My most recent visits to Rippon Tor hadn’t yielded the types of images I wanted to get from this location so when I saw fog was forecast one Sunday morning that was all the encouragement I needed to return.
I’d seen forecasts of fog for the Haytor area before but thanks to those micro-climates you find on Dartmoor, I’d often arrive there to find none. My most recent visit was slightly different though as there was a thick bank of fog in the valley below Emsworthy Tor. As exciting as this was, it wasn’t really in a position where I felt I could take a good photograph. If the conditions hadn’t looked more favourable up on Rippon Tor, I might have taken a risk and done some exploring.
As I approached the summit of Rippon Tor, I could see another bank of thick sea fog that would prevent me from getting the light just as the sun broke over the horizon. I had made the poor choice of leaving too early from Rippon Tor last time there was a lot of cloud and fog out at sea, only for the sun to break through as I descended. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake this time.
In this 5 Minute Photo Adventure, you can see how I got on on my latest visit and I also share with you what I think the secret is to creating a successful landscape photography video. Enjoy!
Do you find it difficult to get accurate fog forecasts? What’s your favourite type of foggy photograph to take? Let me know in the comments below.
Rippon Tor Photographs
Here are the images you see me capture in the video. Enjoy!
Rippon Tor at Dawn #1, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 28mm, f/11, 1.6 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL, 4:5 crop.
Rippon Tor at Dawn #2, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 25mm, f/11, 1.3 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL.
Rippon Tor at Dawn #3, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 15mm, f/11, 1 second at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL, 4:5 crop.
Rippon Tor at Dawn #4, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 15mm, f/11, 1/5th second at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL, 16:9 crop.
Tides and Tempests by Rachael Talibart and Published by Kozu Books - On My Bookshelf S03E11
In this episode of On My Bookshelf I take a look at Rachael Talibart’s Tides and Tempests.
Sirens
Though I was familiar with Rachael’s work, it wasn’t until I saw her talk at The Photography Show in 2019 that I became a bit of a fan. Listening to her talk about her life, her journey from solicitor to photographer and most importantly her photographs, changed the way I viewed her work. Sometimes there is nothing like engaging with a photographer on a personal level to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for their work.
In the presentation, Rachael talked a lot about her body of work called Sirens. Though these aren’t the type of photographs I might capture, I found them fascinating. There is always something to learn from other people’s work. One of the things Rachael talked about was how her pictures lacked a sense of place. In other words, they could have been taken anywhere. This is perhaps why Rachael’s photographs have such a wide appeal. This is a complete contrast to my work which is very much about where the photograph was taken.
With my interest in Sirens very much sparked I decided to purchase a copy of the book. Unfortunately for me I was a little late to the party as it was completely sold out. I was disappointed for sure, but I had a feeling that since Sirens had been such a success Rachael would look to publish another book in the future. Fortunately for me I wouldn’t have to wait too long.
Tides and Tempests
Fast forward to December 2020 and my pre-ordered copy of Rachael’s new book Tides and Tempest has finally arrived. This book and Neil Burnell’s Mystical are the two books I have been most excited about getting this year. Was Rachael’s book worth the wait? Is it a book for your bookshelf? Let’s find out.
I do hope you enjoyed this episode of On My Bookshelf. If you’d like to purchase a copy of Tides and Tempests you can do so directly from Kozu Books here. Go on, treat yourself!
Celebrate YOUR Photography by Creating a Landscape Photography Calendar
I want to inspire you to celebrate YOUR photography in 2021 creating your very own landscape photography calendar. I'll take you through the process of how I created my calendar, share my thoughts on the final product and tell you why you should also make one.
A New Photography Project
Not all photography projects need to be about going out and capturing new images. Some projects can be about celebrating the images that you already have in your library. There are many ways to do this, but I think one of the most rewarding things to do is to make prints of your photographs. Why spend all that time (and probably money) capturing wonderful photographs for them to end up sitting on a hard drive somewhere.
I’ve printed my photographs in a variety of different ways from single prints, home galleries and by creating a book. It was while creating the book that I had the idea of making a calendar. I was using the services of Saal Digital to create my book when I noticed that they also printed calendars and so I made a note to make one towards the end of the year.
Celebrate YOUR Photography
As the end of 2020 approach, I decided it was time to start that project to create a calendar. The idea of creating a calendar was exciting and I thought that if I were excited then I was sure other people would feel the same. Not excited about my calendar that is, but excited about the idea of creating YOUR own calendar! What better way to celebrate your photography than by creating a calendar?
