Mike Barrett Photography

Photography Beyond The Moment

Landscape Photography

The Photography Magazines

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There are many different photography magazines on the market. Walk into any major WHSmith store and pace down the magazine aisle, you will find a plethora of publications offering (All You Need To Know) headlines across their front covers. Bold type bulletins like, ‘Master Macro’, ‘Pro Shots without a Pro Camera’, Landscape Photography without a Tripod’, ‘Improve Your Composition’ and so on…

There are a couple of publications however that don’t feel the need to shout about their content on the cover in quite the same way. That’s because their quality has been set in stone over the course of time. Which magazines am I talking about? OUTDOOR Photography and BLACK+WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Instead, you are beguiled by an extraordinary beautiful image on the front cover and a slither of simple text. These magazines however are packed with brilliant peer-led journalism offering fascinating and diverse articles where the subject matter and storytelling are plentiful, insightful, and engaging. In each case, the jaunt from cover to cover is a journey of fruition and mirth, accompanied by outstanding and often breathtaking photography. All this and they still manage to cover everything you need to know about kit, compositions, style, culture, creative processes, and everything from the first daguerreotypes to the cutting edge mirrorless monsters that can be snapped up today. Furthermore, the smart, beautiful, and functional graphic design makes the whole reading experience an absolute pleasure. Not to mention the slick gloss cover and silky matt cover respectively.

I have been buying these magazines for a long while now and have never been disappointed with my choice. In fact, I always get a rush of delightful anticipation when I get my hands on the latest copy and breath in that delightful smell of fresh print upon tearing open the covering. Recently, that special portion of glee was significantly heightened when I realised that I had, in fact, had one of my images published in issue 260 of BLACK+WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY.

The magazine runs a monthly mini-competition called SMARTSHOTS (#smartshots) where three winners receive a 64GB SAMSUNG EVO Micro SDXC Card. In this month’s edition, I was one such lucky winner. The photo that caught the panel’s eye was a shot of the Cloisters at Fountains Abbey with my daughter standing in the end window. (See below) It got a whole page of its own. I was absolutely delighted. It was nice to get a bit of peer recognition, but when it’s in one of your favourite magazines the accolade is all the more gratifying.

Maybe I will see if I can get an article published next, backed up by some more of my images. That would be absolutely awesome.

If you’re into photography and have never read one of these magazines, do yourself a favour and go and get the latest copy of each publication. You will not be disappointed. Better still, get subscribed!

Both magazines are published by GMC Publications.

Inside the Magazine

My Photograph

Taken at the famous Cloisters at Fountains Abbey.

Issue 260 Front Cover

The Covers

Some examples of the wonderful covers from both magazines.

Fraisthorpe Beach and a 10 Stop ND Filter – Yorkshire Coast

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The Location

On a recent trip to the east coast of Yorkshire with a tog friend of mine, we took a walk south from Bridlington along the beach front to find the numerous pillbox guard posts and various other structures scattered along the landscape. Where we ended up was a place called Fraisthorpe Beach. It is about a 3-4 mile walk from Bridlington harbour along the beach front. These salt water battered and barnicled concrete structures are remnants of the british defence effort during the second world war. Installations such as these formed an effective defence from the threat of invasion from Germany via the sea.

There are many locations along the east coast of Britain that were fortified with these types of structures. Bridlington Bay with its flat sandy beaches was an ideal place for all manner of vehicles to land. Tanks, amphibious landing craft and many other attack vehicles would have easily been able to slip up onto the land. Anti tank cubes are scattered in their dozens, in long lines up and down the beach. Most of them sit where the wave break line occurs at high tide, which made for some interesting photograph opportunities.

The Photography

A note was made of the location but it seemed prudent to return a couple of days later when the high tide was at its highest. The intention being, to make sure that there was a good volume of water lashing at these old structures in order to get the proposed shots. My goal was to get some super long exposures using a 10 stop ND filter. This would enable me to flatten out the seascape and achieve some clean, stylised shots. There was a good light for this type of photography. I made a multitude of compositions during the three hours that we were there. Some shots didn’t work out so well. Some, however, worked out wonderfully.

