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.
Volunteering on Dartmoor National Park
In this blog post I discuss the day I spent volunteering with a ranger on Dartmoor National Park and why it was important as a photographer to give something back to one of my favourite locations.
All those locations...
I live in a wonderful part of Britain. Even if I wasn't a photographer, it would still be wonderful. Living in Devon I can access virtually any part of the South West Coast path in less than two hours, Dartmoor is on my doorstep, and Exmoor is a stones through away. I can't really complain that I don't have anywhere to shoot. In fact my two main enemies are time and the weather, but I suspect these are common complaints for most landscape photographers.
It's all too easy to take all these amazing locations for granted. Aside from the very rare car park charge it doesn't cost me a penny to roam the coast and moors. As if by magic there are convenient car parks, clear pathways, signposts, miles of litter free land and even the odd well placed café.
It's amazing, but it takes work
The problem is that it's not magic. All our national parks and AONB's (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) require a significant amount of effort and money to maintain. It's not just important to keep these places going for visitors, but a great many people live and work there, as well as it being home to a huge number of species of wildlife. It’s all very complex and expensive, and very easy to take for granted.
Volunteering
For those of you who read my first blog post you will know that photography isn't my primary source of income. I have a full time job in IT and when my employer told me that everyone in the company was entitled to take one day a year to go volunteering I jumped at the chance. The only slight problem I had was where to volunteer. There are no shortage of organisations looking for volunteers, but I wanted to do something that was related to the environment. After all, as a landscape photographer I have a great passion for the outdoors and the environment around me.
I made the decision to volunteer for Dartmoor National Park after speaking to one of their rangers. I was at a local village show and I spotted a Dartmoor National Park van. It really stood out as it had a wonderful Adam Burton image on the side of it. I got chatting to ranger Pete and soon we had exchanged contact details. As a regular user of Dartmoor, volunteering for the National Park seemed the right choice.
Getting Involved
So a few months later, on a beautiful autumn morning on Dartmoor, I met up with ranger Pete for my volunteering day. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect but I was fairly sure I'd have to put some effort in. Sure enough I was quickly put to work replacing a couple of old footpath signs. This involved a bit of digging and though I wasn't used this kind of work it was very satisfying. After all, I've followed a few of these signs before so I knew how useful they can be! Besides, the work didn't seem so hard when you are working in such a wonderful location.
Job done! Replacing a footpath post.
Next up we visited the iron age Cranbrook Castle site where we checked to see if any more work was required to clear the ground. Fortunately it didn't and I was rewarded with some stunning views of Dartmoor and beyond.
The Cranbrook Castle site.
Next up I helped clear some low hanging branches from Rushford Steps. Here I used a very interesting extendable branch cutting tool. Got to love the power tools!! Even though we only cleared a few branches it made a world of difference to the location.
Clearing branches at Rushford Steps.
Rushfords Steps are now a bit easier to cross.
Our next location was a woodland path just outside the village of Drewsteignton. The ranger had received reports that the path was difficult to pass through so we got to work cutting, raking and sawing. This was hard but satisfying working. I could really see the difference our work was making.
Clearing a walkers path.
It also highlighted the need for some lunch which we did by driving up a rough access road to get views of the stunning Teign valley at Fingle Bridge. Never had lunch tasted so good or been eaten from somewhere so scenic.
The Teign Valley - a place I love to photograph.
After lunch we completed the path clearance and headed off to clear some more overgrown bushes in the village of Drewsteignton and near Castle Drogo.
We drove some stunning autumn tracks.
Towards the end of the day we decided to take a drive up to Fernworty Reservoir where my eagle eyed ranger spotted a stranded 4x4 up on the moor. It was just as well we were in a Land Rover because the trip up to investigate the stranded vehicle certainly qualified as off road. Fortunately no one was in the vehicle and the owner was quickly identified.
High up on the moor. No problems for the Defender.
As the end of the day approached and we headed back we did a bit of litter collection. As you can see people seem to drop everything from slippers to crisp packets.
Leave nothing but foot prints!
When Pete finally dropped me at my car again I was tired but happy. What a day on Dartmoor!
What difference does a day make?
But can volunteering for one day really make any difference? If only one person, one day a year volunteered then yes the difference would be small, but if lots of people donated a day each year all of that can add up to a big difference.
In fact lots of people do volunteer on Dartmoor each year and I'm happy to say that now I'm one of them. I've already decided that I will do the same again next year and if I can I might try and make it two days. I have limited time but it is important for me to give something back to the area that I like to photograph the most.
Good for my photography?