So, in the video below I share with you the process of how I created my calendar with Saal Digital. The purpose of the video isn’t to sell you my calendar but to inspire you to create one yourself! Aside from selecting which 12 images to include in the calendar, the process of putting it together is relatively straight forward. What better way to travel through each month of 2021 by marveling at one of your own images!
A Very Limited Edition
While I have mentioned that I used Saal Digital to create my calendar, I did pay for my own calendars. It’s also not my goal to sell my calendars. This is very much a personal project for me. While I didn’t order hundreds of calendars, I did order two. One is for me to hang on my wall and the other is to giveaway to someone like you. Someone in my community. Details of how you can win this very limited edition calendar are all in the video.
I’ll be doing another photography publishing project early next year so stay tuned to the blog!
East Dartmoor - A 5 Minute Photo Adventure
In this 5 Minute Photo Adventure I head out to east Dartmoor to capture some autumnal landscape photographs.
Discovering Dartmoor
I’ve been photographing Dartmoor for many years and yet I’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to exploring this amazing national park. There are some areas that I have yet to visit and some that I have explored and photographed numerous times. One of the locations that falls into the latter category is Haytor. There are many locations around the Haytor area worth photographing including Emsworthy Tor where I undertook a project to photograph it every month for a year (click here to see how I got on).
Just a short distance from Haytor is an area known as Trendlebere Down. I discovered this area of east Dartmoor while looking for some new locations to walk my dog. On my first visit, I was instantly captivated by this beautiful location and it was made even more stunning by the vibrant autumn colours. How did I not know about this place before? I knew I would have to return with the camera.
Over the autumn period, I visited this location numerous times and I was also inspired to create one of my 5 Minute Photo Adventure videos. While filming the overcast and windy conditions made the photography challenging but I still wanted to share a small portion of what this location has to offer.
I hope you enjoy this 5 Minute Photo Adventure video and it will inspire you to look more closely at an area you know well. You never know what you might discover.
Autumn on Dartmoor Photographs
Here are the photographs you saw in the video. Enjoy!
Bridge Over the Bovey #1, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 17mm, f/8, 2.5 seconds at ISO 64.
Bridge Over the Bovey #, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 17mm, f/8, 0.5 seconds at ISO 400.
Autumn on Trendlebere #2, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 20mm, f/6.3, 1/4 seconds at ISO 800.
F/8 Street Photography Magazine by Gareth Danks - On My Bookshelf S03E10
My bookshelf has always had more than just landscape photography books on it but this is the first time I'm looking at something from the street photography genre.
Not Just Landscapes
Over the years I’ve bought lots of books on photography. They are a great source of inspiration and education. If you were to look at my bookshelf you would of course see a lot of books on landscape photography, but you would also see books from different genres of photography. Though landscape photography is my passion, I’m a firm believer that I can still develop my own photography by looking at photographs from all genres.
Saying that though there is one genre of photography that has been missing from my bookshelf and that’s street photography. There’s no particular reason for that but when I heard Gareth Danks was self-publishing a new magazine on street photography, I knew I should take a look and dip my toe into street photography publications.
Street Photography
In this episode of On My Bookshelf, I’m looking at issues one and two of F/8 Street Photography magazine. A magazine isn’t something I’d normally consider making an episode of On My Bookshelf for but what makes this magazine interesting is that it features a lot of community content. Plus, unlike many of the magazines that you might see in a newsagent the print quality is a noticeable step above the rest. Let’s take a look.
I hope you enjoyed this episode of On My Bookshelf. Regardless of your level of interest in street photography, F/8 Street Photography magazine is well worth checking out.
Mystical by Neil Burnell - On My Bookshelf S03E09
In this the 20th episode of On My Bookshelf I look at Mystical by Neil Burnell.
A Mystical Journey
It’s always nice to see a local photographer do well, particularly one you know. In Neil Burnell’s case, he’s been doing very well. He’s already had one book published and his list of awards continues to grow, including a category win in LPOTY this year. The recognition of his work is completely justified though. Just look at his website and you’ll understand why. His work stands out in a crowded Instagram feed as I’ve often found myself scrolling through the feed only to be stopped in my tracks by an image that I already know is Neil’s, such is the strength of his style.
I first found out about the Mystical collection of photographs when Neil gave me a sneaky look at the video below.
I was impressed by not only the quality of the images but also the style and consistency. I’ve tried (and failed) to create a series or collection of images before and it’s REALLY hard. To create such an extensive body of quality work takes lots of dedication and time.
