The Tree

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As seasons change it's always exciting to look back on previous years shots and locations and then look at the maps for inspiration.

I have been to The Brecons for Autumn shoots the past two or three years and decided it was a must to do again, but was also very keen to get out and explore pastures new.

Dartmoor has been high on my list of places to shoot for some time, but circumstances have never permitted, other than a shot half day drive around in the summer; which served to frustrate and entice me in equal measure. I decided to pack the car and head down to see whatI could find. In the way of Autumn colour and locations and compositions to give me a buzz.

I started off at the Tor which left me flummoxed and dishearteded on that summer trip. I lost my mojo at Combe Stone Tor on the first trip, it is fair to say. I left Dorset at 3am and drove in and out of showers all the way, wondering if I had picked a washout. I got to Combe Stone Tor at about 6am and sat in the dark with the heater on in the car and waited for first light. The rain cleared and the soft pre dawn light was incredible. I darted about framing up compositions and making the most of the light in case everything got too harsh when the sun broke the horizon. I had really struggled with the summer light and needed to reduce saturation substancially to make the images look vaguely believable and was concerned of a repeat performance. I need not have worried as I was treated to some spectacular pinks reflected in the clouds and managed to shoot for almost an hour after sunrise.

This image was taken after sunrise and with the low morning sun behind me. The gorse was a fabulous reddish colour, enhansed by the warm light. I had shot images of this tree on the summer trip and not got anything I had liked, so was shooting in a totally different way, with a different focal length. I really wanted to give the tree a sense of place and show the remote location to try and hold the viewers attention.

I spent the rest of the day exploring the Dart Valley, driving across the the western sde of the Moor, up to The North and around and about, shooting various bridges, streams, Tors and vistas. The Dartmoor bug has bitten me and I am looking forward to getting to know the Moor better and with luck, bringing home some great images and seeing the different seasons of Dartmoor.

I actally made two trips on sucessive weeks, the second time meeting up with a flickr contact Mark Lakeman, who kindly showed me some of the more hidden gems and whos local knowledge knew what was good at this time of year.

 

The Tree, a photo by Andy Farrer on Flickr.

The Bull

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The Bull, a photo by Andy Farrer on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
This rock just off Durdle Door, if I am right is called The Bull.

I have been busy the last week or so and only just got to take another look at my images from here. I must admit I m a little embarrassed now at posting the previous image in a hurry when I got home! I was so excited by the sky that I processed the 1st image that jumped out at me and posted it! What I should have done was taken more time to go through the images. The cliffs on the previous image totally ruined it for me when I looked the next day!

I much prefer the subtlety of this one. I shall be going back to my previous self imposed rule of never posting photos online the day I shot them! Doh!

© Andy Farrer 2011 | All rights reserved

First Sniff of Autumn

Filed under Observations

First Sniff of Autumn, a photo by Andy Farrer on Flickr.

 

I was hoping for mist at Corfe this morning after driving through the village with fog lights on last night, but not even a whisp of it was to be seen today!

After a bit of deliberating, I opted for a wander over towards Agglestone just in case there was some colour and any heather left in bloom. Not much of either, but the autumnal fern caught my eye and got me looking forward to the new seasons offerings. As much as I would like Summer to linger a while longer, I am actually looking forward to the Autumn colours and some hard frosts to go and shoot!

Autumn offers some great warm colours and plenty of mist usually and the sun starts to creep around to some interesting parts of the Dorset coast for sunset again, so lots of things to look forward to shooting in the coming months.

A Cold Wet Start

Filed under Photographs , Published Work

A Cold Wet Start, a photo by Andy Farrer on Flickr.

My image is featured as a centre-spread in the August edition of Dorset Life magazine.

It was taken last year on a very cold and dreary September morning and really marked the end of Summer.

The Waverley paddle steamer is moored against Swanage Pier on the right of the shot.

It is often tempting to hear the rain of the roof while you are snuggled up in a nice warm bed and be glad of the excuse to lay in. Often the wet rocks or pavements can come to life and take on a whole new personality in or after the rain. "Slippery When Wet" was also taken right after a downpour and the wet planks on the Pier make for a very compelling image.

I plan to get out and shoot in the rain more often, and I am convinced will have plenty of opportunities in the coming months (or days!)

Jurassic Flowers

Filed under Photographs

Jurassic Flowers, a photo by Andy Farrer on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
This is an 80second exposure on the sky with a 1.2ND and a shorter exposure without the ND to keep a sharper foreground, as the breeze made the flowers move a bit too much. Not often I do layer blends, but as the flowers were looking so good, I decided it was worth it this time.

Please come and visit me on 500px

© Andy Farrer 2011 | All rights reserved

Digital Workflow

Filed under Digital Processing

I'm often asked what package I use for my processing, so I thought I would write a post outlining what and why and a few of the pro's and cons.

I adopted Lightroom back on version 1 and have persevered with it since then as there were many features I liked and found very conducive to a seamless and fast workflow. My IT background involves in a lot of sitting in front of computer screens watching progress bars, so would rather spend my photography time out with the camera and as little as possible doing post processing, and Lightroom certainly helps me achieve this goal.

Here is a list of a few of the key advantages:

• Import & backup in one action
• Non Destructive Workflow
• Sync Settings across multiple images
• Integration with Adobe CS Suites
• Powerful processing engine
• Keyword, ratings and filters to select best images and organise shoots
• Collections
• Slideshow, Web and Print Modules
• Watermark on Export
• Before/After Split Screen

Frankly this list could go on, but the ones here are my key reasons for sticking with Lightroom.