While my day of volunteering might not impact my photography directly I do now have a better understanding of the land and the effort that goes into managing that land. It's all very well taking lovely pictures of places like Dartmoor but without really understanding a location can you get the most out of it? Perhaps a more detailed knowledge of Dartmoor will allow me to create images that are more personal or portray the land in a more intimate way. Only time will tell.
Do you do volunteering? Is it for your favourite photographic location? Does volunteering directly or indirectly impact your photography? Let me know in the comments.
Magazine Submissions - Seeing Your Images in Print
Is this blog post I chat about seeing one of my images printed in Outdoor Photography magazine and how this inspires and motivates me to work harder at my photography.
Outdoor Photography Magazine
In Outdoor Photography magazine this month (Issue 211, November 2016), on page 110, you will find one of my images :
Without any shame or modesty, this makes me very happy. I'm happy for two reasons. Firstly, Outdoor Photography magazine is my favourite photography magazine. I've been a reader for many years and the quality of the content and the magazine itself is brilliant. Every month I look forward to my issue arriving so I can sit down with a nicecup of coffee and get inspired!
The other reason for my happiness is that it's one of my favourite images of 2016 and it is wonderful to see it in print. I'm ashamed to say that I don't print my work. For some the photographic process isn't complete until you have printed your work. The more I think about it, and the more times I actually see my work in print, the more I'm convinced that this is the truth. I'm going to start printing at home soon, but that story is a tale for another blog post.
Back to magazine though. Seeing one of your favourite images in a well printed magazine like Outdoor Photography is very satisfying. For those that already print their work it's a very tactile experience holding your image in your hand rather than pixel peeping on your monitor.
Inspiration and Motivation
The image above is in the magazines "If you only do one thing this month…" feature. Each month the magazine sets a new challenge and readers submit their best images that meet that brief. I find these monthly themes a great source of motivation and inspiration. So much so that I do try and regularly submit images. Though there is a prize for the monthly winner, I don't enter to win a prize, I enter for the satisfaction of being featured in print. It's much the same motivation that drives me to enter other photographic competitions.
Though I didn't win the competition this month, I did win "Masterful Compositions" in issue 206 (July 2016, page 106) with this image:
I was also featured in issue 194 (August 2015, page 109) with this "Natural Light" image from Swanage:
In issue 192 (June 2015, Page 110) I also had my first image printed in the magazine with this "Low Light Landscapes" image of St Michaels Mount:
St Michael's Mount - Nikon D750, Nikon 16-35mm f/4, 19mm, 30 seconds at f/13, ISO 100
Why Submit?
Now, for some of you this post might all seem very self-congratulatory. And to a certain extent it is. I'm very proud to have a 4th image in Outdoor Photography magazine. What is more to the point though is how seeing that very first image in the magazine has driven me even more to improve my photography. Submitting your images to a competition, even a monthly magazine competition, sets you up with the risk of failure. But I need to take that risk, and no matter the outcome I will use my success and failure to continually drive my desire to improve.
So should you submit your images to magazines? Well that would be up to you. What works or drives me will likely be different for you. All I can say is that seeing my first image in a magazine gave me confidence that I was going in the right direction and made me want to work even harder at the art of photography.
Have you ever had an image published in a magazine or a book? Did it bring you any further success? Do you print your own work? Let me know in the comments.
Perseverance - Photographing Bowerman's Nose
In this blog post I discuss the power of perseverance and why I keep going back to Bowerman's Nose on Dartmoor.
A Slight Obsession
I can't exactly remember how I found out about Bowerman's Nose. It might have been in a magazine, or a book, or even on Flickr. How I found out about this location is largely irrelevant though. My desire, or maybe obsession, in capturing an image of Bowerman's Nose that meets my artistic vision is more to the point though.
For those of you who haven't heard of Bowerman's Nose, it's a tall pillar of granite on Dartmoor. It's very distinctive and is surrounded by rolling hills. Given the right light and conditions it can make for a beautiful photograph. The problem for me is that I've never really managed to capture an image that does the location justice. Some of my early failings were due to poor technique, but latterly it's more to with poor conditions.
Part of the reason I'm probably so obsessed by this particular location is its close proximity to home. It's less than a 45 min drive and it's reasonably easy to get to (as long as you don't mind opening a gate and getting creative with your parking). This means that it is often my go to location on Dartmoor when the conditions are looking favourable.
Meeting Mr Bowerman
I probably made my first serious attempt at photographing Bowerman's Nose in early 2015. It was January so Dartmoor wasn't at its best, and it was a very grey and flat day. However, I do like to practice my photography so just been able to walk around and look at different compositions was valuable.