The images below are some of my favourites from the time spent at this location. I have deliberately presented a colour and a black and white version of each of the images. They work equally as well, but somehow are strikingly different in their appearance. Particularly when viewed next to each other.

The lens I used was an EF 17-40mm F/4L USM with a 10 stop ND filter, using various focal lengths. All at F/20, ISO 50, with a mixture of exposures ranging between 213 seconds and 361 seconds, tripod mounted, in bulb mode.

My objective was to flatten out the water as much as possible and get a good contrast between the wave break line and the horizon line. Composition wise, I really wanted to show some of the beauty of these wonderful structures. Covered in barnacles and seaweed, you can see how they have eroded over time, with bits of steel poking out the top of some of the blocks. Many have broken down almost completely. There are, however, many that have kept their shape and integrity and would no doubt still repel a landing army of old. Or new, for that matter.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2021 – All Rights Reserved

Click on the images to enlarge.

 

Local Waters and Woodlands

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I know, I can hear it now… “Out shooting water again Baz? It’s not like you!” Yes indeed, I just can’t help myself.

When shooting water in woodland you usually get a gap in the tree canopy where the light floods in and brightens up the water course. Obviously this depends on how wide the river or stream is. In the case of these shots, in each instance, the canopy was still rather closed as both the streams were fairly narrow. Trees on each side of the bank were close enough to form a closed canopy above the water where the foliage merged into one big umbrella.

There were one or two areas that opened up and light was able to flood in. It made for some interesting atmospherics. It’s not a bad thing though, especially when you’re taking long exposure shots on a tripod, as you have full control of your exposure times and how you want the available light to work in the image.
A closed canopy can serve to diffuse the light and you end up with shots with interesting light dotted around the composition. Even if ever so subtly, as is the case with the images below. You get lots of pockets of light and dark areas juxtaposed against each other which makes for some good contrasts throughout the composition. The only thing you might have to be considerate of is movement in the foliage if the conditions are breezy. But this can also work for you depending on the type of image you are after. There is always so much to consider when photographing this type of landscape. It’s what makes it so much fun.

For me, there is a sweet spot where long exposure, fast water river shots are concerned. I have seen many images where photographers have just opened up the shutter for as long as possible to capture a huge chunk of movement in the water and made it look like a blanket. A whited-out watery wilderness. You tend to get a huge amount of over-exposed areas in the water when this occurs. When it is overdone it can spoil the image and detract from the beauty of the scenery. So the sweet spot for me is a compromise somewhere between this and a normal snapshot. I want those smoothed-out elements in the flowing water, but I also want some of the energy left in too. Of course, this changes from shot to shot and it all depends on what you think works well within the composition at the time. Mostly though, I want to show the ever-changing course of the water as there is so much movement to be captured. So I tend to do a few test shots. I find the exposure I want and then play with the shutter timing and aperture until I hit the sweet spot which contains both those smoothing elements, but also something that captures the texture and ever-changing course of how the water is flowing.

As I said, I try to find the sweet spot. Here are some images where I hope to have done just that.

The first four shots were taken at Judy Woods in West Yorkshire. The water is called Royads Hall Beck.
The second four shots were taken at Hardcastle Crags in West Yorkshire. The water is called Hebden Beck.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2021 – All Rights Reserved

Hardcastle Crags – Beech Trees and Things

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Spring is such a wonderful time of year. The earth starts to wake from its winter slumber and everything is revived, fresh, anew and bursting into life. Colour sharpens as buds open and blossoms begin to paint hues on the landscape. Fresh greens drench the vista as shrubs, trees and other foliage start pushing out shoots and the skeletal forms of winter begin to disappear under a shroud of foliage. A chlorophyll cloak of blades, stalks, needles and leaves forms over the landscape. A botanical display of renewed life bringing with it new hope and new beginnings.

