panasonic – Shaun Madill Photography

Unconventional Photography: Discovering Beauty in Familiar Landscapes

Whenever I watch my favourite Youtube Photographers (Thomas Heaton, James Popsys, Emily Lowry etc) they’re often off on some grand adventure to some amazing location to photograph something spectacular. That’s not really an option for the majority of photography enthusiasts. I’d bet most of us live somewhere boring? Other than the odd trip to the more scenic parts of the UK, I am usually stuck here in the flattest part of Yorkshire. No mountains, or hills, no cliffs, canyons, no beach, just miles and miles of flat farm fields, the odd tree, ditches and canals. But, despite all that I still love going out with my camera. And, I think anyone interested in photography should go out and photograph where they live and not just the cool places.

I bet there are millions of photos of Bamburgh Castle at dawn, or the Old Man of Store on Skye, but how many photos are there of these cows, in this field, with those pylons in Doncaster are there?

How many photos have been taken of the river Don with this gate and the houses in the background?

Some boring train gates that have never been photographed before (probably), because why would you?

Am I seriously suggesting that these locations are as good as the Lake District, or the Isle of Harris? Well, no. But, they are important because these are the places we really live and work. They’re where we spend our lives, and they’re our reality. They should be photographed just as much as the ‘cool’ places because they are our real history. What’s more, they’re challenging to photograph and make something interesting from, which makes it fun. I think most people could take a great photo using their iPhone at sunrise on a great beach, or a great mountain.

Going local gives us a chance to experiment and grow. I find it lets me slow down because I’m not in a rush to get to the destination. Try different lenses, and filters. Mess around with shutter speed and apertures. Go out at different times of day, not just golden hour. The photos I’ve added to this post were all taken at the brightest part of the afternoon, so I messed about with them in Lightroom until I was happy with how they looked. It’s a great way to learn.

I challenge people to try and take a great photo of something that’s ‘normal’ and every day to them, where they live. Go for a walk, or get on your bike and see what you can find. I bet you’ll enjoy the process.

Cut Short

Last weekend should have been a long one, away in Northumberland. But, for reasons I won’t go into our stay was cut short to one day, and a very early departure for home on day two. My hope was to go out early on day two and get some sunrise photos along the coast. but, sometimes life gets in the way.

So, all I have is ‘snaps’ taken on a dull day with my GM5 and the ever trusty 12-32 Panasonic lens.

The couple on the bench is my favourite. What were they talking about? Were they looking out to the horizon planning their future? How many other couples had sat on the bench and done the same thing? The empty bench to the left serving as a reminder that our time on earth is brief.

Looking ahead, the weather here is good. Time for some walks and bike rides. I’m trying to plan a return trip to Spurn Point too, and I want to write about the way I’m editing images at the moment, and why.

The Smell of Summer

Isn’t it great when the weather breaks and it finally feels like winter has gone? That’s where we’re at now in my part of the world. With it comes the smell of summer. I can’t quite describe it, and it’s probably different all over the planet, but it’s the smell of everything growing back; the blossom, the grass, the leaves. I went for a bike ride after work yesterday, and the smell was there. It just made me smile.

The best thing about having an electric bike is that I can cover twice the distance in half the time. So, I’m getting a chance to explore further than I used to, and find loads of new places. So, yesterday I took my GX80 and my Leica 15mm for a ride.

Lumix GX80, Leica 15mm f3.5 1/1000 sec, ISO500

There are so many roads like this around me. Single lane, quiet, and moss growing down the middle due to lack of use. I really like this image. The light on the leaves in the tree canopy makes it for me, and the way the road curves away at the end. For editing I tried to go down that Asteroid City look. I wasn’t a fan of the film, but the colour grading is fantastic. It’s like a muted pastel kind of thing. I think I got fairly close?

Lumix GX80, Leica 15mm f6.3 1/100 sec, ISO200

My current obsession is humanity meeting nature. This image fits in with that, showing an abandoned building being grown through by trees. I have no idea what this building was. A lot of this area was taken up by an airbase during World War 2, so it might be a remnant of that.