I returned in May of 2015 in the hope of better conditions. On this trip the ground was looking spring fresh, and I was getting some nice light reflecting of the edge of Bowerman's Nose from the setting sun. Unfortunately the sky was a bit bland and I wasn't getting the golden light I was looking for. Close, but not quite there. However, this trip did show me the real potential of the location.
A week later I was back again and trying a similar composition. Again, while the image was pleasing, I just felt it lacked something. While I was there I also tried my first panorama - I think Lightroom has just been given the native capability to stitch panorama's so I thought I'd give it a go.
Bowerman's Nose - May 2015
Perseverance
By the time 2016 had rolled around I had committed to myself that I was going to get an image worthy of the splendid Bowerman's Nose. I think it's part of my nature. Once I decide that I need to do something, I'll work at it until I get it done. I was determined that in 2016 all my perseverance would pay off. Obviously with some elements of of my control this would not be easy.
In May 2016 I captured this image of Bowerman's Nose. It had interesting sky (helped by the long exposure), but it lacked the light I was looking for.
Then in June 2016 I tried again, and I have to say I thought I was going get the image that night, but again, there was just something missing that evening. The image I was looking for escaped me again, but I would try, try, try again!
Gotcha!
Then, just the other evening, with only a little time between the end of work and sunset, I did a quick check of forecast and decided that I would attempt Bowerman's Nose again. When I got there the conditions looked good so I literally bounded up the hill and got my tripod setup. Would I finally be lucky?
Bowerman's Nose - October 2016
As you can see, yes I did. Well, it is at least my best image from that location. No it's not perfect and there is always room for improvement, but it is my best and favourite image from there. I finally feel that my perseverance had paid off.
Goodbye Mr Bowerman?
So am I done with Bowerman's Nose? Now that I have the image I wanted will I ever go back? Of course I will! There is always room for improvement. There are many different compositions to be had, different lighting conditions, even snow! It's an amazing location, and being so close to home it's always going to be on my radar to go back to.
So do you have a favourite location that you like going to? Is there a location you keep visiting in the hope that you'll get something special there one day? Do you preserve or just move on? Let me know in the comments.
Not All Shoots Are Successful Shoots
In this blog I discuss the challenges of shooting on a beach and I give my own image a critique.
The Best Laid Plans
As a photographer you always want to put your best images out there. If you practice enough your technique will improve and your style develop, hopefully resulting in a gradual but noticeable improvement to your images. While this is generally true, it doesn't necessarily mean that every trip out with the camera will result in an image that was better than the last one. When I started this blog one of my key goals was to discuss my success and my failures. As I said in my first blog post, landscape photography isn't all about 5 star images captured on epic international trips.
In this blog post I'm going to take you through one of my less successful trips out with the camera. I had it all planned out. I would finish work bang on time, drive to West Bay in Dorset, and photograph the sea and evening light as it gloriously reflected off sea and cliffs. Well, that was my vision anyway. I went through all my normal planning steps, weather, cloud, tide, bearing of sunset and it all looked good.
Challenging Conditions
I've visited West Bay a couple of times, but never to photograph it. The east beach there, recently made more famous by the TV series Broadchurch, is long and sandy with dramatic cliffs running as far as the eye can see. However, when I arrived the reality of actually shooting there became apparent.
Firstly was the tide. After checking the tide tables I knew it was coming in, but what you can't tell from the tables is how long of a reach those waves have. The waves weren't tall, but their reach up the beach was long. Now I don't mind getting my feet wet, but it becomes really difficult to frame your shot if your camera sinks a little with each wave. If I moved further away from the waves I lost a lot of the sea in the frame. Normally this would be less of an issue if the beach has a natural curve.
The other challenge was the weather. While it wasn't raining nor the wind as strong as I expected it to be, the light was very flat. The forecast had indicated lots of high cloud and no low cloud. This I hoped would give me a spectacular evening sky to add to my composition. However, there was a lot of low cloud and the chances of there being any evening light bouncing off the cliff seemed very unlikely.
Change of Plan
Spare time to do photography is at a premium for me. While I like to do some location scouting when I can, it's not always possible, and so sometimes I just have to wing it. So with the very real sense that I might have just wasted a 2 hour round trip in the car, I put my thinking hat on and tried to think of a different composition. This approach of looking around and not getting focused on one thing had worked well on a recent trip to Dartmoor, so I picked up my tripod and got walking.