There is one plant that has always amused me. The humble beech tree. It is renowned for holding on to its leaves throughout winter. After the spring and summer season its leaves turn from green to a golden orange colour and shrink and distort slightly as they lose their moisture. They only really start to shed their leaves when the new reddish brown, bullet-shaped leaf buds form in springtime and last seasons foliage falls to the earth just as the new bud is about the open.

While I was visiting Hardcastle Crags this spring, the beech trees where on the brink of this transitional period. Many leaves had fallen leaving a rusty coloured carpet under each of the trees, but there were still plenty of leaves clinging on and dancing in the spring sunlight. It was nice to witness this transformation and I thought I would record it by taking a few photographs. I quite enjoyed looking for decent compositions and finding some interest in amongst the branches of these beautiful trees. The more I looked, the more I wanted to photograph. Such delicate beauty on display and such sharp colour framed against the woody background.

Here are some of the images that I took on the day.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2021 – All Rights Reserved

A Snowy Haworth Moor

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I’ve only just got around to writing about this day back in January. It wasn’t snowing when we headed out to Haworth Moor. It was somewhat grey and and there was a stiff breeze, but altogether it had been a fairly pleasant day. My wife, daughter and I had headed out for a walk to blow away the cobwebs of the last year of lockdowns. To be honest, after the previous 9 months it was just good to get out. Period!

We headed to the Brontë waterfalls. Our daughter was really excited to be out and about in the world again and to be on a bit of an adventure. We got a little way into the walk, about 20 minutes or so when quite out of the blue it started piling it down with snow. It didn’t start slowly and get gradually worse (better). Nope, it just came down in bucket loads from the get go. Massive flakes of snow. My daughter was delighted. She hadn’t seen snow like this before. In fact we were all utterly thrilled that it had started snowing.

It wasn’t too long before it had got deep under foot and of course soon enough we began making huge snowballs and throwing them everywhere and at each other. Luckily we had dressed in warm clothes and good, sturdy walking boots, so we were well equipped to deal with the change in weather. We carried on with our walk for as long as possible, sticking to the paths and taking in the beautiful landscape. A landscape that had very quickly become white over. Sheep had begun to huddle in flocks around trees and some hid behind farm buildings to get some respite from the prevailing storm.

After a while we made the decision to turn around and head back to the car.  We hadn’t got to our planned destination but it had been getting colder by the minute and the path had become quite treacherous. All of us nearly landed on our bums on more than one occasion.

I had taken my camera kit with me. I wanted to get some shots of this beautiful Brontë Moor on a crisp winters day. What I did get are this handful of delightful shots. A snowy winter wonderland in the heart of Brontë country. While I was there I imagined the Brontë sisters stomping across these same grounds in weather much like this back in their time, and how they might have stoked a large, warm fire once tucked away from the wilds of this rugged land.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2021 – All Rights Reserved

The Old Lighthouse of Twr Mawr

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The Old Lighthouse of Twr Mawr – Llanddwyn Island Anglesey, Gwynedd North Wales.

Don’t let this serene vista fool you. We were being blown off our feet and literally soaked to the bone with the torrential rain that was relentless battering the island. Buffeted from pillar to post and absolutely soaked to the bone! The place was stunning though. Wild and beautiful.

While we were there I posted this image to my social media outlets. It was seen by some friends of ours who were also spending time in that part of the world. They got in touch to tell us that they were 5 minutes away from where we were and asked if we wanted to meet up. We managed to hook up later that day and grab a coffee together. A lovely impromptu meet up and a really nice surprise.

Those friends came back to me recently and asked if they could get a print of the photo that I posted that afternoon. A lovely little story involving this memory. The Old Lighthouse of Twr Mawr and Llanddwyn Island, Anglesey holds particular significance for them and has a special place in their hearts. So apt that they should end up with this beautiful print. Not only for the reason that is a symbolic place for them, but also for the little story it tells about our encounter while we were all holidaying in that beautiful part of the world.

