Time flies, doesn’t it? It feels like just yesterday we were celebrating Christmas, but here we are at the end of 2024.
I didn’t have any specific photography goals at the start of the year. I’m not really one for New Year’s resolutions. But life has taken some interesting turns.
I switched from using Lumix cameras to a Fuji cameras. That brought its own set of challenges. The most positive being that I don’t spend as much time editing as I used to. I’m a big fan of the film simulations, so I focus more on getting the shot right in the camera rather than in Lightroom.
I tried my hand at street photography for the first time. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but I had a blast. I love seeing other photographers’ street work, and I’ve been collecting books on the subject. Mr. Whisper’s work is really inspiring (more on him next week).
I discovered new local spots to photograph, which got me into clouds (especially in black and white). I hope to explore that more next year.
We also managed a few trips away.
So, while it wasn’t an incredible year overall, it wasn’t bad either. And most importantly, I still love photography.
Drones can be controversial as a subject. Understandably people have privacy issues with them, and now sub 250g drones can be flown closer to people and buildings there is a chance they could become even less unpopular. I tend to fly mine only when I know I’m a long way from other people and I’m not going to get hassled. Also, I pretty much exclusively use mine for stills photography. It’s very rare that I use them for video. Of the three I own, one is a DJI Mini 4 Pro which I would call my ‘main’ drone. The tech packed into this tiny package has come so far in the last ten years. It can pretty much fly itself, and the avoidance and safety features make it fool proof. Even I, with one eye can safely operate it. The other two are a DJI Avata 2 which is just used mostly for fun as it’s a racing drone, and lastly a DJI Neo, a new model that’s ridiculously small and I’m still figuring out. It’s classed a as a ‘selfy’ drone, but can do quite a lot more.
My drone gear, and Pocker 3.
So, why am I writing about drones? Well, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Landscape Photographer of the Year had added drone photography as a category over the last few years (although sadly, they have left it out this year). It’s something I’ve dipped my toe into, but never fully got stuck into. As someone that tend to go tp the same place for photography I’m always looking for new angles and perspectives. So, what better way to do that than from the air?
A 12mp sensor has it’s limits, especially when cropping.I’d have needed a boat and a tall ladder to get this shot.
I’m always looking for a new way to view a familiar place because most of my photography is done in one location, so as big as that space it it can be a challenge to find something new. Using a drone has massively increased the number of options I have, especially because I photograph in a wetland. For example, the image above is a location I regularly walk by, but I’ve never been able to find a good angle until now.
half and half.
I particularly enjoy the types of shots shown above. Straight down with contrasting terrain (in this case marsh and scrubland). Again, it’s something that isn’t possible with a normal camera.
There are some downsides to drone photography. Firstly, I feel very self conscious. Despite a relaxing of the laws around flying drones under 250g (which mine is) which allows them to be flown closer to people and buildings, I still feel incredibly uncomfortable flying anywhere other people might see me. I think that is a me problem. Luckily, the kind of photography I enjoy generally means I am nowhere near other people anyway.
The other issue is that you can’t just take the drone out of your camera bag and go. So, it’s no good for something fleeting. By the time you’ve taken it out of the bag, unfolded it, taken off the lens protectors, turned it on, turned the RC on, got a satellite signal and a return to home point locked in, you’ve lost a good few minutes.
I also worry about the wind taking the drone off too, but I think that isn’t really a risk. They’re quite wind resilient.
I love the reflection
The drones have a lot of videos capabilities that I currently haven’t explored. I am quite keen to get more into video though, so it will be fun to get into that later on. Hopefully the more I get out there, the more confident I’ll become and the more interesting my drone images will become.
Once again, the weather absolutely sucks. Not that I could have gone out recently anyway, as I have a kidney infection. So, I’ve kept myself busy by rearranging my office. A roof leak meant I had to get a new monitor stand, a new Mac mini, and some new bookshelves. I decided to clear my shelves of junk and put some of my photos’ up instead. Similarly, I put some of my work on the walls. No point taking them if I never see them.
Photography wise – as I haven’t taken any in over a month I decided to go through some of my recent rejects and give them a second viewing. Most of them were still crap. Three of them got a second chance though.
