I’m not one of those Golden Hour man maniacs that thinks you can only take a good photo at sunset or sunrise, life’s too short and I’m too lazy. So, I continue to take my GM1 or GX85 with me to anywhere a good photo might present itself. I’m not getting anything that I would put in a portfolio, but I am finding more local locations that are worth returning to with my G9 and a tripod when I get time.
These were taken on the GM1, which I love – but in harsh daylight it’s hard to compose a photo without a viewfinder. And, they’re blurry. Having the dogs running around isn’t really conducive to taking good photos!
Next week is Northumberland and the summer solstice. Fingers crossed.
Sometimes too much of something we enjoy can stop our enjoyment. Whilst I haven’t lost my love of photography I have enjoyed a break from it and some time doing other things. My wife and I have been doing a lot of walking to try and raise some money for Stand Up to Cancer. The challenge was to walk 60 miles in a month, but with two dogs it was always going to be a bit of a breeze, and with two weeks to go we’ve already completed about 50 miles. But, it’s been nice to just go out and walk and not put myself under pressure to try and get ‘good’ photographs, and I’ve seen a couple of spots that I will go back to with a camera at some point.
A New lens
I bought a 7Artisans 7.5mm Ultra Wise (that’s fisheye to you and me) lens a few weeks ago. I have to admit, it’s a challenge to use. Manual focus and poor eyesight don’t mix well, and I keep getting my fingers/thumb in the shot.
I do like the f/stop being on the lens rather than the camera, and when in focus it does a good job. I was hoping to use it with the GM1 for some street photography, but I think it might struggle without IBIS. One to keep practicing at.
Not long now until my first photography trip for 2023!
Do you ever find something really interesting that would make a great photo, but when you try and compose a photograph you just can’t get it right? This was my whole day yesterday. I spent hours out with my camera, and everything I found that was interesting couldn’t be turned into an interesting photo. I took 66 photographs, and I didn’t find one of them worthy of sharing. These are the closest I came (I won’t be adding them to my portfolio page though).
Maybe I need to use a focal length closer to 35mm rather than using this lens at its widest, which is equivalent to 24mm. Does 10mm make that much difference? Whatever it is, there are a few things I need to iron out before our next trip at the end of April. Our time away is limited and I’d hate to waste it. My biggest problem is rushing. I need to slow everything down and take more care.
During the week I was desperate to get to somewhere different than Hatfield Moors, but unfortunately it just wasn’t possible. Neither was getting up early to get Golden Hour. This is the life as an amateur photographer, fitting time to go out and takes photos around work and life.
So, reluctantly I found myself at Hatfield Moors at midday on a Friday. A place I think I know well, so my aim was to find new places to photograph under better conditions. In the middle of the Moor is a memorial to a Polish air crew whose bomber crashed coming into land after a raid during the Second World War. I’d never been to it, so when I came across the path I decided to go and take a look. I’m so glad I did as it took my into the middle of the moor and the wetlands and to places I didn’t think were accessible.
I loved this. The sun ket coming out and casting my shadow over it though. Another one to come back to.
I’ve been here so many times, and I just forget how big the moors are. If you look on a map it doesn’t actually look that big, but there are full days of walks here and I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface. There is so much here that I haven’t taken a serious photo of yet. The conditions weren’t great. Midday, very windy bright sun. But, I can see the potential of going at sunrise with a tripod.
So much potential here. When the heather is purple and at sun rise this would be a great photo.
Whilst I didn’t get any great photos’ I did enjoy finding new possibilities. And, in all honesty it was just nice to get out and get some fresh air again.
I’ll stop meaning about not getting anywhere decent to photograph and just focus on working here. There are trips going later in the year, I just need to be patient.
Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much you plan and prepare, things will just go wrong. That was my weekend in general, but in relation to taking photographs today (Sunday) was the day that everything went wrong and no mount of planning and preparing could have changed it.
On Saturday, I charged batteries, packed a camera bag, left hiking boots and clothes out so I could get dressed quickly on my early start. Thinking ahead. I charged a little clip on camera (Insta360 Go2) to capture the deer the keep running out in front of me, and was good to go.
Sunday comes. Up, out get to the moors. It started with the Go2 and the sodding thing not working. The onscreen menu just stuck in a cycle of turning itself on and off. No amount of resets did anything to change it. Fine, that’s ok – I’ll just get on with the photos. But, no. The rear control dial (which I have set up for aperture) has decided it doesn’t want to work. It will work for absolutely everything except changing the aperture. Then, the battery (which is two months old) decided to go flat. Had I walked into some kind of dead spot for technology?