Neil had already started selling prints from the Mystical collection, so it was only a matter of time before he was going to produce a book. As soon as he said he was doing so I knew I wanted a copy! So just like everyone else I ordered and paid for my copy. (I think it’s important to support your fellow photographers whenever you can, even if you know them).
I’m pleased to say that I now have my copy of the book and I’m also one of the lucky ones who managed to get hold a first edition (which is now sold out). Don’t worry though, you can order the 2nd edition here, but I suggest you order one soon as these will sell out quickly. If you need a little more convincing, then why not check out the episode of On My Bookshelf below.
Celebrating 20 Episodes of On My Bookshelf
Finally, I just want to highlight that this episode of On My Bookshelf is the 20th episode! When I filmed the very first episode of On My Bookshelf, I never thought that I’d get to twenty episodes. While the episodes are a bit of niche market in the content that I produce I still love making them. There are few things better than sitting down to read a good photography book on a cold and wet Sunday afternoon. Judging by the comments these videos get I appear to not be the only one.
Thanks to everyone who has watched an episode and left a comment. Just for fun, here is the first episode I made.
A Day in the Life of Chris Sale, Professional Landscape Photographer - Documentary and Interview
Many photographers dream of turning professional, but what is it REALLY like to be a modern-day professional landscape photographer? Is it a dream job or a NIGHTMARE? To find out, I spent the day with Chris Sale and filmed a typical day in his life.
What’s It Really Like to Be a Pro Photographer?
Chris Sale and I used to lead similar lives. We both had senior jobs in corporate IT and our spare time was dominated by our passion for photography. In fact, it was that love for landscape photography and for producing YouTube videos that we became good friends. Over the years since we’ve been friends, we’ve met up for numerous shoots and even produced a few videos together.
Twelve months ago, Chris made to decision to leave his job in IT to become a full time, professional landscape photographer. Without a doubt, this was a major decision by Chris and a risky one at that. However, as risky as it was, Chris didn’t just wake up one morning and decide to turn pro (as you’ll find out in the film). I thought it was an incredibly exciting decision and I was keen to try and support Chris where I could.
Chris’ transition to professional photographer follows a path that might be quite different from a lot of other photographers, particularly those who have a more established presence in the industry. It’s those key differences in both Chris’ journey and the way he runs his business that gave me the idea of producing this documentary.
As I try to be as supportive of Chris, so he is supportive of me. When I proposed the idea of creating this documentary, he was more than willing to support me and most importantly offer me his trust. The trust element was particularly important as he was going to let me film him for a day, and then edit that down to a short film.
We were hoping to make the film earlier this year, but a certain pandemic put an end to that plan. We still thought it was a great idea, so as soon as it was safe to travel and meet up again, we put a new date in our plan.
I am now absolutely delighted to share the film we have made. I hope that by viewing it you not only get a good idea of what it is like to be a professional landscape photographer, but you also learn about Chris’ interesting journey. Most of all I hope you enjoy it!
Do you have an interesting or compelling photography story that could make for a good film? Let me know in the comments below.
Not Every Photograph Needs to be a Masterpiece
As a landscape photographer I'd like every shoot to result in a portfolio class image, but this is an unrealistic expectation. Sometimes you just need to take joy in the experience of capturing an image and learning from it.
Embrace the Grey Once Again!
I’ve made several videos on the theme on embracing the grey and because I live in an area where overcast days aren’t exactly unheard of it might not surprise you that I’ve decided to do another one. For me, the key to a successful shoot in grey and overcast conditions is to find the right subject (as I discussed in this video).
There’s been a location near to home that I’ve been wanting to photograph for a while and that’s the Philip Lucette Light near Teignmouth. I found out about this interesting location from an image I saw from Neil Burnell and a video from Lynne Luxon-Jones. It looked like an interesting subject to photograph and I thought it would make for a great #EmbracetheGrey subject.
In the video below you can follow me along as I photograph this location for the very first time. I also show you how I edit the image to give me a specific look and feel, and I of course make a print of the image. I also discuss in the video the importance of just going out to take pictures, and not to worry about every shot being a masterpiece. After all, we should love the art of taking a picture first and foremost.
Enjoy!
Philip Lucette Light #2, Shaldon, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 24-200mm f/4-6.3 at 48mm, f/8, 214 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL and 10 Stop ND
In the Danger Zone
In this 5 Minute Photo Adventure, I head further and deeper into Dartmoor National Park than I've ever been before. I leave civilisation and walk along open moorland for an hour until I reach the Danger Zone! There I find a new location to photograph and I experience some wild Dartmoor weather.
