Landscape Photography Vlogs

Breaking the Rule of Thirds to Unify my Seascape Photography…& more

Today I break the rule of thirds, suffer a failure on the moors and get up for some summer sunrise seascape photography.

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In this video I head to the beaches of North Yorkshire to shoot some seascape photography before heading back to the studio to show the photo editing. It eventually worked out with some long exposure photography and by breaking the rule of thirds. It did not come easy though after spending three days searching for an image. This included heading to Roseberry Topping, hitting the moors without luck and encountering miles of poorly flowering heather without any good light. It was very frustrating. It was also brilliant.

It finally forced me to get up early for a sunrise and the coast seemed to offer the best of the weather. The summer beaches in the UK are very popular so to get a clean landscape, sunrise is where it’s at. I headed to Saltwick Bay near Whitby and was welcomed with a tiny amount of Light creating in the sky creating a small possibility of getting a good images. I was lucky enough to have some interesting green rocks on the shore line. Breaking the rule of thirds allowed me to fill the sky with colour and maximise the interest in the foreground created by the rock.

Next I moved along the coast to Sandsend. A place I know very well. Heading to a familiar location is always a good tactic when things are not going totally to plan. It increases the ability to capture a good image when the pressure to discover a new composition is removed. Revisiting old scenes is a valid tactic and will always provide results that are different from previous visits.

On this occasion I ended up with two to three good pictures and it felt like a good reward for three days of toiling. It provided an opportunity at the end of the video to show the edit in an Adobe Lightroom tutorial type segment. I hope you enjoy.

Using Long Exposure Photography to Exploit Bad Light

We don’t always get great landscape photography conditions. Bad light can be exploited though by using techniques such as long exposure and black and white photography. Especially when combined and edited using Silver Efex Pro from the NIK collection.

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In this video I head into the depths of the Yorkshire Dales for a day of landscape photography in some less than ideal conditions.

It’s easy to imagine photographing a beautiful landscape in great weather. It’s warm, the sun is about to light up the evening sky and life is good. It’s an appealing experience that we chase over and over again. On the other hand amazing images can be captured in rough, stormy weather with unique conditions. But what about those grey days in between? Here in the UK we have a lot of them. They can be bleak and getting off the sofa to go out and take pictures is not an obvious choice. However, there are great shots to be captured in all conditions if we are willing to get creative.

One effective method to make the most of grey conditions and flat light is to use long exposure photography. It creates interest by smoothing out clouds and water and creating an ethereal feel. I have talked in depth about long exposure before:

See here - https://youtu.be/vKAu0IluyR4

Whilst grey conditions produce flat light it does not necessarily mean it is bad. An extreme long exposure of over two minutes essentially turns textures of the sky and water into smooth tones. It creates new possibilities with composition and the soft light adds to the overall fine art photography feel of the image. Combining this with a black and white conversion can add to the image even more and create something unique on a day when no other photographers were out.

Black and white images can be post processed much more heavily than colour images which creates extra creative possibilities, especially with contrast. Using Silver Efex Pro from the NIK collection is a brilliant way to edit black and white pictures. Whilst this video is not a silver Efex pro tutorial I go through the edit of the image I capture to show how the app can make your black and white images pop.

Once in a Lifetime Seascape Photography

When I went to do some seascape photography I never ever thought I would witness something so spectacular. These unique moments come along so rarely in landscape photography so when they do, you have to seize the moment. This vlog documents one of my favourite photography moments, possibly ever.

Once in a lifetime photo opportunities come around so rarely. When they do it is important to be ready to capture them. The readiness comes from hard work and dedication; getting out with the camera, week after week, honing your skills and practicing your craft. We can go months without capturing a ‘keeper’ but so many photographers in the past have had their careers take off because of a single image. You never know when that might happen to you.

Finally a note on luck. Lucky is a word that is thrown around freely. Was I lucky to capture that last image? Maybe, but luck does not account for the years of hard work, the years of getting out day after day, the fact I switched to plan B because my original location at Saltwick Bay was completely in cloud. Luck didn’t drive me two hours to the location and luck didn’t set the correct camera settings and capture the composition and image.

I had planned to film a video which essentially would have been a seascape photography tutorial. When the amazing conditions presented themselves though I had to default to just capturing the images. Seascape photography can be very creative with the use of long exposure photography, using leading lines and interesting shapes, using the water in the foreground, capturing whatever colour is available and mixing these things into your composition. I will film the tutorial at some point but I still utilised all these techniques so there are plenty of seascape photography tips on offer in this landscape vlog.

My video photography blogs are designed to entertain and document how I go about capturing my work. If it provides landscape photography tips and inspiration along the way then please share it with your friends so more people can benefit from the content. If you enjoyed this photography vlog I would really appreciate it if you subscribed to the channel so you can come along for the journey.

Landscape Photography | Being creative with camera settings

Take your landscape photographs to another level by employing creative camera settings to match the vision of the stunning scene in front of you. I head to the Lake District in this landscape photography vlog.