It wasn't long before I had the idea of doing a long exposure of the beach, looking straight out to see, and including a few well-placed rocks or stones in the foreground. This composition would probably deliver better results. I would have better visibility of the waves and the quality of the light was less of a dependency.
An Ever Changing Beach
Though I had a new vision on what my photograph would be my challenges weren't over. I would find an interesting composition, setup, grab a frame, maybe two at the most, and then a wave would come in wash my composition away! Even some of the larger stones in my composition weren't big enough to resist the pull of the waves. So this left me with very little time to grab a frame for each composition I found along the beach. I had to make sure the camera was level, focused, and correctly exposed in very short time or I might not get another go at it.
After only a few compositions the light had faded and I decided to take my very sandy tripod and wet feet back home for a nice meal and glass of wine.
Critiquing My Own Image
I only took a handful of frames that evening but here is the image that I think turned out the best.
Nikon D750 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4, 1.3 secs, f11 at 20mm, Lee Filters Polariser and 3 Stop ND
Now I'll be the first to admit this isn't an image for my portfolio. Though I like the mood and style of the image it does have a number of issues. If I'd had more time at the location I might have worked out these issues but as I said at the start of the blog, not all shoots are successful shoots.
The main issues I have with the image are around the rocks I have used in the foreground. The rock in the lower right of the frame for me is just a little too close to the edge of frame. I would like to have had just a little bit more space as there is with the rock on the left.. Given a bit more time between waves, I might have setup my tripod in a slightly different location to give me that space.
While the image roughly follows the rule of thirds, it doesn't follow the rule of odds. Now, I know that these rules are more like guidelines, but quite often they do make sense and I do think following the rule of odds in this scene would have helped with the overall composition.
Rocks at Porth Nanven - Nikon D750, Nikon 16-34 f/4 at f/16, 1.6 secs at 20mm.
I learnt about the rule of odds in the book, The Art of Landscape Photography by Mark Bauer and Ross Hoddinott (it's a fantastic book and well worth picking up). In the book Ross and Mark discuss how having an odd number of objects helps create visual stability or symmetry.
In this image I took of Porth Naven a couple of years ago you can see how I've composed with three rocks in the foreground. The balance and implied triangle in this image is something I would have liked to have seen in my West Bay image.
Always Good to Be Out With The Camera
Despite the fact that my shoes are still drying off and I had to strip down my tripod to get rid of the sand, I still felt it was time well spent with the camera. I'm also not going to win any awards for the image, but that really isn't the point. I was outdoors with my camera on a beautiful beach taking images and for a person that spends most his time sitting at a desk it's just nice be outside. Yes, conditions were challenging but it's through these challenges that you learn to progress as a photographer.
Actually I'm going to change my mind, it was a successful shoot. Just successful in a different way.
So what do you think of the image? How would you have shot the scene? Have you got any tips for photographing beach scenes? Please let me know in the comments.
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....
Location Scouting in the Teign Valley
In this video blog post I head out to Fingle Bridge and the Teign valley to scout out some locations for an autumn themed shoot.
The Importance of Scouting
The time I spend with the camera is precious. I have a full time job and a family that keeps me really busy so when I do get out I like to make the most of it. Sometimes I just go out to practice with my camera (see my blog post on practicing) or I'll go out to scout out a location. For me scouting out a location can be a really good use of time. For locations such as the upper Teign valley near Fingle Bridge in Devon, having a number of spots already picked out means that when the golden hour comes I'm only worrying about composition and not finding a good location.
In this short video I take you on a recent trip to the upper Teign Valley where I spend some time walking the path looking for locations that I can use for some autumnal shots that I want to take there. I'm travelling light with my Sony RX100M4 and a Manfrotto BeFree Carbon tripod but it allows me to quickly take shots from locations as I move along the valley.
Here's the video:
Mission Successful?
Here are the images that I took from the locations I scouted:
Now I'll be the first to admit that these aren't award winning images. The composition was setup up quickly and the light not exactly at its best but it does give me some really good ideas on where I want to shoot when I do go up there when the autumnal colours are in there full glory.
I also originally had this location down as a sunrise only location but because of this scouting exercise I'm fairly sure I could get images at either end of the day. So was it worth while? Well yes. Anytime with the camera is good but I feel more prepared to shoot this particular location now.
Do You Scout?
Do you spend time scouting out the locations you want to shoot? Or do you just turn up and see what takes your eye? Let me know in the comments.