That Looks Interesting
Some days I have a clear plan of where and what I’m going to shoot. I go out with conviction and even though it might not turn out how I had hoped, I know I gave it my best shot. There are also days where I just sit in front of my computer scratching my head on what to do. This indecision is often caused by a weather forecast that doesn’t favour any particular location or scene.
It’s these times that I often look to try and go somewhere new. I’m taking a risk with the weather so I might as well take a risk on a new location. Though I’ve got plenty of locations on my custom Google Map that I haven’t visited, this time I decided to check through my back catalogue of Outdoor Photography magazines instead.
As I browsed my collection of magazines with a cup of coffee, a location called Oke Tor on Dartmoor caught my eye. I looked it up on OS Maps and saw that it was just a little bit further on from one of my favourite locations, Belstone Tor. I also noticed that Oke Tor was just inside the Okehampton military danger zone so I made sure to check if the zone would be inactive before making any further plans. Fortunately, no firing was planned so I made plans to enter the danger zone!
With plans made to visit a new location and with the weather forecast predicting anything from clear blue skies to heavy rain showers I thought it might be an adventure worth filming. While it is always nice to show a polished video with great images, I’ve always said that I wanted to show a realistic side of landscape photography on this blog as well.
While the video below is a bit rough and ready, and the photographs are not my best work, I wanted to share with you the adventure of going somewhere new for the first time, battling the weather and grabbing those early compositions. I hope you enjoy it!
Oke Tor (Dartmoor) Photographs
Oke Tor #1, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 14mm, f/11, 0.4 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL and ND Grad.
Oke Tor #2, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 18mm, f/11, 1/4 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL and ND Grad.
Oke Tor #3, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 15mm, f/11, 1/4 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL and ND Grad.
Oke Tor #4, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 14mm, f/14, 1/3 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL and ND Grad.
Oke Tor #5, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 14mm, f/11, 1/3 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL and ND Grad.
Oke Tor #6, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 14mm, f/11, 1/3 sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 CPL and ND Grad.
Alone and Together
Landscape photography can be a solitary endeavour and while I truly do appreciate that alone time, it is in the sharing of those images that brings me the greatest satisfaction. Like many photographers, I share my images online, but after reading an article in Outdoor Photography magazine I was inspired to create a new image and print, then give it to someone in my audience. I wanted to create a moment of togetherness.
Landscape Photography on Dartmoor
I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with photographing Dartmoor. The conditions up on the moor can be miserable, sometimes even a little cruel for the landscape photographer. If it’s not clear blue skies it’s grey, overcast, and wet. It’s rare for that perfect mix of weather conditions to be present at the right time. Well, it doesn’t happen very often when I’m there.
All that said, when the conditions are magical it is a proper treat to be photographing Dartmoor. It’s exciting, demanding and most of all enjoyable. I don’t always have the video camera along with me when things do go well on Dartmoor but in a rare moment of luck, I had it with me when I got some great conditions up on Chinkwell Tor recently.
In the video below, I share with you the experience of capturing the photographs in this blog post and I select one of those images to create a print. I also tell you that I want to do something special with that print. Want to know what that is? Well, it is all to do with the theme of Alone and Together, but you’ll have to watch the video to find out more.
Chinkwell Tor Photographs
Here are the photographs you saw in the video in a bit more detail. Enjoy!
A Chink in the Sky, Chinkwell Tor, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 15mm, f/13, 1.3 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters ND grad.
Chinkwell Tor Sunrise #2, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 26mm, f/11, 0.8 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters ND grad and CPL.
Chinkwell and Honeybag Tor #1, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 20mm, f/11, 0.6 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters ND grad and CPL.
Chinkwell and Honeybag Tor #3, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 16mm, f/13, 1/5th second at ISO 64, Kase Filters ND grad and CPL.
Widecombe Rainbow #2, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 14mm, f/13, 1/3rd second at ISO 64, Kase Filters ND grad and CPL.
The Photographer's Guide Series by Ellen Bowness (Long Valley Books) - On My Bookshelf S03E08
Looking for new locations to inspire your landscape photography? Visiting a new area? Want to get the most out your photography trip? Location guidebooks can help answer these questions. In this episode of On My Bookshelf, I'm looking at The Photographer's Guide series of books.