One thing I often find when running workshops is people are looking to be more confident with their camera. This comes from from having total understanding of the exposure triangle and the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and ISO. It’s an important step in any photographers journey but once mastered, the camera becomes an extension of your body and an intuitive tool to create your art.

Conquering the camera settings - https://youtu.be/0uhG0HvjXGw

Aperture, shutter speed and ISO can all be used creatively to make the image match the artistic vision in the mind.

In landscape photography standard settings are to have an aperture between f/8 and f/16. We generally look to maximise the sharpness of the lens and also have the whole scene in focus. ISO will almost always be 100 to keep noise as low as possible and then we adjust the shutter speed to get the exposure nicely balanced. However these settings can be adjusted away from this norm to unlock creativity.

Long Exposure Photography

Long exposure photography is when we extend the shutter speed to capture an illusion of movement in the image. Clouds become soft and streaky, water is smoothed out and light is captured at all points as it moves through the scene. The ethereal feel it can create is infectious and addictive. With the addition of ND filters the shutter speed can be extended to several minutes creating interesting and unique images.

Long Exposure tutorial - https://youtu.be/vKAu0IluyR4

ISO above 100

The reasons to increase ISO above 100 is the same with landscapes as it is with any other area of photography. It allow us to maintain or increase the shutter speed at a given aperture. We might want to do this for several reasons but one example is to allow us to shoot handheld landscapes. There is a lot to be said for taking handheld landscape even though a tripod is a staple of any landscape photographer. You catch more moments, photograph things you might not bother getting a tripod out for and it can create a really nice overall documentary of the day if the camera is always in hand.

Another reason you might increase the ISO is reduce the amount of movement in the scene. IN the video I wanted movement in the water but not in the clouds. I knew a 2 second exposure was what I needed and an aperture of f16 was required for the depth of field. The addition of a 6 stop ND and ISO 500 achieved the exact shot I wanted. It can be used similarly to reduce the movement in grasses are shrubbery that is blowing around in the wind.

Aperture

The main creative use of aperture is to control the depth of field. A nice shallow depth of field can take a portrait to the next level. It is not used very often in landscape photography although there is no reason why it should not be. With woodland photography it is often important to isolate a specific tree. Using a bigger aperture to blow out the background really helps to achieve this.

Aperture can also be used to help bump up the exposure time. If moving from f/8 to f/16 has little effect on the depth of field in your images it can be useful in reducing the light coming in meaning we can extend shutter speeds to increase exposure time. This is a good tactic when shooting the light trails from cars at night and means an ND filter is not required.

Overall it is about deciding first how you want the image to appear. This is often called visualisation and includes your feelings towards a scene as well as what is physically seen. It is then just a matter of using the camera settings to your benefit to make the image match your artistic vision.

How to Improve You Industrial Landscape Photography

In this video I travel to the northern powerhouse of Teesside to explore some industrial landscapes using long exposure photography.

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If you are anything like me then you will agree that variety it this spice of life. That is exactly how I feel about the subjects of my photography. Varying the type of subjects I shoot gives me an edge and keeps me motivated and creative. It is even true with the landscape photography genre too, so in the video I am going to show you how to photograph industrial landscapes and take them to the next level using long exposure.

The last video provides and in-depth introduction to long exposure photography. You can check that out here - https://youtu.be/vKAu0IluyR4

I hope the video inspires you to get out and shoot some industrial landscapes of your won.

Raise your Landscape Photography Game Using Long Exposure

Discover new creative tools by using long exposure to take you images to the next level. We travel to Whitby in this landscape photography tutorial and vlog.

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In this landscape photography tutorial I travel to Whitby in North Yorkshire to capture and share how I create my long exposure images.

If you have never seen long exposure photography before you are in for a treat and capturing these images brings new challenges and creative possibilities. Essentially what is happening is by increasing the exposure time we introduce movement into our image that would normally be frozen and it gives the picture added interest and a look that would not be seen by your own eyes.

This video focuses on capturing long exposure landscapes during the day but the principles are the same no matter how or when you use it..

You will already understand the exposure triangle so when increasing exposure time we need to balance things by reducing ISO or making our aperture smaller to prevent the image being over exposed. However, in daylight conditions, even with ISO at 100 and an aperture at f/16, your shot could still be over exposed before even one second has passed. To achieve the desired effect we want our exposure to be at least 30 seconds. The only way to do this is to use ND filters. These are filters added to the front of your lens that reduce the amount of light passing through the lens without severely affecting the colour. ND filters are rated by how many stops of light they reduce the exposure by. For example if you attach a 2 stop filter to your lens you will need to increase exposure in your camera by the same 2 stops to obtain a proper exposure.

Neutral Density Filters

Neutral Density filters like the Lee Big Stopper reduce the amount of light entering the lens. In the tutorial we are using a 6 stop filter, a 10 stop filter and a Formatt Hitech 82mm 16 stop ND filter which allows us to get some extremely long exposures of several minutes, even in bright daylight conditions.

Why do Long Exposure Phototgraphy?