Starting Out With Drone Photography
In this video blog post I decide to leave my Nikon D750 behind and spend the evening shooting photographs with my DJI Phantom 3 4K. You'll see me head out to the south Devon coast to Peak Hill near Sidmouth on the South West Coast Path where I will experiment with using a drone for landscape photography. The results are rather interesting!
A Evening with DJI
Since buying a DJI Phantom 3 4K a couple of months ago I've been really interested in the photography capabilities and opportunities this amazing bit of kit delivers. In my first video / vlog I leave my DSLR at home and head out to spend the evening shooting with the drone.
Check it out below.
The Results
If you watched the video you would have seen the final images, but just in case you missed them or you want to see them a little larger (by clicking on them), here they are again.
Let Me Know
Did you enjoy this video? Do you have a drone? Has it expanded your photography horizons? Let me know in the comments below.
Remember to Look Around
It's all to easy to concentrate on the scene in front of you, but as I discovered there can be a lot going on just behind you.
Photographing An Old Friend
I don't know about you but I have a few places on my location map that are easy to get to and provide a variety of angles to shoot from. So when the weather forecast for last Tuesday was a bit 50/50 for a good sunset I thought I'd go somewhere I know so that if it fails to be spectacular I won't have spent a significant amount of effort getting there.
How I saw the scene last year.
Heading down to my target location of Emsworthy Rocks just down from Haytor I was still confident that I was going to get a good shot. I decided to shoot the rocks and tree from a position that I hadn't used before. My plan was to have my back to the setting sun so that the tree and rocks would be bathed in golden light. There wasn't going to be much going on in the sky so I positioned the main elements higher up in the frame leaving some of the ground rock formations in the foreground.
Playing the Waiting Game
I went through all my normal checks for exposure and sharpness and then waited with the remote release for that magic moment where the colour would bath my subject in glorious golden light.
This is the scene I came to shoot but the light and sky just weren't what I wanted.
Well some time passed and I had shot a few frames but the scene just lacked a bit of punch. In my focus on the scene in front of me I'd failed to look to see what else was going on. It's all too easy to go out with a singular focus on what you want to achieve but this can sometimes mean you'll miss something a bit more special. I was convinced that my target scene would come good. However I casually turned 90 degrees to my right and was presented with a much more interesting scene. The light on the rocks was much more pleasing and the sky had a bit more interest about it.
Change of Plans
On the same spot as the last image but 90 degrees to the right.
I pondered if I should go to the hassle of changing my composition and moving my tripod (which had taken bit of setup to balance on the rock I was perched on). I knew I would regret it if I didn't at least try so I repositioned the tripod, got a Lee Filters ND 0.9 medium grad out and shot a few frames of this new scene.
I did go back to shooting a few frames of my original composition but I already knew that I'd grabbed the best shot I was going to get that night. So what did I learn from this particular adventure? Don't get too focused on one scene or shooting a particular direction. The landscape, particularly the wilds of Dartmoor, are wide open spaces and the light can look very different simply by looking a different direction from the same point. I was committed to getting the image in my head but I almost missed a much better one.
Have you had a similar experience? Have you looked round to find a much better shot or do you remain focused on what is in front of you? Let me know in the comments.
My Other Photography Life
In this blog post I discuss my other photographic passion and how it has benefited my landscape photography.
I Can Do That!
My first gig shoot with Big Country.
This website and blog is dedicated to my journey as a landscape photographer. I love the outdoors and photographing it is a passion for me. However, back in 2013 I started photographing gigs at a local venue. It all started with a desk side conversation with a work colleague who was running a music review website called musicmuso.com
He was out reviewing local gigs and posting the write up on his website. As most people know content is king on the web and I suggested that he should have some images to go with his well-crafted words. At the time I was pushing myself to go out more with my camera but those long winter nights aren't exactly conducive to landscape photography so I offered my services.
And so one cold October evening I photographed Big Country at the Exeter Phoenix in Devon. As soon as I started shooting I was hooked! This was a totally different type of photography. While the learning curve was steep I still managed to get some quality images. This was the perfect way to keep my hand in with the camera and since gigs don't often start until after 8pm it didn't interrupt my family or work live.
Getting My Photography Fix
Gary Barlow at Radio One Big Weekend.
Don't get me wrong, I love landscape photography and I'm committed to being a success in it (see my post on The Pain and Joy of Photography Competitions). However, I feel it is important to not only broaden your photographic horizons but to keep on practising (see my blog post of Practising The Craft of Photography). As I work a full time job and I have many family commitments, getting out to shoot landscapes during the week can be problematic. Gig photography gives me that photography fix I need. It has also taught me a LOT about my camera. I can control most of it now without even looking at the camera!