It’s -6 oC and nothing works, so I might as well give in.
Sometimes Landscape Photography needs a bit of luck. Yes, you need the gear, you need the know how, you need to get your backside out of bed early, you need to go to locations with interesting views and the weather to be kind. You can get all of that right and still come home without a single photo you’re happy with.
I faced this yesterday. 66 photos and didn’t like a single one. Then, the last one. A random shot into the sun. As I was taking it I didn’t see the man and his dog as the sun was so bright. I even told him as much after we said good morning to each other. So, I was surprised to find him in my last photo.
One man and his dog
I love this happy accident. A bit of luck. Right place, right time. Without it I wouldn’t have had a decent photo. Which, is fine. We had a lovely walk, some fresh air and nice views. But, I still love to take at least one good photo. Here’s to more happy accidents.
It was my birthday a few weeks ago and I used some of the money I got to buy my self a small photograph printer. I wanted to print 4×3 photos to use in a project book that I use to keep a record of my progress, and something small enough to take with me when we go on trips and holidays. So, I did some research and came across this recent model from Canon.
It’s a sublimation printer, so rather than printing lots of tiny dots next to each other it prints in several passes of yellow, red, blue and black to produce a better quality image.
Once the colours are applied it can lay over a matte or gloss finish.
Initially I found the images produced were a little on the dark side, but it was an easy job to find the right settings to produce something satisfactory.
The printer paper comes in packs with the ink cartridge. You can’t buy the paper or the ink individually, which means you’re tied in to buying both. The ink is just enough to suit the number of sheets you buy too. I bought two sizes, 4×3 and ‘credit card’ sized. For the credit card sized paper you will need to buy a different paper tray (about £15), which I think is a bit cheeky from Canon.
I’m really happy with the quality. I do think the paper and ink kits are a bit expensive though. There are cheaper none-Canon options available, but the reviews are hit and miss.
There are two ways to transfer your images to the printer. Firstly the Canon Selphy app, which is really easy to use. You can add filters, text, QR codes and edit your images. Or, you can print directly from an SD card or USB stick. I haven’t tried this way yet as the screen on the printer is too small for me to read as I have a visual impairment.
My only gripe with the printer is the optional battery is £180 – which is more than the printer. It would be nice to be able to go wireless, but not at that price. Other than that, if you’re looking for a small printer that gives good results then I would recommend looking at this one.
The dark nights are here and so is the rain. Unfortunately, that means photography time is now limited to weekends if they’re dry. I can’t remember the last dry day we had but I think it was October? I got up early Saturday morning to go and catch a golden hour at Hatfield Moors, but by the time I got half way there the rain was coming down hard.
On the bright side we’ve planned lots of trips for next year and they’re all going to have brilliant photography locations. Back to North Yorkshire, Northumberland, a first trip to the Lake District since I was a kid, and a winter trip to Snowdonia.
In the mean time, Friday and Saturday look dry so fingers crossed.
A weekend months in the planning, every camera checked, battery charged, drone charged, bags packed. Then rain. Not just a bit of rain, which I would have worked with – but 24 hours, three days worth of sideways rain. I’d been checking the weather, so I knew it was coming and had accepted it, so I managed to enjoy some quality time with my wife and our dogs, the most important thing is we got them away from the fireworks which absolutely terrify them (they need to be banned, so made to be quieter). But, I still hoped it would clear, and it did – just as we were leaving. Typical.
So, just the one photograph.
Do I love it? No. Did I forget to lower the ISO? Yes. Did I learn anything? Absolutely. And, that’s the thing. If I can go somewhere, have a nice time and learn something, then I can only improve for next time.
We loved this place so much that we’re going back at the start of May. This time I’ll have some knowledge of the area, and hopefully the weather will be better.
This time next week I’ll be loading the car for our trip to the Dales. I cannot wait. We’ve had this trip planned for a while and it feels like it’s taken for ever to get here. Where I live is flat in all directions for about 25 miles, so finding interesting landscapes to photograph is something of a challenge, especially without a car. Going to somewhere new with hills and peaks is exciting. I miss hills. My head I filled with plans, so I hope the weather gods are kind.
This week has been mostly wet, but I did get one trip out to my local moorland. I didn’t time it quite right though, which was a lesson – golden hour is relative to your location’s topography, not just the clock. As soon as I got into the woods the good light was gone. Another lesson I learned, handheld doesn’t cut it in this light. I did manage to take this photo though (well, I actually took lots, but this is the only one worth keeping).
Shaun Madill Photography 