Exposures of this length have a number of uses. It will reduce the roughest waters to a smooth tranquil scene and add lots of movement to even the slowest moving clouds. In city scenes it can also be used to remove people from your images. At night it can be used for star trail shots and create interesting and varied light painting images.

Shutter Release Cable

In addition to the ND filter you will also need a shutter release cable, unless you have a built in timer, allowing you to lock the shutter open when using the bulb mode. Keeping your camera very still is also essential so a good sturdy tripod is handy. If you don't have a tripod you could also place your camera down on a wall or some raised ground. A bean bag can be used to allow a small amount of adjustment or to keep things level on an uneven surface. When using a DSLR it is worth covering your viewfinder with some gaff tape or a viewfinder cap because light can creep in and ruin your image.

Once you are armed with this knowledge and the few tools you need; get out and take some pictures. It is an amazing motivation to go and see the world and can really pull you out of the landscape photography dip.

3 Ways to Long Exposure | Landscape Photography

Long exposure photography is the order of the day and I share three of my methods for capturing the shot. I also discuss the merits of landscape photography and storytelling during this sunrise photo shoot.

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Long exposure provides a new way to look at the world. Capturing a relatively long period of time in one photograph. It creates an illusion of movement in the image and creates an ethereal mood that invokes feelings of serenity and wonder. Long Exposure has been the basis of my landscape photography for many many years and it is one of the first techniques I consider when I am visualising my image. I love the extra story telling capacity that a long exposure photograph can portray.

Landscape Photography with a twist

The above is achieved by creating context in the scene. It is the stark contrast between static objects in the frame against the movement of things like water and clouds. This juxtaposition on it’s own can expand the story. The power and speed of a waterfall, the direction of clouds and the wind; can all be deduced from a long exposure photograph. These subtle details all n part of a landscape and affect your attitude and feeling towards.

3 Long Exposure Photography Methods

In the video I detail three ways in which I capture my long exposures. First is simply by utilising dull conditions such as sunrise, sunset or during overcast weather conditions. Setting your aperture at around f16 and ISO at 100 will allow a shutter speed of at least a few seconds without the use of any filters.

ND Filters

Secondly is about using a long shutter speed during sunset and sunrise. I achieve this through bracketing using a 6 stop ND filter. The maximum shutter speed using this technique will normally be about 30 seconds.

2 Minutes and More

Lastly, I do extreme long exposures. Shutter speeds of 2 minutes or more using stacked ND filters up to 16 stops of total light reduction. These can be technically difficult to shoot because any slight movement can result in a less than sharp image. Noise from the sensor also becomes a problem and some cameras can be worse than others.

An exciting part of landscape photography, long shutter speed images are another tool you have in your arsenal to tell your story.

Landscape Photography - Chasing the light along Hadrian’s Wall

Chasing the golden light

I travel to the famous Roman Wall in this landscape photography vlog to capture some long exposures and beautiful golden light.

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Your best landscape photography

Hadiran’s Wall is an excellent destination for landscape photography. There are numerous compositions waiting to be photographed. One such image is the Sycamore Tree made famous by the film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. I use some long exposure photography to really make the best of a popular composition.

Although the weather for the day started out well it became very changeable as the day progressed. This resulted in some frantic moments as I chased the light along the wall to make best use of the golden colour in the right composition.

My video photography blogs are designed to entertain and document how I go about capturing my work. If it provides tips and inspiration along the way then please share it with your friends so more people can benefit from the content. If you enjoyed this photography vlog I would really appreciate it if you subscribed to the channel so you can come along for the journey.

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Seascapes, sunsets and isolation - Landscape Photography Vlog

Spurn Point Vlog

I travel to Spurn Point in this landscape photography vlog. An amazing and isolated location that provides some stunning seascape and sunset photography opportunities.

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Remote Landscape Photography

When we are trying to capture our best landscape photography it often means travelling to remote and inaccessible locations. Spurn Point is one such place. It is a thin strip of land out on the East Yorkshire coast of the UK that juts out into the Humber estuary. It is full of military history and is an amazing yet strange place. In part due to its isolation and the weather conditions it must often be faced with. It is also an important wildlife sanctuary run by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

East coast seascape sunsets

It is also one of the very few places on the East coast of the UK where you can capture some decent seascape sunset photography. I headed out with a good weather forecast for golden hour and stopped off on route at the Humber bridge, one of the worlds longest suspension bridges. I had a little composition in mind for the bridge whilst I was still test out the 11mm wide angle prime lens.

Spurn Point is accessed only on foot by a causeway where a road used to stand. It was washed away by the rising sea levels during a storm several years ago. Crossing the causeway adds an element of drama to the day and you risk being cut off by the high tide.

Landscape photography wise my aim was to tell the story of Spurn Point. Capturing some beautiful seascapes and picking up a signature sunset shot at the end of the day with some beautiful colour in the sky was my plan. However proceedings were more difficult than I had anticipated and the feeling of isolation out there in the sea created an unnerving feeling.

In the end it was a successful landscape photography trip and I came away with 2-3 images that I am very happy with.

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