This year I was lucky enough to shoot Radio 1's Big Weekend when it visited Exeter. I photographed Cold Play, Mumford & Sons, and Ellie Goulding to name but a few. It was one hell of an experience but something that I had built up to over a number of years.
If you want to see some more of my music related images please head over to julianbaird.com have a blog over there as well but it's a different style than this one. Where this blog is more of a journal and a way to share information, my music blog is a way to share my latest images.
So do you have two photographic identities? Do you keep them separate? Is it possible to fully immerse yourself in two genres of photography? Let me know in the comments.
The Pain and Joy of Photography Competitions
Do you enter photography competitions? Do they bring pain or joy? Let's discuss!
Measuring Success
There are many ways to try and measure the success of your photography. You can post your images on social media sites such as Flickr, Instagram or even Facebook and see how likes you get. If you are a full time photographer you can measure your success by how well your business is doing.
I measure the progression of my photography skills in two ways. Firstly I have my images regularly critiqued by a professional photographer (see my post on Tuition and Mentoring). This provides invaluable and detailed feedback on my images that I can use to further develop my skills. The other way I measure progression is through my success (or failure) in photography competitions. For me having my work recognised in competition provides some sort of validation for my photography. Some people may consider this shallow or vain, but for me photography competitions have often been a great source of inspiration and being placed in one of the more prestigious competitions would be a great source of pride and joy.
Entering Competitions
One of my entries in LPOTY 2015.
It's only recently that I've actually started entering images into competitions. Though I've always I wanted to enter I probably lacked some of the commitment to achieve this in the past (see my bog post on Practising the Craft of Photography). Over the last couple of years I've put a significant amount of effort into being placed in Landscape Photographer of the Year (LPOTY). I fully appreciate that going from entering no competitions at all to being successful in LPOTY is a bit of a jump but for me LPOTY is the pinnacle in landscape photography competitions. So I'm aiming high that's for sure but seeing an image printed the LPOTY book would be for me at least, a dream come true.
The good thing about having such a lofty goal is that it has driven me to get out more with my camera and improve my photography. In 2015 I entered a number of images into LPOTY but failed to have any shortlisted. At the time I was gutted not to have progressed anywhere. I had put a significant amount of effort and passion into those images, and the rejection was painful.
Rejection and Motivation
This image was shortlisted in OPOTY 2016 but it unfortunately didn't make it any further. It was however published in Outdoor Photography magazine (issue 206).
However, I use that pain as a way to motivate myself even more! I decided to submit some of my images in the Outdoor Photographer of Year competition (OPOTY) in 2015. One of my images was shortlisted for the competition but that was as far as it went. The image did go onto win the monthly competition in Outdoor Photography magazine which was a huge confidence booster. I love Outdoor Photography magazine so seeing my image in print there was really pleasing.
So for the 12 months following the end of LPOTY 2015 I worked hard at my photography. I was out shooting more than ever and I undertook more 1-2-1 tuition days with my mentor (see blog post on Tuition and Mentoring). By the time LPOTY 2016 had come around I had already had a few images in Outdoor Photography magazine published and I had won a local photography competition.
One of my entries in LPOTY 2016.
When I entered my images for LPOTY 2016 I was more confident and was excited about the possibility of being shortlisted. The excitement was unfortunately short-lived as I soon got that email that had caused me so much pain last year. But I'm not letting it get me down. After all, who knows what the judges are really looking for? It's not to say that I necessarily had a bad image it might be that it didn't appeal to that particular judge at that particular time. Art competitions are fickle things so some of my entries from previous years will be submitted again. They might just strike a chord with someone else.
I invest a lot of time into these photography competitions and while rejection is painful, that just makes me try even harder the following year. I'm already hard at work for my OPOTY 2016 portfolio and of course my LPOTY 2017 portfolio. If I do ever get placed in one of these prestigious competitions it will be joyful day. Of course with such a singular goal what would I aim for after that? I'll just have a cross that bridge when I come to it but for now I will live with the pain and joy that competitions bring.
So how do you feel about photography competitions? Are they a painful or joyful experience? Are they a measure of success or just fickle things where luck is a factor? Let me know your thoughts.
The Benefits of Tuition and Mentoring
Tuition and mentoring has had a massive impact on my photography. Read more about this part of my photographic journey in this blog post.
In the beginning...
One of my early landscape images taken in Glen Coe in 2008.
I bought my first DSLR in 2006 when I purchased a Nikon D80. Previous to that I had a Minolta DiMAGE A1 so this was a big step up for me. It was at this point that I started to want to learn more about the craft of photography. So as many people do I went to my the nearest newsagent and picked up a photography magazine. And so started a journey of several years of reading a lot about photography.