Printed on Hahnemühle 308gsm photo rag fine art paper which delivers a stunning finish to printed images. I’m pleased to say that they are very happy with their print.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2021 – All Rights Reserved

Brimham Rocks – Yorkshire Dales

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I was recently up at Brimham Rocks, situated on Brimham Moor in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in North Yorkshire. It is an (SSSI), a heather moorland and 454 acre biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, and Geological Conservation Review (GCR). It also happens to be part of the National Trust’s portfolio of properties and is visited by thousands of people every year. With it’s unusual rock formations and wild landscapes it is also very beautiful and a great place to get some interesting photographs.

One of the most photographed aspects of the location is the Lone Tree (Silver Birch) that protrudes from the gritstone between two sets of rock formations. There was some fabulous light while I was there and I managed to get a couple of interesting shots looking at different aspects of this particular spectacle. There were families and couples milling around the place and they made for some good silhouette shots against this beautiful landscape. I really like the black and white shot of the two Jackdaws chasing each other off the edge of the rocks just under the silver birch tree. It was a timely capture.

If you have never been, there is alsorts to enjoy at this location. You can have a go at Geocaching, which is essentially a GPS treasure hunt. There are many beautiful walks to be had and the rocks themselves are breathtakingly beautiful and were created by a tremendous river which ran through there about 100 million years before the first dinosaurs walked the earth. The rocks were sculpted over 320 million years of continental plate shifts and hundreds of thousands of years of ice, wind and rain leaving us with this stunning landscape to explore and enjoy.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2020 – All Rights Reserved

Lake District Autumnal Landscapes

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I have just got back from the Lake District where the autumn colours were in full effect. Being in such a beautiful place at this time of year warms the soul, even if the weather strips what’s left of your body heat out of your very being. The Lake District is one of the most phenomenally beautiful places I have ever been. Every time I go there I fall in love with the place just that little bit more. The landscapes and scenery are utterly breathtaking and not only do they change through the seasons, they can literally alter from moment to moment with the ever shifting weather systems that move in and out of this mountainous region. The light and therefore mood can alter from minute to minute. Choppy water can turn into a flat mill pond at the drop of a hat, blue skies can develop into dramatic and foreboding storm clouds in the blink of an eye and the colour contained within the surrounding vistas can warm up and cool down in the time it takes to make a cup of tea. I could say that there is never a dull moment but there are indeed many. Literally! Interspersed with countless bright ones, colourful ones, muted ones…

I managed to get some beautiful shots while I was there. Frosty mornings, drone landscapes, classic mountainous scenery and some film footage for my Youtube channel. I love this beautiful thing called photography. It is utter soul food. Especially in such a stunning place as the Lake District.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 104mm, F16, ISO 50, 0.5 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 17mm, F22, ISO 50, 1/60 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

DJI Mavic Pro Drone, Lens: 26.3mm, F2.2, Focal Length @ 4.73mm (in 35mm: 26mm), ISO 100, 1/125 Seconds Exposure.

 

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 26mm, F16, ISO 50, 30.0 Seconds Exposure with 10 Stop ND Filter, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 17mm, F22, ISO 50, 27.0 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

DJI Mavic Pro Drone, Lens: 26.3mm, F2.2, Focal Length @ 4.73mm (in 35mm: 26mm), ISO 100, 1/125 Seconds Exposure.

 

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 200mm, F16, ISO 50, 0.8 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 188mm, F4.5, ISO 50, 1/320 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

DJI Mavic Pro Drone, Lens: 26.3mm, F2.2, Focal Length @ 4.73mm (in 35mm: 26mm), ISO 163, 1/100 Seconds Exposure.