On My Bookshelf on Location in Cornwall
Over the three years that I’ve been producing episodes of On My Bookshelf (OMBS) I’ve covered a wide range of photography books. While I shoot most episodes in the comfort of my home with a nice cup of coffee, there are some books that require a slightly different approach. One such category of book is the photography location guidebook.
When I decided to look at The Photographer’s Guide series of books, I knew that the video would need to include a segment filmed on location. Fortunately for me one of the titles in the series is called The Photographers Guide to Cornwall and the book had several locations I’d never been to. As much as I’d like to have visited one of the locations in the Iceland book, I’m afraid the OMBS budget doesn’t stretch that far!
In this episode of OMBS not only do I talk about the series of books, but I also visit one of the locations in the Cornwall book. There is no better way to test the quality of the information in a location guidebook than to visit the location!
I hope you enjoyed this on location episode of OMBS. I’ve included the photographs I captured on my visit to Rough Tor below, and if you want to pick any of the books in The Photographer’s Guide series of books then just click here.
Rough Tor Sunrise #1, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 22mm, f/11, 1/3rd sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters ND Grad.
Rough Tor Sunrise #2, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 14mm, f/16, 1/13th sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters ND Grad, two image exposure blend, custom crop ratio.
Rough Tor Sunrise #3, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 17mm, f/11, 1/3rd sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters ND Grad.
Landscape Photography with the Nikkor Z 24-200mm
I’ve purchased the Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 for landscape photography and this blog post you can watch a video of me putting it to good use and see some sample images.
A Good Choice for Landscape Photography
I try not to create too many videos on gear. There are lots of channels out there that are dedicated to such things and they can often provide a much more comprehensive review and set of tests. I tend to only make videos about gear if it’s for an item that I have personally paid for and will be in my kit bag. Even then, my videos tend not to be reviews but more about sharing my experience with a bit of gear.
The latest bit of gear I’ve purchased is the Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 and in the video below I tell you why I purchased it and most importantly I go out on location to take some photographs with it. I then also return home to show you the images and to make some prints with them. So, it’s not so much a review but more a video on my personal experiences with the lens.
Even though I wouldn’t class this video as a review, I do help you found it useful if you are considering purchasing this lens. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments below.
Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 Sample Images
Rising Sun over Rippon Tor #2, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 at 32mm, f/13, 1/5th sec at ISO 64. Kase Filters ND grad.
Rising Sun over Rippon Tor #1, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 at 24mm, f/13, 1/6th sec at ISO 64. Kase Filters ND grad.
Chinkwell Tor Sunrise #1, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 at 24mm, f/11, 1/100th sec at ISO 400. Kase Filters ND grad.
Widecombe Panorama, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 at 83mm, f/8, 1/40th sec at ISO 64, panoramic stitch with 6:17 crop.
Widecombe from Chinkwell Tor, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 at 145mm, f/8, 1/20th sec at ISO 64. Kase Filters ND grad.
Focus Stack a Landscape Photograph in 5 Minutes
Focus stacking a landscape photograph needn’t take a long time. In this video, I’ll show you how to capture and process a focus stacked landscape photography in 5 minutes.
Focus Stacking - Capture and Process
When you first start to learn how to focus stack it can seem a bit overwhelming. It seems to be a bit complicated and not worth the effort. However, the complexity of the focus stack is very much dependent on the subject being photographed. Macro subjects are trickier to focus stack correctly.
What if you want to focus stack a landscape photograph though? I’m pleased to say the process is much easier and quicker. Despite the relative simplicity of the focus stacking process for landscape photographs, it’s not something I do that often. Sometimes it’s just not needed, and a single shot will yield sufficient sharpness, but when you do need it, you'll be glad you have the skills in your toolbox.
In the video below I aim to show you how straightforward to process can be to capture and process a focus stacked landscape photograph. You will rarely need more than four frames, but if you do the process remains the same. Once you can do it with a small number of frames, you have all the principle skills to allow you to do it with a larger number of frames.
Bonus Tips
To keep the content in the video concise and short I decided to only cover topics that were related to the process of creating the focus stack. For the readers of the blog though I’ve decided to give you a little extra value add by giving you a few extra tips.
The image with the finger - you will have seen in the video an image in the Lightroom film strip with my finger pointing up. What is this for? This image reminds me that the following images are part of a sequence. I use “finger up” for a focus stack sequence and “finger right” for a panoramic sequence. If you’ve captured lots of images, having these “finger” shots allows you to quickly pick out sequences of images in Lightroom.
