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Photography Beyond The Moment

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Long Exposure

Fraisthorpe Beach and a 10 Stop ND Filter – Yorkshire Coast

10th September 2021 By Mike Barrett

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

29th July 2021 By Mike Barrett

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

Lake District Autumnal Landscapes

5th November 2019 By Mike Barrett

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

1st September 2019 By Mike Barrett

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

31st August 2019 By Mike Barrett

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

Daytime Trains

8th August 2019 By Mike Barrett

I got a shout from a fellow TOG the other evening (Douglas) who said he was heading out for a bit of stomp and a shoot. I joined him at a place we had previously identified as a good spot to shoot some long exposures of passing trains. After a good chat where we put the photographic world to rights, we got on with the task of capturing some long exposures in daylight conditions.

Setting up for the shot is not like shooting at night when you go out to to get those beautiful visual tracer lights. For a start, you haven’t got that lovely black background to paint light on. Instead you are contending with a lot of light and there is a lot more detail is being burned upon the cameras censor. Setting the timing up to burn the right amount of image into the composition exactly where you need it to sit in the composition is critical. You are also pushing the camera to the hilt regarding the settings just to squeeze enough exposure time out without overexposing. Some luck is involved also as you can never really determine just how fast each of the locomotives will be travelling, which can have a critical effect on the image. There were one or two occasions where I had done everything right as far as I was concerned to capture the type of image that I was after, only to be scuppered by an uber slow train rolling through the composition. After some minor adjustments and a couple of test shots I got an image that I was really pleased with. This colour image was exactly what I was after and just how I had envisaged the image to be. The black and white one I liked too for different reasons. These shots were a lot of fun in the making and it’s always good fun to hook up with a like minded TOG to share in the fun with. I might have to go out again soon to see if I can get a few different results and perhaps some more diverse compositions. Watch this space.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 200mm, F32, ISO 100, 0.6 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

Lens EF70-200mm F/4L USM @ 200mm, F32, ISO 50, 2 Seconds Exposure, Manual, Tripod Mounted.

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

30th April 2019 By Mike Barrett

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.

Chasing Light

25th January 2019 By Mike Barrett

It’s always fun heading out to get long exposure photographs in urban settings. On this occasion I was running a workshop with MODE VITAL. It was a chilly January night, but conditions were ideal for capturing this type of shot and there was a lot of traffic about.

It’s always interesting teaching people new skills. It’s rewarding beyond compare. I love to see those little eureka moments as the realisation occurs that the scope of possibility is broadening, much like the smile that accompanies that realisation. DSLR cameras can do so much if you are aware of the settings that are available to you and indeed how to use them in conjunction with each other. If you get to know your kit and how it works the possibilities in terms of shots are literally limitless. When you know how to use your kit the rest is just perception and imagination.

I only took five shots on this particular night. This one was shot number three.  I had set the camera up purely as a demonstration mechanism and to determine what sort of settings would be optimal in this particular environment and for this composition. This type of shot is great for learning about the manual settings of a DSLR as it is such an extreme type of photography if you are relate it to the normal point and shoot shot that most people would take on their phones for instance. You have to set up for a long exposure in order to capture all those beautiful light trails and in turn you need to know how to control and set your ISO to determine the quality of the shot. Then there is the lens aperture, setting this up correctly is critical in order to capture all that beautiful detail. So you are very much hands on with the whole exposure triangle. There were some other things that we looked at like hyperfocal distance when focusing, timings and what to look out for regarding the capturing of good, strong imagery and moving light. Composition and leading lines etc. All good fun for those who love to learn more about these photographic processes.

© Mike Barrett Photography 2019 – All Rights Reserved

Lens EF17-40mm F/4L USM @ 40mm, F16, ISO 100, 20.0 Seconds Exposure, Tripod Mounted.

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