 

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 188mm, F16, ISO 50, 1/13 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 17mm, F16, ISO 50, 1/25 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 188mm, F4.5, ISO 50, 1/320 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 87.00 mm, F18, ISO 50, 1/6 Seconds Exposure, Aperture Priority, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 17mm, F16, ISO 50, 1/20 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 40.00 mm, F16, ISO 50, 1.3 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

 

Johnshaven, Scotland

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I have a special love for being by the coast. It’s definitely a yearning. I stood at the ocean’s edge last week while up on the east coast of Scotland, closed my eyes and let my senses take over. I let the whole experience wash over me. The sound of the crashing waves ebbing and flowing, the chorus of shrill calls from the gulls as they danced on the sea air, the spray hitting my face and the smell of the ocean as it rolled over the rocks before me.

As I took it all in I thought about a line from the movie ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ by the character Andy Dufresne. In the film he was talking to his friend Red and was describing a place that he wanted to live out the rest of his life. “Zihuatanejo. It’s in Mexico. A little place on the Pacific Ocean. You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific? They say it has no memory.”
I don’t know why it popped into my head, but I got thinking about it while I was stood looking at the North Sea. Specifically focusing on the part about the sea having no memory. I like this as an idea. The concept that the ocean has no memory. The notion sits quite well with me. This vast body of water the covers 71% of the earth surface. It’s basically uncharted in real terms. We’ve seen a bit of it, but in the grand scheme of things we have sent more people to the moon than we have people to the deepest parts of our oceans. The idea that it has no memory just intrigues me. This vast body of water is just there, all the time. Moving to and fro, calm and at times ferocious. Deep and wide, enduring and seemingly endless. Full of mystery and very, very old. Beautiful in its magnitude. The fact that it might have no memory is almost a beautiful notion. Ever existing in a state of now. Being!

I love to photograph the coast line. There is always something happening or something interesting to point the camera at. There is never a dull moment. The weather constantly changes, as do the tides, the colours, the wind, the light, the smells, the mood, the temperature… It’s very much alive. I got a chance to have a mess around with a 10 stop filter and a variable grad filter on this particular excursion. I also sent my drone up a few times to get some different aspects of the coastline. All good fun as you can imagine.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Capturing Daybreak at Johnshaven

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I recently captured six different aspects of the sunrise over the course of a few different mornings at a little fishing village called Johnshaven on the east coast of Scotland. The compositions were fairly similar, taken from more or less the same vantage point. It’s always exhilarating watching the sunrise on a beautiful coastline. It’s something I will never tire of. There is a quote I once heard that goes as follows… “God created the sunrise and the sunset so that each day begins and ends in triumph”. I’m not a religious man but I have always liked that quote. Having witnessed many a sunrise and sunset I believe that this quote pretty much hits the nail on the head!

It is intoxicating watching the sun come up on the coast, or anywhere for that matter, but on the coast it does bring that special something. All that colour and changing light reflected off that vast ocean is something else. Especially when you are out there at 5am and there isn’t another soul about. It’s just you, fresh sea air and the rising of that huge ball of fire that we call sunshine. At times it will bring with it colour, drama and most certainly heat, light and the new energy of the day. To stand and watch it climb into the sky and see it incrementally change the colour and mood of the surrounding panorama fills the soul with some mysterious and primeval joy. Capturing it photographically for prosperity brings a huge amount of joy also. Not quite bottled for prosperity, but as near as damn it!

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Ilkley Moor Fires – Rebirth & New Hope

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I recently visited Ilkley Moor. It is somewhere that I have been on numerous occasions over the years. A magnificent natural place of beauty. Visited by many people for it’s incredible panoramic views, fantastic trails for walking and for the fact that it is a site of special scientific interest due to its beautiful upland habitat for ground-nesting birds. Known also for the famous Yorkshire folk song “On Ilkley Moor baht ‘at”, (on Ilkley Moor without a hat) and not least for the Cow and Calf rocks, an outcrop of grit stones which stand beside an old quarry.