Edit images before or after merging? - Should you apply your edits before you import the images to Photoshop, or after you have saved the stacked image? Personally, I make some very basic global edits before I load the images into Photoshop. Remember, if you change one image you will need to sync the changes to all the images you are going to use in the focus stack. After the photo merge in Photoshop, I will apply some local adjustments and any local/global sharpening.
Large files - depending on the number of images in the stack and size of the source files you may get a warning message from Photoshop when you save the file telling you that it is bigger than 2 TB. While you can save the file as a PSB I recommend selecting all the layers and flattening the image. This will make the resulting file much smaller but you won’t be able to modify the masking areas later without doing the focus stack again). It’s rare that I ever want to edit those masking areas again.
To Photoshop or Not - There are a number of dedicated focus stacking tools such as the excellent Helicon Focus but for most landscape focus stacks Photoshop does a good job. There’s no doubt that Helicon Focus is much faster and accurate, but this tends to only be a benefit with complex focus stacks (such as macro subjects).
Lightroom catalogue management and image editing - If you are interested on how I manage and edit my images in Lightroom, then check out my video on Lightroom Catalogue Management and Lightroom Image Editing.
That Focus Stacked Image
Here is the final image from the video so you can take a closer look.
Bowerman’s Nose Sunrise #7, Dartmoor, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 at 17mm, 1/25th sec at ISO 64, f/8, Kase Filters K9 Polariser, 4 image focus stack.
Want a More Detailed Tutorial?
If you'd like to watch a more detailed video on focus stacking, and how to use the focus shift feature found in recent Nikon cameras, and deal with more complicated post processing scenarios, then check out my other video on focus stacking which you can see here.
Essential Guide to Filters for Landscape Photography by Hoddinott & Bauer - On My Bookshelf S03E07
What are filters? Do I need filters? Which filters should I buy? How do I use filters? If you need answers to any of these questions, then the latest book to hit my virtual bookshelf could be the answer.
What Filters Should I Use for Landscape Photography?
Questions about filters is the one topic I get asked about more than any other. What filter kit should I buy? What filters do I need? All good questions and I do try and take the time to provide answers. However, I only use the Kase Filter system (which is very good by the way!) and a handful of filters so my experience of other brands and other types of filters is somewhat limited.
Up until now, there hasn’t really been a single, up to date, and comprehensive resource on filters for landscape photography. It would be nice to send people to a single resource where they can get all the information they need on which filters to buy and how to use them.
When Nature TTL announced that they were publishing a book by established photographers and renowned authors Mark Bauer and Ross Hoddinott, I knew I wanted to get a copy. After reading the book and seeing how comprehensive it was I knew I needed to feature it in an episode of On My Bookshelf so you could see for yourself if it might be a title for your bookshelf.
I hope you enjoyed this episode of On My Bookshelf. I thought it was an excellent book on filters for landscape photography and it will be a book that I will now recommend to anyone that has questions about filters. You can get a copy of the book right here.
Sparking My Enthusiasm for Landscape Photography!
There’s nothing quite like a sunrise to spark your passion for landscape photography. Join me on the Devon coast and learn why experiences like this have helped the return of my photographic mojo.
From Photography Dog to Photography God
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post called I Lost My Enthusiasm for Photography. In that post, I shared with you a video in which I talk about how I’ve struggled with my return to landscape photography after lockdown. One thing became clear from the comments and that is I’m not the only one who has struggled with their photography mojo at some point in their life.
As I had such a good response with that video, I was keen to do a follow-up video when my mojo started to return. Well, I’m very pleased to say that my enthusiasm for landscape photography is most certainly on it’ way back. In my previous video I talked about the importance of meeting up with fellow photographers and just getting out with the camera. This is exactly what I have been doing and it’s starting to pay dividends.
After two successful sunset shoots in Cornwall with one of my mates (blog posts coming soon) I was on a bit of a photographic high. I decided to keep riding that high and push to boat out for a sunrise shoot at Dawlish Warren on the south Devon coast. Would it be 3 successful shoots out of 3? Find out in the video below.
The Photographs
As always here are the photographs you saw in the video. Enjoy!
Dawlish Warren #1, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 16mm, f/8, 1 second at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 Circular Polariser, 3 Stop ND, and 2 stop ND grad.
Dawlish Warren #2, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 21mm, f/9, 238 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 Circular Polariser, 10 Stop ND, and 2 stop ND grad.
Dawlish Warren #3, Devon - Nikon Z7, Nikkor 14-30mm f/4 at 18mm, f/13, 1/5th sec at ISO 64, Kase Filters K9 Circular Polariser, 2 stop ND grad.