The problem was I wasn't actually taking that many pictures. Sure I was inspired by what I was reading and saw, but despite having considerably more free time back then I didn't practice the craft of photography as much. (Read my blog post on Practicing the Craft of Photography). I also wasn't that focused on a specific genre of photography. Most photography magazines have a broad range of articles from portraits to macro so I would often spend time trying these things out. Don't get me wrong, I did go out with my camera, but looking back I don't think I was trying hard enough to really learn about photography.
Changing My Approach
This changed back in 2013, when I decided to go full frame and buy a Nikon D600. I promised myself that if I was going to invest all this money in a camera (and lenses!) I was for sure going to learn how to improve my photography. By this stage though I was fairly sure that my heart lay with landscape photography.
Some early lessons about composition with David Nightingale.
I decided that the best way to make progress was to actually go out and shoot more, and to engage the services of a professional for some 1-2-1 tuition. At the time I was following the work of Blackpool based photographer David Nightingale and so I booked a whole weekend of tuition and got to work on improving my photography. The weekend went well and it was a bit of an eye opener for me. Firstly, I actually didn't know as much about my camera as I thought. While I knew some of my composition skills were lacking, I thought I knew my camera well but this wasn't really the case! It all goes back to practicing the art of photography, something I hadn't been very good at!
Up till this point I had wondered if it were actually possible to teach someone about composition and how to make a beautiful photograph. As many of my previous photographs had been average at best, I was beginning to think that you couldn't really learn an art, you had to have a natural talent for it to start with. While many people do find creating art easy, for me I had to learn about it. Fortunately David reassured me that I could learn the art of photography. So for that reason alone that weekend was a success.
Making Progress
A year later I had kept to my promise of going out more with my camera. I was still bound by my work and family commitments but I was at least using my spare time to go out and shoot. In 2014 I went on a Dawn 2 Dusk Photography workshop on Dartmoor where not only did I have a lot of fun with some like minded photographers but I also learnt a considerable amount about landscape photography. On the workshop I also met Ross Hoddinott, one of the tutors. I had been looking for a local tutor to help with my learning journey and Ross seemed the ideal person.
Learning about timing and waiting for the light on a 1-2-1 with Ross.
A few months later I met Ross for a 1-2-1 session and in that one day I probably learnt more about composition that I had done since I purchased my first DSLR 2006. Not only did I become inspired from that session but I also became more confident with my photography. Since that first 1-2-1 session with Ross I have regularly met with Ross for further 1-2-1s and portfolio reviews and this has had a significant impact on my photography. Each session I learn something new. Sometimes it's a really small change in how I might compose an image, but it often has a big impact.
So this brings me to the point of this blog post. If you are struggling with your photography or you've reached a plateau then I can strongly recommend that you find a tutor or mentor to help with your photography. Find someone close to home or who's work you respect. Most photographers offer some kind of tuition on a 1-2-1 basis now. Or if that seems a little much as a first step try a photography workshop such as those offered by Dawn 2 Dusk Photography.
We spend so much money on gear (something I'm definitely guilty off) but the one thing that has had the biggest impact on my photography is the time I've spent with a professional photographer. No matter what stage you are at with your photography journey I believe a little mentoring and tuition can be very beneficial. Of course I still read photography magazines, Outdoor Photography being my personal favourite, but when it comes to developing as a photographer 1-2-1s for me are invaluable.
Do you have a photography mentor or favourite tutor? What do you think of 1-2-1 days with professional photographers? Let me know your thoughts.
Practising The Craft of Photography
In this blog post I discuss the value of practicing photography, no matter the weather forecast.
Starting Out
When you first start out in photography it's very easy to think that you should be capturing an award winning photograph every time you go out with a camera. After all, you read lots of magazines and books on the subject and they are full of wonderful and inspiring images. So it must follow that these published photographers must always take a great image every time they go out with the camera.
This is a perception that I had for a long time and it often had a negative impact on my photography as I felt I should be capturing a quality image each and every time I went out. One day though I was watching a documentary about Colin Prior the renowned landscape photographer. In the film we saw some of the challenges he went through the get an image that would realise his vision. It did in fact take him several days camped up on a mountain range to finally get that image.
