Landscape Photography Vlogs

Landscape Photography - Cloud Inversions and Vlog Failures

Landscape Photography Troubles and Cloud Inversions

I get up early to capture the sunrise and find a beautiful cloud inversions. Sadly, landscape photography does not always go according to plan.

Landscape photography is not easy. Not only does it require photographic skill, it also requires the dedication to get into interesting locations at the right time of day. Often this is at sunrise and sunset. A little bit of luck will also come in handy.

Cloud Inversions in the Wye Valley

In this vlog I had everything in place to capture a beautiful landscape image. Having researched a great location in the Wye Valley, planned the shot via Photopills and getting out in time for sunrise, I was confident. I was even optimistic, given the weather forecast, there would be a good chance of a cloud inversion.

The theme for the vlog was to highlight how capturing beautiful landscape photography does not have to be a big deal and time consuming. Whilst this is true, I did not make the most of my day.

Landscape Photography off day.

There are some days when we are not on top form. This was one of those days for me. With the scene in front of me even a child could capture a half decent photo. I wanted something out of the top draw. The location is a well photographed meander in the Wye River as you look down over the Forest of Dean. Some people will try and discourage you from photographing places like this, insisting always something original should be captured. Wrong. I like to visit these places and try and capture some better than everyone else. There are always different weather and lighting conditions that can make a place look completely different. You might also just want to capture it for your personal achievement.

Time constraint pressures

I was quickly overcome by excitement and frustration at the same time. The scene was stunning but the cloud was just so thick that I couldn't see the river. I knew as the day went on the cloud would start to lift and reveal spots of the landscape below. That was the perfect shooting time. That's where the frustration lay. I had a forged a chunk of time out of my day by getting up early. A festive day with my family lay ahead. Or divorce if I stayed out. I spent a minute considering my options before realising my time was nearly up. I quickly shot several compositions of the cloud inversions using bracketing to deal with the massive range of lighting conditions in front of me. I shot wide angle, tighter shots, tried different lenses and filters and also captured several vertical shots to stitch into a panorama later. I am normally much more selective with my photography but the conditions were changing so fast I wanted to capture it all.

I shot several images and annoyingly they just didn't turn out to my usual standard. The fog was too thick and the panorama I shot would just not stitch together.

In the end we can not win them all and you have to roll with the punches and turn your negative experiences and mistakes into learning experiences and turn it into something positive.

Subscribe to the YouTube channel.

Follow me on Instagram