Lumix GX80, Leica 15mm f6.3 1/160 sec, ISO200

This is a bit naff. But, at the time I saw something in it, so I’m sharing it. Maybe I’ll go back and try and figure out what it was. Not every image is a keeper.

Lumix GX80, Leica 15mm f5.6, 1/640 sec, ISO200

Another one I’m not 100% happy with and will go a retake. I want the tree in the middle of the two closer trees framing it. I probably need to take my 12-60 so I can get a better range of shots. I still quite like this though.

Next stop, Northumberland. I can’t wait.

Spurn Head

Another photographic trip to the coast. This time to Spurn Head in East Yorkshire, which in my mind was only an hour away as I thought it was just on the other side of Hull. It isn’t. Spurn Head is actually twice as far away as Hull, and a good couple of hours away down lots of windy roads. So, I wasn’t very popular for getting that one wrong. It was a beautiful sunny day, and unseasonably warm. Shorts, a t-shirt, and flip flops would have done (I’m not kidding).

_{I loved the light. I’m a fan of shooting into the sun. (GM5 Leica 15mm)}

For those that don’t know (including me) Spurn Head is a nature reserve and ‘an iconic and constantly moving peninsula which curves between the North Sea and the Humber Estuary’. The main point of interest (for me) from a photography point of view was the lighthouse. Built in 1895, it has been guiding sailors around the East Yorkshire coastline for over 90 years, until it was decommissioned in 1985. It’s open to the public and you can take a tour around it (I didn’t).

_{The Spurn Point Lighthouse from the visitors centre (Lumix GM5. Panasonic 45-150)}

A trip to the lighthouse will take some planning as it’s only accessible by foot on a three mile walk and you can only cross when the tide is out. It’s not somewhere you want to get stuck on a cold February night. So, finding a time when the tide is out that coincides with sunrise or sunset can be challenging. The BBC provide tide times here https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/coast-and-sea/tide-tables/3/171 The walk itself was hard at times. A lot of it is over sand, and it’s very soft sand. So, for some people a six mile walk might be tricky. As it’s a nature reserve dogs aren’t allowed. There is a stretch of sand further north up the coast where you can tale you r dogs though.

On to the photography bit. I took my new (to me) Lumix GM5. (Yes, I finally found one at a price I could afford and I’ll write about it next week). With that I took the worlds best lens, the Panasonic Leica 15mm and my Panasonic 45-150mm zoom (how do they make it so small?) I also took a 12-32, because it’s so small and a decent back up.

_{About half way point on the walk. Still a long way to go. (GM5 Leica 15mm)}

As ever, the colour on the Leica 15mm is lovely. Not a lot of editing required, mostly just cropping. It’s such a good pairing with the GM camera because it has an aperture ring on the lens. Given the size of the cameras only allow for one dial (the GM5 is much better positioned) it means you can use that for shutter speed. I wish all lenses were like this.

_{There wasn’t really anything to use as a subject, but I couldn’t ignore the light on the grass. Maybe the light is the subject? (GM% Leica 15mm)}

As I (finally) got closer to the lighthouse the sun had started to drop. I was worried about the lack of stabilisation in the camera, but the lens has it and the results were good despite the wind.I didn’t want to make the 3 mile return walk in the dark, it had been hard enough in the light. Then I started stressing that the tide might come in, even thought I’d checked it numerous times.

As I wondered around I’d wished I’d spent more time learning my way around the camera. I hadn’t had time though as I’d had eye injections earlier in the week, so seeing had been an issue. That said, I’m pleased with the images I got. The conditions were kind to me, and the Gm5 did really well considering the fading light.

My last, and favourite shot of the day. I got lucky with the sunset and the wind had died down. It could be summer. I did take another from down on the beach, but there was a lot of human rubbish on the beach. Sadly.

_{I wish I’d have spent a bit more time looking for an angle that cut out the auxiliary buildings. (GM5 Leica 15mm)}

So, a bit of a slog. The very soft sand makes it hard work. Probably not somewhere I’d rush back to as it’s ruined by humans. There was so much rubbish that had been blown on to the reserve, or washed up. It was depressing to see such a wonderful place ruined by people (again). We really are killing our own home. A cancer on our home planet. Maybe I need to photograph that?