Learning A Lesson
From this I learnt that even the most seasoned of landscape photographers don't just go out there and take 5 star images on every shoot. There is also a lot of failure and patience. This was a valuable lesson and from this I decided to reevaluate how I approached a landscape shoot. I am lucky, or unlucky depending on how you look at it, in that I don't need to earn my living from photography. There is therefore little pressure for me to return home from a shoot with an image that I can sell. This means that I can almost put the photography bit to the side and just enjoy being outdoors. Returning with an wonderful image almost becomes a bonus or a by-product of my adventures.
Practise, Practise, Practise
This all leads me on to the real topic of this blog post and the concept of practising photography. Without the pressure (implied or real) of having to get an amazing image, I use my time outdoors to not only enjoy the landscape but to practise my craft. As with any skill it takes practice and repetition. If I only took my camera out when the conditions were absolutely perfect would I be able to capture an image when I really needed to? Would I remember how and where to focus? Would I remember to check my ISO settings?
The forecast conditions were never going to produce an award winning image, but having time with the camera was invaluable
When the moment comes, and it can be rare, I want to be prepared and know what I'm doing. So I practise. I go out, even when the conditions might not be perfect. I enjoy being outside and I enjoy setting up the camera, looking at compositions and taking pictures, even if the end result is an average image. At least I've practised my craft and I will be better prepared for that magic moment, which can come anytime, and sometimes when you least expect it.
John Free made an excellent video on practising street photography and I strongly suggest you watch it (as the lessons still apply to landscape photography).
And after that, well, get out with your camera and practise. Don't worry that's not an award winning image but be satisfied that you got outside and you still remember how to use your camera.
Do you practise your photography? Do you still come home from an unsuccessful shoot feeling satisfied? Let me know in the comments below.
Till next time….
We all have to start somewhere...
In this blog post I introduce the blog and myself!
Why?
When I decided that I wanted to start a blog one of the first questions I asked myself was does the internet need another photography blog? Looking at the number of photographers blogging and vlogging on the internet my answer would probably be no.
But then I realised I was probably asking the wrong question. The question is do I have something to say and do I want to share it? Well the answer to that is yes. This hasn't always been the case though. Though I've been interested photography for a long while I've probably had little that is worth while to share on the subject
However, I'm now at an interesting point in my photography journey. I still not sure where my end point is, but I am at a place where my photography really means something to me and I have a need to not only share my images but also my thoughts and aspirations. As with any blog I will be starting with zero readers, and do you know what, that might be as good as it gets. However this blog is partly for me so even if nobody reads it I'll at least be left with a photographic journal.
Who?
It's me!
To give this blog some added context I should be probably tell you a little something about me. However let's start with what I'm not. I'm not a famous photographer. I'm not someone with 100K followers on Instagram. I don't earn my living as a photographer either. I'm just dedicated and passionate photographer with a love of the outdoors. And it's that love for the outdoors that drives some of that passion for photography.
I live in Devon with my wife and children and I have a full time job in IT. So as you can imagine spare time is at a premium so when I do have some time there is nothing I like better than to go outdoors. I see so many wonderful things when I'm out and I'm driven to photograph them. Most of my time is spent exploring Dartmoor or walking the coast, but I'm also lucky enough to have my Private Pilot's License (PPL) so I am able to take to the skies to access the landscape in a very different way.
Having worked on my skills as a landscape photographer over the last few years I'm at a stage where I'm starting to be confident enough to share my images and my views. I've still got much to learn, but I'm hoping that this is going to be part of the appeal of my blog. It's not going to be written by a full time photographer with decades of experience but by me, someone with a bit of experience, lots of passion and stories to share. Most of all I hope the stories and the information I share here will be read by similarly passionate photographers and together we can all move forward with our photography.
The Name
Every blog should have a name. Shouldn't it? I don't know but I'm going to give this blog a name anyway. Not as easy as you think though. How can I be original, witty, or even clever? So while the name Exposed might not win any awards for originality it does actually mean something.
It’s a photographic term - a fairly obvious one really!
I'm going to expose myself. Not in a naked way of course, but I'm going to be sharing my photographic experiences to the internet. I'll be exposing the good and bad bits of my journey so you can see that it's not all 5 star images and international expeditions.
I like being exposed to the elements. In other words I like being outdoors, either on the ground or in a plane.
I might change the name eventually but at the moment Exposed just seems right and relevant.
What To Expect
The decision to write a blog hasn't exactly been a spur of the moment thing. I've been thinking about it for a while. What will my blog say? What would people find interesting? All valid questions. Much like my skills as a photographer I'm not sure where this blog will eventually lead me but I have already decided on a number of topics I want to cover in future posts. These include:
So please join me on my photographic journey and like, share and subscribe to my blog!