There’s nothing spectacular about this one. In fact, it bugs me – it’s the wrong way around. The line leads to the left, and it doesn’t sit right with me. But, the edited version compared to the unedited version is much more representative of what I saw on the day.
Again, nothing outstanding. But, it’s not awful either. And, again also better after editing. The left hand side of it is messy with branches and the random sign on the fence. I think this would have worked a lot better if I’d stood two meters to the left.
This is the open moor near where I live. There is a good photograph somewhere in this vast space, but I’ve not found it yet. This is the best I’ve got so far. I don’t know why I disregarded this one, I actually quite like it. I think it needs more height so more of the wetlands are visible, and maybe a step or three back so show the exposed peat and give it more contrast in the foreground? What do I know?
So, three photos’ – none of them particularly good, and none of them absolutely awful either. What I’ve learned is it’s good to be self critical. To go back and revisit photos’ is a useful exercise as it’s allowed me to realise where I went wrong and that these spots do have a good photo in them somewhere. And, that maybe I shouldn’t be so hasty when choosing what photos’ to keep and which ones to go in the bin.
I finally got to take my new G9 this week. I had to wait longer than I’d like after having steroid injections in my eyes, but it paid off as winter has finally arrived.
An afternoon where the temperature didn’t get above -4oC meant the frost was around all day, and a clear sky meant I could see if the G9 stabilisation was as good as I hoped. It didn’t disappoint, as I didn’t need to get my tripod out until sunset (except to try the high resolution mode). I am loving the G9. What a great camera Panasonic have made, except for the flipping shutter button. Why did they make it so sensitive? If nothing else it’s forced me to finally get used to back button focusing.
Things I’ve learned this week
Bracketing – I need to do less of this and just focus on one photo. Peak Design Tripod – I need to use this more. It weighs more than my other tripods, but it works better and the ball head can’t be beaten. Going to the same place repeatedly- is worth it. I’m still finding new compositions and obviously places change with seasons. The value of backing up – my Mac Mini died this week. Thankfully everything was backed up onto an external drive, Creative Cloud and iCloud. New one us coming on Monday!
Winter has been good for photography so far. It’s important to go out prepared though. Always take tea!
I didn’t have to go far for this one. Just the landing window, my little G100, a 45-150 lens, and a Gorillapod. Really pleased with this one.
This version is a low res j-peg, but the original is a massive 140mg high res from my G9. Taken from about 500m away at 300mm. Not a great composition, but an amazing exam of what the camera can do.
The one benefit of not sleeping is it’s really easy to get up and get out of the house before sunrise. So, this morning (Saturday) I found myself at Hatfield Moors at 7am, a full forty five minutes before sun rise. Thankfully I have a very good head torch that turns night into day, and the early morning sky was starting to turn into a plan blue.
I had the fright of my life walking through the woodland as a fairly large deer burst from the bushes to my left and cleared the pathway in a single bound before disappearing into the woodland. That will wake anyone up quicker than the strongest espresso. Once I’d got my breath back and realised I wasn’t about to be eaten by a panther (this is the kind of stuff that goes through my head walking through the woods in the dark – don’t read crap online) I made my way to my first point I wanted to photograph.
I’ve been trying to get a decent photo of this location for ages now, and this is my favourite so far, although I still think there’s a better photo there with the right sky or perhaps a bit of mist. I’ll keep trying. I stood at this point for about 15 minutes waiting for the light. During that time there were thousands (!) of geese flying in hundreds of flocks of V formations. I’ve never seen anything like it, and it was worth going early just to see it. Unfortunately, it was too dark to get a photo.
My next plan was to get onto the moors. I wanted to get the marsh land with the sunrise. I had the photo in mind, but again – the light and cloud had different ideas to me. I did get this nice photo of some fungus.
I also go this shot, but it’s very noisy after being edited. If I get back there next weekend I’ll bracket the same photo and see if that works better. I might run this through Luminar and see if that does a better job than Lightroom.
So, only one photo I really like – out of 60-odd taken. There were a lot more that made it to editing, but felt grey sky and flat landscape make a challenging location for photography. I also ran out of time as my wife was picking me up. But, that’s ok. I enjoyed my time out of the house and that’s the point really.
Shaun Madill Photography 