A quick snap from my phone I was walking back.

An Unexpected Trip

I was supposed to be spending the weekend house bound, but my eye injections being cancelled until tomorrow meant an unexpected trip to the coast on a cold, windy and very early Sunday morning start. Unfortunately the tide was in, so it was a walk along the cliffs at Flamborough. The sun was just creeping up as we arrived. Thankfully I took my tripod, the wind and shivering would have meant shaky hands.

_{The ‘Drinking Dinosaur’ – Lumix G9, Leica 12-60, HDR Merge}

The seals on the beach were a lovely surprise. I didn’t notice them at first. We had to use torches (ace for a bloke with one eye) to get to this point.

And, that was that. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been photographed a millions times, so a bit of a walk then off for breakfast. Short, but sweet and nice to be out when I wasn’t expecting it.

A Cold Seaside Trip

I love a trip to the coast on a cold sunny day. There’s no better way to blow the cobwebs off. A nice walk from North Bay in Scarborough through to the Spa at Southbay. Fish and Chips. Ice Cream. Perfect. Scarborough is much nice than I remembered too.

As it turned out this was my last trip with the GX80. I have never really clicked with that camera. It was too big to be actually portable, not much smaller than my G9. It wasn’t;’t my GM1…. So, it’s gone back to MPB for not much less than I bought it. I got a couple of nice shots with it before it went though.

I could have spent hours looking at these rainbows.

So, now the GX80 has gone what’s next? Obviously, I love my GM1. Its only downside is no viewfinder. As someone with limited vision I find it easier to work with a viewfinder. So, I’m looking for a GM5, at a reasonable price. There’s currently one on eBay for £800 – which is mad. I’ve set up an alert for any that come up on the listings. Fingers crossed.

Time to get my eyes stabbed. Hopefully I’ll get out next weekend when I can see again.

Wintery Wet Weather Wallops Weekend

Four UK breaks this year, and only one of them wasn’t ruined (photography wise) by the weather. Anglesey over this last week was the latest trip ruined by a storm and we arrived smack bang in another record breaking bout of rain. So, it was a grab ’em while you can kind of week.

There’s nothing front page (of this site) worthy, but they capture the feel of Anglesey in November.

Anglesey, by the way – absolutely lovely place. Even in biting winds and ice cold rain we had a great time. We were smack bang in the middle of the island and everything in all directions was only 20 minute drive away. We liked it so much we’ve booked for next November, and are considering a trip in summer too.

I think I prefer places when they’re quiet.

I took all of these photos on my GM1 using the Leica 15mm. Again, that little camera and lens continue to be my favourite bits of kit. My G9 never made it out of the bag,

A Weekend Cut Short

Our five days in the Lake District had to be cut short to just two. Sometimes, life gets in the way, plus the weather wasn’t kind.
I didn’t really get any photo’s I would print, or put in a portfolio. But, I had time with my wife and my dogs, and right now, or always, that is the most important thing. Whatever you love in life, squeeze it for every bit of love and joy you can, while you can.

Finally…

September. The start of my favourite months of the year when there are mornings like this, and I don’t have to be out of the house earlier than 6am to see them.

I absolutely love this image. The only editing I did was to crop it (I’m going through a widescreen phase). These fields are 250 meters from home. I pass them most days, and rarely do they look like this.

Who doesn’t love cows? It’s amazing how mist and light can completely change how a place looks. It’s actual magic.

Since our trip to Northumberland I’ve really enjoyed having man made elements in my images. I love the way the telephone mast and lines frame the tress here.

My favourite image from today. The light. The mist. Magic.

I’m Glad It’s All Over

One camera, one lens. Not a big fan to be honest. It was an interesting challenge, but I didn’t like the restriction in focal length. And, while the GX80 is fairly flexible, there were times when my G9 or GM1 would have been more suitable for the situation I was in. I’m not saying I won’t do it again, but definitely not for a whole month. I don’t think I got any decent photos for the whole of August, but it wasn’t a great month and I haven’t been out of my village.

My Favourite Time of Year

We’re coming into Autumn now. Less daylight, interesting light. Colours in the trees. A trip to the Lakes and Anglesey coming up. Can’t wait.