Let me walk through a typical workflow for a landscape shoot. I am simplifying this and not elaborating on any of the steps.

• Launch Lightroom
• Import to Hard Disk & Make a Copy to External Hard Disk and Convert to DNG. All in one step from one window
• On Import Add keywords relevant to the shoot and apply calibration presets
• Review images quickly and star rate any I feel I want to take a closer look at
• Edit some of my starred images in Develop Module and change star ratings to suit
• Sync some images with similar shots to more carefully review which are best candidates
• Make final decision on shots to use and publish and change star rating to 5
• Export with appropriate custom preset with watermarks

How would this compare with using Bridge & Photoshop?

I would have to import the files to a folder in Finder or Windows Explorer and make a backup manually to an external hard disk. I believe keywords can be added in Bridge. Review and rating of images can also be done in bridge, but I would need to work on each image one by one and manually create my watermarks. All the time I would need to be careful to keep versions of my files and be careful not to accidentally save a small version over my master file.

Being able to revert to "as shot" or walk back through history to see my images progression is very useful as is the ability to adjust sliders. It is often the case that a file can look over-processed when you return to a file from an earlier processing session, and backing off sliders is very useful; and for me easier than having large photoshop files cluttering up valuable hard disk real estate.

I'm sure there are many Photoshop users who will say there are ways to do many of the things I mention, but the simplicity of the interface in Lightroom is very important in achieving fast results and why it is my first port of call.

This is not to say I don't use photoshop, because I do. Lightroom has it's limits, cloning fussy objects for example. While the local adjustment tools and spot healing is adequate for some dodging and burning and removing sensor spots, it is sometimes necessary to use photoshop for the some images. Lightoom neatly makes a copy of the image with the Lightroom adjustments and puts it alongside the DNG when you save it.

Virtual Copies and another useful feature of Lightroom. Without creating a new actual file, so saving space, Lightroom show another version of your file, so you can perhaps experiment on it or make a mono version while leaving the other version where you left it.

I have created a number of Export Presets which helps me keep a consistent feel to my online galleries on my own site, flickr & facebook etc with watermarks. For example the facebook uploader manages to massacre images when it uploads them, but if you upload a 750px image and set facebook to upload at high quality, it seems to bypass some of the negative effects of the uploader. To streamline this, I created a facebook preset scaling the long edge to 750px, with a 60quality jpeg and my watermark at something like 20% of the size with an indent.

I hope this has whet your appetite and gone some way to making you aware that processing doesn't have to be too fiddly and require a great deal of prowess on file management in Windows Explorer of Finder.

I'll write some feature specific posts in the near future to elaborate on some of the ways to best use some of the modules and tools.

You can download a free trial from Adobe. 

Landscape GB

Filed under Blog

For those landscape photographers not yet familiar with Landscape GB I suggest taking a look. It is an online magazine run by Tim Parkin and features subscriber critiques by Joe Cornish as well as some very useful and often thought provoking landscape photography related articles.

You will find yourself being introduced to new photographers whose galleries will inspire you, and doubtless add a vast number of picturesque and wild locations to your “must visit” list. With any luck enough tips will “stick” and you’ll grow as a photographer and get those prize-winning images!

I personally enjoy the critique videos with Joe and Tim. It’s fascinating to hear them discuss the pros, cons and decisions made by the photographer, and learn what they think work and what let things down. Joe has a wealth of experience and has captured some, what can only be described as, classic photographs, so being able to “sit on his shoulder” and see him tweak some images is priceless knowledge in my opinion. All too often it’s very small changes that can make the difference between a nice shot and a really altogether more striking image. I know I certainly consider my compositions far more that I used too. Those small details . . .

The site is subscription based to get all the content but you can read some of the content before you commit. It’s a great value £2.00 per issue if you subscribe for a year, £2.50 for 6 months and £3.00 an issue on demand.

Planning Locations & When to Shoot Them

Filed under Blog

Planning shots and finding locations are key ingredients in maximizing your chances of nailing some good landscape shots. While you may occasionally get lucky and be in the right place at the right time, it is fair to say these odds will no doubt result in going home empty handed quite frequently. The sunrise and set positions vary a great deal from season to season, tides can submerge beaches entirely and good planning will allow you to eliminate wasted trips and in turn keep your morale from taking a kicking!

This image of Swanage Pier has been a shot in my minds eye for some years now. The symmetrical composition of the Pier, this one or any other is an obvious enough one and surely has been taken by people accomplished photographers and amateurs alike, but to really stand out from the crowd the light must be more dramatic or the sky more epic.

Swanage is very favorably orientated for sunrises and so my plan was hatched, to get the sunrise lighting up the shelter and capture a vivid sunrise. The Photographers Ephemeris is a fantastic tool which was able to help me pick the two opportunities when the sun is rising behind the shelter from a central position on the pier each year.

Getting onto the Pier before sunrise poses another challenge as it isn’t often open unless a diving party are preparing early.

I kept a close eye on the weather and kept trying until I managed to get all my ingredients coincided. I was fortunate on the day I finally got what I was after and managed to get a handful of slightly different variations before and during sunrise before the light finally got too harsh.

Although the top image is the dramatic one I was after, the pastel toned one photographed five minutes before the sun broke the horizon is probably the more sucessful.

If you are interested in a workshop with me please visit my workshop page on my website. I offer half or full days to include a sunrise, sunset or both.