Back in April some fires were deliberately started on the moor land. Some 25,000 square metres of land were scorched to a blackened wasteland. The destruction of the habitat was plane to see even though many weeks had passed after the event. It was reassuring to see nature returning in abundance bringing with it new hope and new life. That’s the beauty of nature. It will repair itself.

I wanted to capture some imagery that illustrated the resilience of nature and the power it has in the face of adversity. There were new fern shoots popping up all over the place. A carpet of them in fact. It was clear that flora was returning to the damaged land and in that, it wouldn’t be long before nesting bird and other wild life would again find safety and sanctuary in the returning vegetation. My intention was to isolate a single new fern shoot and juxtapose it against the scorched and blackened earth in order to make a visual communication about the power of nature and its ability to revive and replenish itself. I’m really pleased with how these images have turned out.

As a photographer I always try to find the beauty within the world around me. It’s not always an easy thing to achieve. It was my desire in this instance to capture the idea of hope. The notion that, all is not lost!

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

I made a YouTube video explaining a little bit more about my experience on the moor.

YouTube – lkley Moor Fires – Rebirth & New Hope

 

Natures Carpet

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This image conjures up all sorts of emotions in me. That is the beauty of a single photograph. It can transport you to many places, evoke countless memories and trigger a depth of emotion that may not otherwise have surfaced before feasting your eyes upon it.

This image brings to mind warm, sunny days, the sound of distant child’s laughter playing in a meadow, the drone of light aircraft cutting through the sky, the whiff and drifting scent of a bbq triggering a certain hunger pang, the perfume of summer flora and the hum of a lazy bumble bee bouncing from flower to flower. It brings to mind the sound of a cricket chirping somewhere not too far away on a stem of grass, or a ladybird stumbling through the undergrowth on a journey that only it could know. It reminds of the simple joy of laying on your back in the deep green grass and watching cotton white clouds meandering along against a cerulean sky while all of you cares melt out of memory. If I look at this image for long enough, it would probably bring to mind a lifetime of simple pleasures and quite possibly many other emotions.

The power of photography is evident in the way in which nearly everybody in this day and age makes record after record of their life journey on a day to day basis using smart phones and all manor of digital devices. There is something special about a photograph, about photography. The simple recording of our life experiences for us to look at again and again has become customary. Photography is essential for many reasons in the world in which we live.

The passion for making great imagery sits profoundly within me. It is almost an obsession, but one that brings a huge amount of joy, both in the initial recording of an image and that of the huge amount of joy that one single image can bring thereafter. If one single image can do all of that then imaging the joy derived from many thousands of images?! Little wonder then, that for me at least, making beautiful photographs is a compulsion.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 188.00mm, F4, ISO 400, 1/800 Seconds Exposure, AP, Hand Held.

The River Ure at Hackfall Woods – The Making of the Composition

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This image was taken while on a recent trip out to Hackfall Woods up in North Yorkshire. The woods are absolutely stunning and well worth exploring. If you like a nice stroll and you enjoy nature, this place ticks all the boxes. Great for kids and family days out. Awesome for exploring in terms of photography.

On the day that I was there the sun was beating down relentlessly. It was extremely bright. Not at all displeasing, but such conditions are not necessarily ideal for photography. In such conditions you can tend to get harsh and contrasty elements in your imagery, dark shadows against extremely bright areas of reflected sunshine. That said I was undeterred. I took my tripod and searched for a good place by the side of the River Ure. Upon finding an ideal spot, I settled in to find a pleasing composition.

The river was flowing fairly quickly, even though in this image it looks serene. There is a reason for that. My intention was to flatten out the water by taking a longer exposure. This would enable me to get rid of some of the texture created by the fast flow of water. In essence, I wanted to make the water a little more flat and glassy looking. I also wanted to blur out and soften some of the harsh, contrasty shadows that I mentioned that were being reflecting back off the water. In order to accomplish this I put a 10 stop filter on my lens which enabled me to attain a longer exposure time, even in such bright conditions.

The composition that I made may seem fairly simple at a glance but it was certainly thought about. I spent some time moving up and down the river looking for the ideal place to seat the tripod in order to capture a shot worthy of this beautiful place. I deliberately included those beautiful budding branches that were dipping into view on the left hand side of the image as they and reached towards the water, juxtaposing them against the vanishing point of the river as it swung off around the corner. A simple shot in many ways, but I do love the composition which I will discuss in a little more detail below.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Main Image
River Ure – Hackfall Woods

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 17.00mm, F10, ISO 100, 10 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted, 10 Stop Filter.

First of all I used the rule of thirds fairly loosely by separating the trees and foliage from the body of water. The white line in Figure 1 below doesn’t quite come in exactly on the third, but it works well enough to separate the weight of the image between these two separate elements, as you can see. I am always of the opinion that the rules that exist in photography are there to guide you more than stick to rigorously. The image has to make sense in its own right and sometimes bending the rules slightly can make an image, not detract from it. You get a sense of what works while on location. It becomes instinctive over time.

You can also see that the white line in Figure 1 separates the image in such a way that what is left both above and below the line almost works as a stand alone image in both cases. Almost!

Figure 1 – Rule of Thirds

The other detail that became apparent to me when making this composition was the two areas that I have outlined in red in  Figure 2 blow. It is quite simply a triangle shape which has been formed by the top of the tree line and then reflected in the water below. This aspect of the composition draws the viewers eye into the image in a subtle way. It is detail like this that can be so important when making decisions about setting up a shot and recognising subtleties in the landscape around you. That’s why it is always a good idea to take your time to scan the scenery to see if you can pick out quirky characteristics that are naturally occurring in the landscape around you. Look for reflective elements both in a literal way and also in terms of shapes and forms that may relate to one another within the field of view.

Figure 2 – Reflective or Mirror Elements

Considering how the perspective of this composition works, there is also a vanishing point where the river disappears around the corner. From the point where this occurs I have drawn these green lines onto Figure 3 below illustrating how each separate triangular portion draws the viewer’s eye off in multiple directions reaching all extremities of the photograph. This aspect of the photo also leads the viewer’s eye into the image much like the reflective triangle shape, but it also takes the viewer on a journey around the whole image making each separate component of the photograph as important as the other in terms of achieving something that is both aesthetically pleasing and well balanced concerning the overall composition.

Figure 3 – Leading Lines

Lastly, when you lay the golden ratio over the top of this image as seen in Figure 4 below you can also see how it works in terms of weight and balance, even though the focal point isn’t necessarily true to the ratio, the suggestion of where the image is drawing the viewers attention is very apparent.

Figure 4 – The Golden Ratio

Landscape photography is very much about taking the viewer on a journey and engaging the onlooker by creating imagery that evokes an emotional response. Good landscape photography is not only creating something that is aesthetically pleasing, but also making a record of the time, the place, the season, the weather, the colours and/or various hues that are occurring and indeed in the telling of a story. All of these elements can be achieved with a little bit of awareness and consideration. Taking time to look and truly see what surrounds you is critical. Finding balance, elements of interest, leading lines, aspects that visually echo or repeat or give the sense of distance or depth of field, things that draw the eye or that can be juxtaposed against each other can all be components the go towards making an image work and be intriguing.

A friend said to me many years ago and I quote “Beauty can be found in the small and mundane as well as in the mighty monuments of life”. That sentiment has always stuck with me. We are surrounded by beauty and yet don’t always see it or appreciate it. But when you start looking at things with a critical eye and certainly with a modicum of passion, you will find all sorts of intriguing and stunning imagery. It’s literally everywhere. Photography for me is about wanting to capture and ensnare the beguiling, the beautiful, the quirky and things that occur in the moment. I want to create imagery that endures and intrigues.

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